I was going to be the perfect wife. Seriously, I was going to rock this marriage thing. It made no sense to me when couples would fight, insult each other, or neglect each other. Sooner or later someone had to do this marriage thing right – and, surely, that was going to be me. I fancied myself a submissive woman. No need for me to study Ephesians 5... I had it down pat (or so I thought). When married life caught up with me and I discovered that I did not always care for my husband’s excellent leadership, I shared my surprise with my mother: “I thought I was a pretty submissive person.” … [Read more...]

Some of my earliest marriage memories are of conflicts that have since become funny stories. ~smile~ Even though I was the first to preach that marriage was no bed of roses, I am not sure I truly believed it until I was actually married. We did not even make it through our honeymoon without a few arguments (which is probably common). Then, when we started our life together we soon realized that those honeymoon fights were fun in comparison to real marriage brawls. ~smile~ During your first few newlywed fights you may wonder if the world is coming to an end. It’s not. ~smile~ If you and your … [Read more...]

Like most young ladies, I looked forward to getting married someday. The idea of being in love was exciting. Being married, in theory, sounded like proof of adulthood (though not necessarily proof of maturity); and married people did not have to sit in a youth group and listen to “True Love Waits” sermons. Marriage to this young, naïve girl equaled freedom. Some of my expectations were met after marriage. Society did seem to view me more as an adult. Being in love was (and is) nice, though not the conflict-free, lovey-dovey picnic I would have enjoyed. And no one felt the need to tell me to … [Read more...]