Family Is Always A Work In Progress
It's pretty amazing how quiet it can get on a Marriage/ Family website, when the marriage is "Under Construction." How can one expect a perfect marriage from individuals that are imperfect? Marriage takes work, it takes patience (why do you think Paul began the list of love's characteristics with "Love is patient or long-suffering..." I Corinthians 13). Marriage and family takes learning and discovery, both self and other. I am always changing, and if I don't know me, how can I clearly reveal who I am so that I can be known by my wife and family? Marriage takes selflessness, commitment, and a resolve to overcome all obstacles. Communication obstacles can arise in difficult seasons and it is critical to work through them to have a healthy marriage and family. Enter the main theme of this post.... With the difficult season which began when I broke my leg, our marriage faced stress, particularly in the area of communication. We faced this difficulty with a goal of really being able to have hard conversations and not bring harm to one another. Marital difficulty is not always pretty or worthy to be blogged and shared with the world, but marriages are not perfect and I am not the "Worlds Greatest Husband" so we must face the fact that hard times are going to arise, and the home is not always a bed of roses. AND.... that's OK!! God's grace is sufficient and His strength is made perfect when we are weak, and make no mistake about it... we are weak! Prayer and time with God is something we cannot forsake, we MUST have His presence to overcome times of difficulty and weakness. The good news is He is available and we can approach Him and must do so. We must seek Him for help and stand with resolve and patience as He works "all things together for our good." "His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor His delight in the legs of the warrior; the Lord delights in those who fear Him, who put their trust in His unfailing love." (Psalm 147:10-11, NIV). We cannot despise the work that it takes to meet our marital and family goals. Anything worth having takes work and effort. In our case, our communication is much improved; Perfect? No, but better and I am thankful for progress. We are walking with more patience and are more intentional to resolve without damaging each other. It's alright to face the truth that the family we are building is a constant work in progress!