“Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord.” Lamentations 3:40

It had been 15 years since my wife and I had visited New Orleans. Having had a busy few months, and with Spring Break giving her a week off from her Teaching duties, we made the mutual decision to get away for some alone time… together. Tickets were purchased in advance and the hotel room was secured. Now all that was left to do was follow the plan…. sort of!

We arrived at our hotel in the early afternoon, dropped our bags in the room and headed out to the streets of the French Quarter. For us, there is only one priority when we first arrive… I wanted some oysters. My wife didn’t… but she happily went with me! When we got to the Oyster bar, I ordered a dozen while she ordered some shrimp! Once we stepped out on the street again, the first spoken words became a prophetic utterance that would mark our entire time together… “What do you want to do now?”

New Orleans is known for partying and cutting loose. Drinking, carousing and ungodly behavior are pretty much the norm there. Which is interesting, since my wife and I aren’t into any of that stuff! We DO like visiting different places, and New Orleans IS a different kind of place! The history, shops, food and locations are VERY unique and offer lots of choices. Being married for as long as we have, I think the place is a perfect test for how strong our relationship really is. In retrospect… it turned out to be 4 days of mutual compromise and edification. Let me try to explain.

There are about 30 streets in the French Quarter that interconnect together like a checkerboard. At every corner, there is a decision to make… right, left or straight. On every street there are dozens of shops on either side. On the streets that have no shops, there are houses, condos and apartments that ALL look different. It is fun for us to just look at what people do.. or DON’T do… to make their place stand out. Choices abound and every corner is a choice! There are 2 of us! Get the picture?

I cannot explain how much enjoyment we had with each other. When I wanted to see something, she went with me. When she wanted to see something, I went with her. No arguments, no battles. Just mutually moving together in the same direction… because we LOVE each other, THAT is what WE LOVE to do. Her interests piqued my own, as I learned more about her likes and dislikes and she about mine. We came home stronger and more in love because of our mutual experience.

The verse today is kind of like our trip to New Orleans. “Let US examine OUR ways,” is a call to a unique people in covenant together. “And test them.” That means to put them to trial to see if they are still good, strong and heading in a Godly, mutual direction. “And let us return to the Lord,” is the defining thread that holds us all together on the same path. Even in THIS typically ungodly world.

Looking back on our trip, I can say it was VERY successful. If it WAS a test, we didn’t really know it. Because we were in the journey together, going away proved just how close we are. My journey with Jesus Christ is exactly the same. The longer I walk with Him, the sweeter I find He really is. How about you?