Marriage demonstrates that God has a sense of humor. He'd have to, right?! Two people becoming one. Spend 3 seconds in my home and you will see that my husband and I are very different people, and to say we are of one mind could be a bit in a comedy sketch by any comedian of our day. Yet, marriage isn't funny!
Marriage is a commitment not only between two people, but most importantly, God. Marriage is sacred, but the lack of respect paid to this sacred union in our country today, has made me heartsick. I hear a lot of complaining from the Christian community about their issues with homosexual marriage being legal, but the truth is we need to rewind that tape for a long time before we begin to discuss the problems we have in dishonoring God's Word. Divorce is also listed as a sin in the Bible, yet over 50% of marriages end in divorce, and there is no difference in that statistic within the church. So if we hold God's Word and commands to such high esteem that we are willing to crucify homosexuals for their choices, why aren't we tar and feathering everyone who has been through a divorce or willing to walk away from their marriage without any real work in making it better. Let me not get derailed, this article has nothing to do with homosexual marriage, it has to do with divorce, and let's face it, our disregard for the commandments of God which begins before we even get to the topic of marriage. Sex is also considered a sin outside of marriage, but we somehow pick what we will choose to abide by and what we will blatantly disregard, meanwhile, shaking our finger at the sinners around us while we place a "do not disturb" sign above our own disobedient decisions. We have problems "Godly people." I'm not speaking from a place of perfection, I am a woman who had sex in high school, got pregnant and had an abortion. I was wrong and I am married to a man who has been married two times before I came on the scene. We all make mistakes, but there is a difference between messing up and repenting and making mistakes and calling them good.
Lately, I have watched on as men have turned their marriage into a joke as they have cheated on their spouse and left their children in the dust to shack up with their mistress. I have read books where the lead just storms out with child in tow from the one they vowed to stand by "til death us do part" and asked us, the readers, to get excited in the next chapter when their former boyfriend comes back into the picture in hopes to be the new "til death us do part." Then I have watched one of my favorite tv couples demonstrate through a scripted dialogue just how easy it is to throw away something that is divine. If we don't look into this reality and see we have a problem, then we have issues much bigger than sexually related. We have a misunderstanding of who God truly is. We have devalued the authority of God and humanity as well. Don't get me wrong, I do see couples doing whatever it takes to make their marriage work and still ending in divorce, but if those were the only cases of divorce, divorce wouldn't happen in 50% of marriages. Marriage is not dating. It isn't the same and when I see people treat it similarly leaving marriages as often as people date and break up, it upsets me greatly, especially people claiming to be followers of Christ. Reality would say we are in fact, not followers of Christ, but followers of self, walking where our desires lead us.
Why am I so angry? As I stated in the beginning, my husband and I are two very different people, we have walked quite the challenging road over the 10 years we've been together, and 8 years we've been married. There have been moments when I wondered if we would still be married at this point. At each turn in the road we have continued to fight for this commitment we made before God. I feel like each person who walks away, like they found a better job, spit in my face and mock the work I have put into my marriage. Marriage is worth fighting for and when people decide to break up someone's marriage they aren't just messing with a man and his wife but with God himself. One day we will all see what a mistake that truly is. In the meantime, I will rant. Thanks for hearing me out. I know this might not be a popular post, feel free to comment accordingly. Its quite late, and I need to sleep. Good night.
I've been working with teenagers since I practically was one and at first I was the hip, cool leader close to their age and now I'm the quirky lady who is the same age as their parents. Where has time gone? I know it only speeds up from here and must be an even further gap as the years pass, because the woman at 80 no doubt feels the same way. Sure our body changes and our pace might slow down, but the spirit of us doesn't change. I connect with people of all ages. Its usually people who hold onto life with a child-like spirit, not to be confused with immature, that I most feel at home around. 
I'm excited for the journey ahead even though it will continue to get weird as the woman in the mirror begins to look more foreign to the girl inside. But who I am will not change, so when you look at me, or anyone else, don't see the age, see the person. That older woman down the street was your age at one time, and even though you may not see it, that is still who she is. 
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