Love and Marriage

Generally we don't make a huge deal about Valentine's Day at our house. Except I love any excuse to eat chocolate. This week my lovely and talented wife and I participated in a panel discussion about love and marriage at my daughter's school. It was part of their chapel program for grades 7-12. It was fun. It also gave me hope.

There were three other couples on the panel, we were the oldest. I resonated with much of what others shared. So while my circumstances may be different, I'm not alone in dealing with the joys and struggles that come with marriage. Two broken people coming together, through thick and thin, better and worse, plenty and want. It's hard. It's good. It's messy. It's joyful. It's painful. I'm so thankful for the woman I married and every experience along the way. I definitely "out kicked my coverage!"

A couple hundred kids heard great insights today in chapel. They heard about the grace and love of God, that is reflected in marriage. They heard about God's design for sex. They heard about His forgiveness for those who stray from that design. They were challenged to use their voices to ask questions and set boundaries. This struck me because when I was their age I didn't really get these messages clearly. So I'm hopeful that a few were impacted by our discussion.

This experience was a great reminder for me of the beauty of marriage and the power of the gospel. It has caused me to want to fight for a stronger relationship with my wife. I want to model what a healthy marriage looks like for my daughters.

Below are the lyrics to a song about relationships, especially marriage. You can watch/listen here. Let me encourage you to press into the hard things, celebrate the joys and struggles and know that there is grace for all of it.

If We're Honest

Truth is harder than a lie
The dark seems safer than the light
And everyone has a heart that loves to hide
I'm a mess and so are you
We've built walls nobody can get through
Yeah, it may be hard, but the best thing we could ever do, ever do

Bring your brokenness, and I'll bring mine
'Cause love can heal what hurt divides
And mercy's waiting on the other side
If we're honest
If we're honest

Don't pretend to be something that you're not
Living life afraid of getting caught
There is freedom found when we lay our secrets down at the cross, at the cross

So bring your brokenness, and I'll bring mine
'Cause love can heal what hurt divides
And mercy's waiting on the other side
If we're honest
If we're hones

It would change our lives
It would set us free
It's what we need to be

So bring your brokenness, and I'll bring mine
'Cause love can heal what hurt divides
And mercy's waiting on the other side
If we're honest
If we're honest
If we're honest

Songwriters: FRANCESCA BATTISTELLI, JEFF PARDO, MOLLY E. REED

© Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., CAPITOL CHRISTIAN MUSIC GROUP