I will be your witness...

I accomplished something today which was incredibly hard for me. I killed a spider -- and not just any spider mind you.... a HUGE spider (well, I thought it was huge). I was cleaning, and as I made my rounds in the living room I picked up a pillow and was immediately surprised by a spider that had been perfectly content hiding in the comforts of a chair. He ran, and so did I...

As the spider took off for a place of refuge, the couch being the closest hiding place, I screamed and did a dance in the opposite direction. But as I made a dash towards the kitchen it occurred to me that I was the only one home, and that if I didn't do something about this unwelcome visitor he was going to hide in my couch. Suddenly the thought of spending the evening cozied up on the couch didn't sound very appealing!

And so with determination, I gathered up all my courage -- and about 50 of the closest tissues -- and headed for the spider. I grabbed, and he swerved; I screamed and I swear he mocked me. And then, just seconds before he dove under my couch... I squished him! Victorious! I did it! I was pleased.

But as I disposed of the spider, along with the hoard of tissues used to kill him, I was surprised to find myself feeling sad. No one had been there to witness my victory. No one had been there to cheer me on and congratulate me on accomplishing something that I wouldn't normally dare to do. While it wasn't a life altering event by any means, it was important to me none-the-less, and I had no one to share it with at that moment.

I was then reminded of the movie, "Shall We Dance?," and the moving speech Susan Sarandon's character gives about marriage. I love the way she describes what a marriage is: "There's a billion people on the planet, I mean what does any one life really mean? But in a marriage, you're promising to care about everything...the good things, the bad things, the terrible things, the mondane things...all of it, all the time, every day. You're saying... 'Your life will not go unnoticed because I will notice it. Your life will not go unwitnessed, because I will be your witness.'" What a beautiful description of the marriage relationship and the joys of having someone to share in the little and big things that happen to you!

With that reminder in my mind, I headed for the phone and called the one person I knew would be eager to share my victory. He is my witness, and he was -- as I knew he would be -- thrilled with my accomplishment. He rejoices with me in the little things, and together we are a witness to each other's lives. Whether it be spiders or sermons, dishes washed or graduations, I have a witness and I am a witness. I can think of nothing sweeter.