Regarding Marriage

I am of the opinion that if you solve the problems in the marriages in your church and create really great successful marriages you will not be able to build a church big enough to hold all the people that want to come and have their marriages healed.

Matt and I subscribe to the daily generous wife and husband blogs. It's a great resource for other married couples out there. Or at least I think it is. Basically they email you a tip every day about how to be a better husband or wife. Even if the tips aren't always relevant to you personally, I like the reminder every morning to be thinking about Matt and how I can bless him that day.

Anyway, I also usually read the husbands' blog too, because I find it to be an interesting window into how men view marriage and their wives, and it also reiterates to me how different we (men and women) are from each other. For example, I'd bet most, if not all, of the wives read the husband blog just like I do. I wonder how many husbands read the wife blog? My guess is not too many. :)

I digress. Today I was reading a conversation on this blog about how one man felt the church had failed him, and his marriage, by failing to teach about Godly marriage and sex. I think this is probably a pretty common experience- that the church might see, but will perhaps not address, marital issues. After all, who has the right to "butt in" to someones marriage and offer advice or instruction?

Personally I think that our marriages, like every other piece of our lives, should be open to instruction and guidance. Matt and I set out to be open and honest about our relationship with others. So far that has been easy, because the vast majority of the past year and a half has been amazing. I hope we can continue to be open when things are harder for us.

I love my husband. He is a great man, one whom I deeply respect, and I want the best things for him. I also love marriage, and not only because I love Matt. It is really a phenomenal gift we have been given, to create the picture of God's love for us on earth. We live in a culture where marriage is seriously devalued, and I never want my own relationship to exemplify that, but rather to be a picture of what God intended it to be. When Matt and I fall short of that mark, I would hope that our brothers and sisters in Christ would guide and exhort us.

I liked the quote at the top of this page because I think I agree with this man. I don't know what it is like to be unhappily married but I DO know what it's like to be happily married, and it is something worth cherishing and protecting.

Anyway... kind of a rambly post but I've got relationships on the brain today. :)