February 15, 2009

A Wife's Interpretation on Marriage

My wife was recently asked to a coffee date with one of her bible study friends at church. The friend is engaged, fixin' to get married, and -- scared to death. So, she asked my wife to reveal life's secrets to her, in an attempt to better wrap her head around marriage.

As the incredibly thorough person my wife is (I'm so blessed), she typed up a little page on what life is like after unbridled freedom and one too many trips out with your friends (okay, that might be my little addition).

Without further ado, my wife's comments:


Wedding Planning:

The wedding planning is FULL of decisions, and planning, planning, planning. The moment the ceremony is over, STOP. Don’t plan, Don’t worry, Don’t bring up questions… the reception and honeymoon should be relaxing, worry-free, and spontaneous. If you can let yourself go then you and your Husband will have a Great Time.

Identity Crisis:

Becoming a wife is not like graduating high school and suddenly you’re college student. It takes time, work, and growth; much like our relationship with God. We are God’s child instantaneously, just how we become wife instantaneously at the wedding, but it takes a lifetime to learn both.

Honeymoon:

They’re not like the movies, but are special, incredibly intimate, and unique to the two of you. You’ll wind up thankful that they are not like the movies.

The Art of Becoming One:

The Art of Becoming One does not happen the moment you kiss, but happens over time.

Arguing:

The first six months will be as romantic as all get out as well as a trial. It will stretch the two of you while you learn to argue, learn to live together, learn how to be married. This is the part of becoming one.

Communication:

You think you know him, but just wait. You will think that you are saying “1+1=2” and he is going to argue with you that the answer is not 16, and why would you even say that, and then tell you “2-1=1.” It will both leave you tired from a word-whirlwind of misunderstanding, and completely stumped about how it started in the first place. This isn’t arguing, this is just daily confusion. Over time, you’ll learn how to communicate effectively by learning each other’s communication techniques. More importantly, and the more difficult, is that you will also learn to change and to adapt to better understand each other.

Love:

Marriage is so that two people can spoil each other.

Quirks:

This is the funny part about marriage that will make you laugh every day. Truth: Things that you do are going to pester him. I have no idea why it matters to him that my purse is unorganized, but it does. Him using my towel when he gets out of the shower instead of his is going to pester me. Just laugh. :)

7 comments:

  1. Your wife is brilliant for sure. I wish someone had given me these nuggets of wisdom back in the day.

    Haha, my word verification is "splat". I'm sure that's somehow appropriate.

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  2. I loved the paragraph about communication. No one ever explained that to us when we married, but we've certainly seen it in action. One day, after I had run an errand and returned home, Hubby asked me to leave the car outside the garage because he wanted to clean it. The weather wasn't great, and I wondered why he would wash the car on a day like that; but I left it outside, as requested. Much later, I asked him if he had washed the car yet, and he answered with incredulity: "Why would I wash the car on a day like today?" After much "I said, you said," I realized that it was the GARAGE he had wanted to clean!

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  3. Josh -- A wise wife, who shows how wise you are to have married her!

    A great list.

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  4. Thanks everyone for your comments so far. I couldn't be where I am today without my wife. It makes me proud to see other people appreciate her words and wisdom like I do.

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  5. Thank you for sharing her advice - sounds like the two of you are doing it right!

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  6. Great post! I enjoyed reading it! ^_^

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  7. I've been a bit behind on my posting/commenting, but haven't seen any updates from you in a while. Are you still blogging??

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