Marriage Blog

Today we celebrate 110 months of marriage. There are still moments when I look at Marialice and think, "I can't believe that this amazing woman is my wife." When I first met her, (me fresh out of college, new in a new town, with a project but full of uncertainty and wavering self confidence; her successfully professional, active in church ministry, seemingly very self assured) any connection seemed like such a long shot - an impossible dream. I have always been impressed by my wife's spiritual grounding, by her very present listening and obedience to the holy spirit. But at that moment - I felt such a gulf between the place where I found myself and what I percieved in her that I thought it surely could never be crossed. In addition - my project was taking me away, overseas, to Spain for two years. I had never been able to maintain correspondence or relationship at a distance. (Part of my heritage as a missionary kid) I just knew that I would return after two years in Spain and find her happily married to some other guy. So I wrote mournful poetry that year - frustrated that a friendship seemed destined to be only that. Growing accustomed to the idea that I would say goodby and sail into a isolated lonly sunset. But God had other plans, breaking down walls in me, challenging isolation within Marialice, and drawing us together over the two years I was in Spain. And then he gave her back to me. In true fairy tale fashion, the prize I thought far beyond me, the dream I felt would never come true, the woman of my dreams .... she became my wife.