What Does It Look Like? - Marriage Partnership

What Does It Look Like? - Marriage Partnership

MY FRIENDS often ask me where my inspiration for my series comes from. Most of the time, I’m either running or biking and a thought comes to me. But often someone will say something or ask me a question that makes me catch my breath. The title of this series, “What Does It Look Like?” came from a brief encounter with a total stranger.

A woman in her early forties took the seat next to mine for a flight from Dallas to Orange County, California. She was on her mobile phone as she walked up the aisle, and she stayed on it until we took off. Once in the air, as I was digging into my work, she pointed to my left hand and, without introduction, said, “I like your ring. I used to have one of those.” I glanced at her naked left hand and knew that, for whatever reason, she needed to talk. To me.

I asked her about her lost love, and she shared the sad tale. As she concluded, she asked about my marriage. “How is it going?” When I told her I was married to my best friend and that I was still on my honeymoon after eighteen years, she said, “I don’t know what that looks like.”

My seatmate went on to tell me that her parents were married, miserably, for over forty years. Distant bitterness, manipulation, and verbal abuse seemed to be the primary themes of her parents’ marriage. She had never seen a healthy relationship.

As I took in her story and looked into her sad eyes, my heart wept for this perfect stranger . . . and for all of us. So many of us muddle through our lives without the knowledge and example of what a marriage can be and should be: a fabulous union.

Now may the God of peace—who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great Shepherd of the sheep, and ratified an eternal covenant with his blood—may he equip you with all you need for doing his will. (Hebrews 13:20-21)

Did you have good role models? More importantly for your children and grandchildren, are you and your spouse good role models?