Weekend Recap: A Walk on the Beach

In between my travels for work, I was able to spend this weekend at home.  It was SO good to be home… my hat’s off to those couples who constantly live in a state of distance. It’s icky.  Anywho, Cole’s parents came down to stay for a few nights on the coast (which is only an hour away from us), and they brought a wonderful married couple with whom they have been friends for over 25 years. We had a delightful time taking in the wonders of the beach and just spending some time together; but what struck me most profoundly about the weekend was something entirely different.  It was this couple that my in-laws brought with them.

Cole’s parents picked them up in Lacey, WA, and drove them down. Why? Because the husband is legally blind and his wife has moderate cerebral palsy.  And yet, this couple has challenged and encouraged me so much in the brief times that I have spent with them. They complement each other perfectly. She is his eyes, he is her mouth.  They selflessly depend on each other for every aspect of life: cooking, cleaning, even crossing the street. And they both have an incredibly strong faith.

So this got me to thinking about my own marriage… now, I knew when I married Cole that he complemented me in many ways. He is wise when I lack wisdom; he sees things to which I am blind; he is incredibly knowledgeable in areas in which I am ignorant; he is strong where I am weak; he is compassionate when I am callous; he is loving even when I am not lovely; he points me to Christ when my sinful flesh vies for my attention; he is the voice of reason to my scatterbrained thoughts.  To borrow the cliché Jerry McGuire colloquialism, “He completes me.”  He shows me Jesus every day and loves me beyond what I deserve.  This man selflessly lays down his life for me every day. And yet, after watching this couple interact this weekend, I could not help but to wonder how selfless MY love is? Granted, he’s an amazing man, how could I help but to love him?  But I think there’s more to it than that… my in-laws’ friends selflessly give of themselves knowing how much they rely on each other. How often is my love motivated by something other than complete selflessness? I wish I loved people like Jesus did/does. Unconditionally, expecting nothing in return…  I am thankful for people like that couple & my husband to show me a glimpse of what that kind of love looks like.

Oh, and my husband took me for a romantic walk on the beach.  J

Baby News!

I'm so glad that I can finally share this.... We are the proud uncle and aunt of a new Boboth baby brewing in my sister-in-law's oven!  We are thrilled beyond belief and couldn't be more excited for Carrie & Everett... we know that they will be great parents and we simply cannot wait until that little one is here!

Congratulations, Everett and Carrie. We are so extremely happy for you guys and thrilled to finally be Uncle Cole & Aunt Laura! (Please pardon the split infinitive... excitement trumps proper grammar any day of the week.)

We love you both so very much!

-Cole & Laura

Grace Greater Than All Our Sin

I had an interesting conversation with a fellow passenger today on my business trip. He explained to me that he is currently enrolled in the Police Academy where he is training to join the force. Being an irregular church-goer, he told me how his wife made him promise to start attending church regularly once he joined “The Force.”  When I asked him why he was waiting for that point in time specifically, he told me that it was because his wife was afraid that if he spent all of his time with criminals, he would begin to pessimistically view everyone – the good and the bad – as criminals. She wanted to make sure that he still believed that there were still inherently good people in the world – therefore, he should go to church more.

I couldn’t help but to be hit with the irony of it all. I understand –in some way- her rationale, but in my mind, it would seem that church should be the precise place where we are made aware of how inherently evil we are. There is indeed no hope for us on our own.  We are all by nature, criminals. But then there is grace; the overwhelming gift that frees me from living as a slave to my inherent bad-ness. Because of Christ’s sacrifice, I am seen by the Father as clean, redeemed.  I would hope that church would not be a place full of “good people,” rather, a place of redeemed sinners living day by day in light of the reality of the gospel and the grace that is indeed greater than all of our sins.

-Laura

Hello World!

Well, gee, the Boboth Family has definitely undergone some major changes over the last few months: Got married, moved to a new state, got a new job, started grad school… so naturally, the next step in this adult “growing-up” process is to start a blog to keep our out-of-town family up to date on the goings on of the newest-ly formed Boboth family in the small town of Forest Grove, Oregon.

We make no guarantees of proper grammar, witty quips, or exciting stories… in fact, we’re still surprised that you actually stopped by to read this.  Nevertheless, tally ho! Upwards and onwards! And so ensues the swan dive into the world of blogging.  Stay tuned for further boring updates, photos, and Laura's made-up words.

Cheers!

-Laura