With our culture’s pressure of finding ‘The One’ (absolutely no reference to Frozen implied there!), sometimes it may feel as if we married the wrong person because we don’t finish each other’s sandwiches... I mean sentences! So many of us buy into the Hollywood and Hallmark lie that when boy and girl marry, that they will have children AND a dog and live harmoniously ever after. Add to that the pressure of finding your one ‘soul mate’ and there is no wonder so many ‘twenty-somethings’ are running from the marriage commitment.
I don’t know about you, but when I was growing up nobody talked about marriage. You didn’t hear Christian radio programs about it, you didn’t find books lining the Christian bookstores and you certainly didn’t find Bible studies on how to be a better wife!
Like most of us, I dreamed about my wedding, but had no clue about the marriage. I did not see my parents handle conflict so I assumed later in life that since my marriage had conflict there must be something desperately wrong! I believed the lie that the absence of conflict was the absolute goal of every marriage!
I don’t have to tell any of you married women that marriage is hard work. You already know that and now we have all the Christian podcasts at our fingertips to help us be a better wife! Our culture talks much more freer about the topic of marriage, but it still isn’t natural, especially in our conservative Pennsylvania community to discuss our own personal marriage struggles.
Sometimes we just need a cheerleader to help us to keep rowing when all we feel like doing is drifting. Drifting is easier….it’s less work, at least in the beginning. By living parallel lives you don’t have to keep bumping into each other. Then the doubt starts creeping in after while, “did I marry the wrong guy?!” I should be happy, but we are soooo different…..all we do is disagree and….. drift.
I remember when Roger and I were dating, I could not imagine us ever having our first fight. He was dreamily perfect in every way. Then we had our first disagreement….the night before our wedding!! I was just then starting to see in reality how different we really are!
- I like to be on time….well early - being late doesn’t bother him
- I care what people think - he could care less most of the time
- I am a filer - he is a piler
- I am type A - he is type Z ...very laid back
- I can be directionally challenged - He runs his own GPS inside his head...all the time
- He is all things techy - I am not!
- I respond emotionally to things - He is logical
- I love being busy - he loves doing nothing!
And the list goes on! Many of our disagreements rooted themselves in our differences. The happily ever after got up and rode off into the sunset.
Throughout the years, we have taken advantage of some cheerleading opportunities Family Life offered through their Weekend to Remember Marriage Events. During our 11 years we are seeing some real breakthroughs. We take our cars to the garage for maintenance to rotate tires and oil changes, why not do that for our marriage right? So this Valentine’s weekend we packed our bags for another maintenance checkup at Weekend to Remember!
You may picture us spending all weekend romantically sitting in front of this fireplace, sipping lattes and holding hands. You may even now start thinking, "I wish we could do something that wonderful for Valentines Day!" Yes, I wish you could have been there too, but not for the reasons you think. Yes, there was indeed opportunity for romance, but the things we glean each year we go are so helpful, we would love to have you join us! After all, don’t we all need some cheering on at times?
Roger and I were reminded that the goal of marriage is oneness and the ultimate purpose is that our marriage is to reflect God’s image. What kind of reflection do others see? So much of the time, I think ours was smudged and sometimes even cracked!
We learned that we are either striving for oneness or isolation and the only way to be truly intimate with each other is to work through our conflicts. That meant I needed to be transparent about my hurts and also being willing to receive Roger as God’s gift to me. That also meant that I needed to give up my right to be right. I needed to look into my own heart and recognize how I have been hurting him. No more drifting….row..row..row our boats!
So what about all those differences? It isn’t easy living with someone who sees things differently than you. The beauty of being on a team together is that each of us bring strengths. Where one has a weakness, the other has that strength. The women’s speaker shared this beautiful illustration this past weekend….fold your hands as if you are going to pray, entwining your fingers. One hand is me, the other hand is Roger. The fingers are each of our strengths and the gaps between our fingers are our weaknesses. As we interlock our lives filling in for each other’s weaknesses, we become an incredible team!
I was cheered on this past weekend to be a wife of purpose….on purpose I need to cheer my man on! My man needs me. I know... they need us, don’t they? As I look at my folded hands again, I can see that without me, my husband will have glaring gaps. And the same for me….without him I will have gaps in my life. Roger feels a deep sense of loss when I don’t cheer him on...wow! I love the scene in Cinderella Man before his last big fight, Mae reassures Jim, “You are the Champion of my heart. You can’t win without me!”
Well I have lots of work to do. As I clean the bathroom mirror later today, wiping the water splashes and smudges, I will be reminded that my marriage is reflecting God’s image to those around me. As bathroom mirrors go, they need cleaned up….often….so it goes for my marriage! Let’s cheer each other on to keep cleaning...and not just our mirrors!
