I have been reflecting somewhat on the blessings of my marriage these past few days. It has definitely not been an easy path. We will be coming up on 23 years soon, but the first 10-15 years were pretty miserable - in fact, very painful and miserable. We both had our own struggles and addictive behaviors and were not very honest with each other. It was only by God's grace (sometimes working through others) that we made it through that time. And now we share a growing oneness that is irreplaceable. I don't think that I would have found this had I given up. And so even though I struggle with addictive behavior still, it is my marriage that gives me an accountability, strength, peace and purpose that I would not otherwise have in the same way, as I see it now. It is not a perfect thing, and never will be. In that way, it reflects the 12 step program saying of "Progress, not Perfection". And my path is not everyones, I know. But for me, I am thankful that I have this relationship in my life, and that by the grace of God it has been a vehicle for me to grow in ways that I never imagined before, and hopefully for my wife as well. I just wanted to share that in a public way to make it more real.
Tags: Reflective
