New Lessons

On a bus headed to Pennsylvania, my good friend Micah and I talked about life and how God has walked with us on our journey to where we are today. It was a very encouraging conversation and in the midst of it we talked about books we've benefited from reading. I can't wait to read one she recommended. 

 Sadly I didn't get a photo of us on this trip, but here we are with Elmo in NY at Christmastime.

With our conversation fresh on my mind the next day, I perused my bookcase to see if there were any other titles that have been favorites on the subject of marriage. Boundaries in Marriage is one I mentioned to her, so I slid it off the shelf to thumb through it again. As I looked at it, I realized I hadn't finished it. 

Even though I haven't completed Leaving the Light On, I decided I'd go back and forth reading these two books until both have been read. I'm so glad I've taken some time to read more in the Boundaries book. 
 
Right now I'm reading a section that talks about 6 things to keep as priorities in our marriages. So far I've only read the chapters on 1. Loving God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and 2. Loving our neighbor as ourselves. I'm eager to read the next chapters.

An indirect benefit of reading the boundaries book was a new realization. Matt and I have talked about having a family, but we haven't talked about what we expect that to look like. A major part of premarital counseling is helping bridge the gap between what she thinks married life will look like and what he thinks it will look like. Expectations that are unmet cause the greatest number of problems in any relationship. 

Bringing a child into our home and our relationship will change the dynamic; I guess that's what's made me hesitant recently. I'm not really sure what to expect and I'm not sure if I'm adequately prepared. 

I found it quite timely to read a blog post today that a friend linked on Facebook (Dream of Motherhood). This mom talked about how faulty her expectations were about parenthood and how she thinks it's as important to have preparental counseling as it is to have premarital counseling. 

How affirming this was to me since I had just asked Matt if over dinner on our next date we could talk about our personal pictures of what we expect our family life to look like with children. My guess is we will surprise one another with some of our thoughts, but at least we'll find out now! 

Praise the Lord for the way He leads and equips us for all He has planned.