Whether you realize it or not, ready or not, marriages are in a battle and how we view this reality will determine how we fight for our relationships.
Here’s a snapshot of my evening to give you a picture of life in my house as a wife and mother …
7:00 p.m. and I just walked away from working on a science project with my 13-year-old while my seven-year-old bounced off the walls in between telling jokes (rather loudly) to my parents who came over with my grandfather for dinner who all live next door. My 11-year-old who just returned from a homeschool science excursion walked in “starving” which means the kitchen counter I just cleaned up is now filled with opened, now empty, and dirty plastic containers. This scene will repeat when my 15-year-old basketball player comes home from a game I couldn’t make (mom guilt kicking in) because keeping up with the younger kids is a never-ending juggling act.
Even now, I’m typing this in my closet (a place I hide with hot tea and dark chocolate on the regular) as my youngest just found me, invited herself in, climbed up on my shoe shelf to get as close as humanly possibly to my ear to tell me something ever so urgent. Then the shelf came crashing down and she gashed her sweet, little leg on the way to the floor. (Hit “save” on the laptop and break out the band-aids.)
Just as I was about to start writing again, now my 11-year-old just walked in with nothing on (literally) except a dog tag that says, “Jake the Snake” on it to show me a magic trick. A naked magician. Who knew? And if that wasn’t proof of him being my husband’s child, I don’t know what is! Ha!
So now that I’ve shared a few moments of my typical day-to-day life, you can imagine that things are slightly crazy around my house. But like my dad always says, “Anything worth having is worth fighting for.” Dad is right. Marriage is a battle. Parenting is a battle. Relationships are a battle. Life is a battle. The good news is that there is a way to fight that ends in victory. And victory is what we were designed for! Our marriages, our kids, our relationships, and our ever-loving minds are worth us fighting for!
My goal is to help you in your battle—for your marriage and your kids. I’ve discovered that my best battle buddy is my husband, Jason, when we choose to fight alongside one another and not against each other. Fighting together draws us together. This is exactly why Satan wants to divide us. But we cannot let that happen, and neither can you. I promise I will write from my heart whatever God gives me, and hopefully this sharing will help both of us. The Lord knows I need it as much as anyone!
So, Let’s Do This!