Rules (dun dun dun!!!):
-Write a post in YOUR blog about a time when you realized that your glass was half full (read: your happy/funny/inspirational/mushy stories)
-Link your post to the Mr. Linky below (hopefully it works...)
-Put your name and the title of your post. {ex: Briana ~ Always the Bridesmaid...}
-Visit another's story, and just tell them, "Hey, read your story and am visiting or following...laughing or crying, etc."
-Feel free to take the "Glass Half Full" image. I'm not sure if I can make a code for it...I'm pretty new at this so if I can't, just take it and you'll be forgiven!
*I'll make sure to visit everyone's post!!!*
This week's story.... Is brought to you by my husband.
Always the Bridesmaid, Never the Bride.
You may know, or not know, that I am a classical musician (*Gasp!* Yes -we are still in existence!) and against all odds I have married one too. He's more of a musician than I am, I'd say because he wakes up every morning wanting to do nothing but play his Double Bass and work at a college teaching students how to be musical and healthy {finger and arm health is a HUGE discussion point in our household. Read: he hates mowing the lawn because it makes his bow hand tired...*eye roll* Lucky I'm a brass player and LIKE mowing the lawn. The laundry...that's anyone's game. hehe}. He wants to make a musical difference. I love him for it.
He is active in the audition scene. This means that he takes auditions for orchestras like the Atlanta Symphony, Toronto Symphony {those are big ones...} and other ones like the Columbus Indiana Philharmonic {one of the many regional orchestras here in IN}. Sometimes it goes well, and then sometimes he crashes and burns. After the latter, our conversations are much more bleak, but he always shows great perseverance and a never-ending desire to accomplish his goal. He's quite inspiring because even in our most sad conversations {those where he is dismissed after only playing one or two things}, he tells me this: "I'm always the bridesmaid and never the bride." I usually say, "thank God you're not a bride!", obviously missing the point. My dear husband, even though he's been denied his ultimate goal and suffered through what feels like a personal attack on your musicality {since you're the ONLY one playing on the stage behind a screen that's how it feels} he always keeps his head up and recognizes the calm in his storms.
In our current phase of life {meaning the past 3 summers, since my graduation from college} we have: bought and cleaned up a house, gotten married, built a HUGE deck, I've gotten and lost and gotten a job, and he is a full time student in Bloomington, IN working for Pittsburgh Opera and whomever else {which is so THANKFULLY so many other regional orchestras} pays him. I've happily put my education on hold so that he can finish his, and he's so close! We can smell the rejoicing that will surely ensue! :) With all that's been going on, I've been struggling with the concept of "staying true" to myself {enter Priester's Peace!}. Who I am, and what I love have all kind of been put by the wayside. I'm not sure if that's by choice or just by happenstance and our situation, but it is what it is, and that's fine.
My husband has applied this saying to so many things in our married life that I give a chuckle when he says it {my new reply being, "Thankfully I've already been a bride!} knowing that the point is that, even though we may seem to be put second or third, or even though we feel pushed aside or not chosen, there will always be a time when you will move from behing the eternal bridesmaid to the bride, and that once you are there the moments will be SO worth your wait, the reward {in whichever way you want to take the word} will be exactly what you needed it to be {we are faithful and prayerful that our "reward" will also be what God intended for us}.
We realize that being today's bridesmaids that we will be tomorrow's brides. Thankfully I have been blessed with a partner with such great insight and wisdom for his age {a whopping 27} who can keep my feet on the ground and help me keep my eyes to the sky!
Thanks for visiting today! Please link up and share the love!!!
xoxo.
P.S. ~ To read more about this party, check back! I'm making a page for it! :o)
Briana, this is an awesome link party idea! I loved your story. It's so real and honest and I love how you guys are still going, and not giving up on your dreams.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I have any posts that would qualify this week, but I'll try and participate next week, for sure!