Last week as Jeremiah & I were running our Saturday errands, a distracted driver pulled out in front of us. Something about the situation made us speculate that she was going through some sort of struggle at the time which led us to a conversation about life. Without going through a verbatim dissertation of what was said, we decided that life is a struggle. Yes, it's beautiful & unpredictable with the occasional blessing or surprise, but overall, as a consequence of sin in the world, simply being alive means there will be struggle. We all have them and they come in various forms... Money. Family. Career. Coworkers. Basic Needs. At any given point in every life, there is a struggle going on. If we are honest with ourselves, we can usually find several. So then, if we are all damaged, with some sort of baggage, why do we enter into relationships with each other? Surely we don't want to add to our problems by taking on someone else's, do we? Nope. We don't even really want someone to lighten the load or provide us an escape from reality. We just want someone to go through the struggle with us. We want to know we are not alone. And that, my friends, is marriage.
Lately I have become keenly aware of how negatively people view marriage. More often than not, I hear others tearing down their spouses rather than building them up. I just don't get it. This is the person that you chose to spend your life with. This is the person who is supposed to be going through life's struggles with you. Build them up! Encourage them! They have bad days too & sometimes life is too much for all of us so make the commitment to be a builder & not a wrecking ball in your marriage.
On that note, I'd like to thank my husband for a wonderful 4 years together. For always being my silver lining & for not being a part of the struggle but holding my hand as we boldly tackle our journey together. Happy Anniversary, Jeremiah... I love you.
