What Am I Getting Myself Into?

When I used to make the two and a half hour trek from where I lived to where Luke lived, I used to listen to audiobooks to pass the time. I recently finished this gem and have been looking for a new one. I had the rare privilege of driving down to Three Rivers by myself yesterday and since I don't have a new audiobook yet, I decided to break out some cds from my high school days for the half hour journey. When this song (give it a listen!) came up, I had to repeat it (slightly surprised that I still remembered all the words!) :) Now, I know this song is talking about this guy's relationship towards God, but I couldn't help but think about what this meant for Luke and I.

The main line in this song is "do you know what you are getting yourself into?"

One thing I noticed throughout our engagement - when people find out you're engaged, suddenly EVERYONE has marriage advice for you (whether you asked for it or not!) I kid, because most of the advice people offered us was pretty solid. However, we also noticed that for some reason people enjoyed telling us how difficult the first year would be. How things will "change" after the honeymoon is over (or at least once you're out of what is commonly referred to as the "honeymoon phase"). How, shortly after the wedding, we'll start to see each other in a different light - a negative light.

One of my most cherished pieces of advice came from a woman I barely know at church one week. She said not to listen to those people.

Is marriage tough? Sometimes.
Does it take work to keep it together? Always.
Will your life be the same as it was when you were single? Never again.
But is it possible for the first year of your marriage to be the best year of your life rather than the worst? Yes. And it should be!
[This woman and her husband have been married more than fifteen years and are still "honeymooning"!]

Just because marriage is an adjustment does not mean your first year has to be as hard as some people say it will be. By continuing to keep God at the centre of your relationship I believe you can avoid much of the "first year heartbreak" and "post-honeymoon stress disorder".

But back to the song - "do you know what you are getting yourself into?"

We definitely knew what we were getting ourselves into - I got married to the chief of sinners!! [And HE married the chief-ess!]

I have to admit that as far as marriage goes, I'm pretty unexperienced. But how about relating to fellow sinners? I have definitely done that! :)

I have to remember that Luke is a sinner. He has to remember that I'm one too. Have we (in our short six weeks of covenant bliss) frustrated each other? Annoyed each other? Hurt each others feelings? Yes, yes, and yes! Because we're sinners and that's what we do! But we're sinners who love God and love each other and we know that the two of us together is better than the two of us apart. That is what marriage is all about.

How about the last line of the song? "I LOVE YOU and THAT'S what you are getting yourself into." Beautiful.