Podcast: https://bit.ly/4033OFh
Today’s Playlist pick is This Is Me, from The Greatest Showman.
A few relevant lyrics:
I’ve learned to be ashamed of all my scars
“Run away,” they sayI am brave, I am bruised
I’m not scared to be seen
I make no apologies, this is me
I want to rewrite that to “This is us”, as in you and your spouse.
The couple in the image I used for this post have obvious wounds. Metaphorically, they are wounds received from working out their marriage. Every marriage has challenging times. Ideally we face those together, but sometimes we face off with each other. Both kinds of battle result in wounds.
Most folks hide their marriage wounds. Some couples engage in a carefully crafted lie they both tell to hide the truth. This conspiracy hurts both the couple and others.
If you hide that you are in the midst of a marriage battle, you can’t receive support and prayers. Even if you can get through it without those things, it will be more difficult without them. And some marriages end because they fail to get the help they need before it’s too late to matter.
Hiding your struggles also hurts others because they don’t see the truth that it’s not just them. They hide behind their lies, thinking they have struggles others don’t have. That leads to isolation, fear, and discouragement.
I’m not suggesting you advertise every argument to the world. When you’re in the midst of a struggle, you need to be wise and only share it with trusted, mature individuals who can offer real help and/or powerful prayers. But don’t hide everything all the time. Be transparent with those close to you. And be quick to offer your past struggles as examples to give others comfort or wisdom.
We all struggle with our marriages at times. We need to be honest about that. Even more importantly, we need to share how we have made it through the struggles, and that often our marriage comes out the other side stronger and happier.
Say, as Lori and I do:
We are brave, we are bruised
We are not scared to be seen
We make no apologies, THIS IS US!
~ This is Paul, and it’s easier to Do Marriage Well with examples to follow.
Moonrise:
Image Credit: © Paul H Byerly created with ideogram.ai & Paul Byerly
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