On Marriage

I'm reading this hot-off-the-press new book. I grabbed it from the freebie box that came for our academic buyer because the title astonished me, and he told me I could have it. It's called Get Married: What Women Can Do to Help It Happen.

I was appalled. I still haven't quite recovered. And I am not alone in feeling so. Every girl who has seen this book lying on our desk at home has been like "What in the world is THAT book?". Now that I am halfway through the book, I see that this was the author's intention. Shock us into curiosity. She is not stupid.

At this point, I am withholding my final judgment on its contents, but I am quite provoked in my thoughts about marriage. I am seeing how I have viewed marriage incorrectly, and in my encouragement to my single girlfriends, I have held up a somewhat distorted or incomplete view of marriage. If nothing else, this book is causing me to take a step back and think about what I say to my single friends, how I talk about my marriage and how I talk about their singleness!

In the garden, Adam was in perfect harmony in his relationship with the Creator, yet God said it was not good for him to be alone. Wow. That means statements like "Marriage won't fulfill your loneliness, only God can do that" are sort of stupid. No kidding. No relationship is as fulfilling as your relationship with God -- but does that mean we chuck them?? Obviously not! We don't need friends, parents, siblings, churches, pastors because we have God? NO! God gives those good relationships to us. And he gives spouses to us, too.

I know this is not for everybody. I do believe I have met people who truly have been called to be single. But that can be a sort of cop-out for people who don't want to admit they want to get married, in case they fail (ooooh, I'm treading on rocky ground here, I know!). I know this because I was one of those people! I pretty much put up a wall and said "I'll be single, I don't want to be married" when what I wanted was a guy who liked ME and wasn't scared of ME.

I'll be back with a conclusion of the matter after I polish this book off. In the mean time, I want to really open my mind to biblical thinking on marriage. I am so thankful for my marriage! In a world where jokes about sex, divorce, stupid husbands, etc., abound, I want to say, in all sincerity, that my husband has been the largest gift of grace to me after my salvation. God gave me someone who wasn't intimidated by my strong personality, but didn't want to stamp it out, either. Josh has been my spiritual guidance in many areas, and my teammate in many others. I am so glad God matched me with him!

Here's a little Shakespeare to conclude with:

"God, the best maker of all marriages,
combine your hearts in one".
~Henry V