Marriage is challenging enough in the best of circumstances.
And when you walk the road-less-traveled the path to marital bliss can get even rockier. But maybe, just maybe, the risky journey of pursuing an outta-the-box marriage will bring you along paths far more beautiful than typical.
What if the trail brings you to vistas that most only dream of? What if you have to traverse depths of dark valleys, cross dry & barren deserts, climb arduous cliffs, clinging to one another for dear life...to finally summit heights that exceed your greatest hopes?
It's not for the faint at heart. Not for the lightly committed. But if you are willing to fight for each other and even fight with each other, keeping a tight grip on the Lord and one another...
then you've not seen the half of it yet. There is so much yet to come!
Am I typing to myself here? You bet I am.
I've been down in those dark, deep valleys. Felt like a pit, to tell you the truth. Kevin & I have crossed dry & barren deserts, where I shook my fist at God, petulantly crying out for water. We've barely hung onto the precipice of arduous cliffs...when I came close to dragging my husband right down the crumbling face, with my bitter blaming & accusing. But somehow, we kept a grip on our faith in Jesus Christ, and that commitment held us together.
We're still in the midst of the journey, but at this point we are walking on the path of a resurrected marriage.
Not restored - cause the people we used to be & the patterns we used to play out had to utterly die. By God's mercy, our dead marriage was resurrected, and so many hurtful ways have been put to death, replaced by new, healthy habits.
NOT perfect.
Not even close.
I still crank & crab & complain & point the finger. And Kevin still acts like a pompous-donkey sometimes. But it's better. And I'm truly way more in love with him than the day we married.
For more on the journey of our Free Agent Marriage:
Getting Off The Main Road
Time To Step Out
Markers
Getting Braver
The Daddy Dance
Man Bashing: It's Just Not Funny Anymore
The Core
The Little Things
On Your Birthday
And from Kevin:
http://kevinmiller.typepad.com/my_weblog/2009/11/my-spouse-is-sabotaging-my-efforts-to-pursue-selfemployment.html
http://kevinmiller.typepad.com/my_weblog/2009/11/together.html
http://kevinmiller.typepad.com/my_weblog/2009/11/maritalunity.html
http://kevinmiller.typepad.com/my_weblog/2010/08/nearly-wrecking-my-marriage.html