I have been spending quite a bit of time recently thinking about what it is actually like being married on a daily basis.
It has now been 10 months since my wife and I tied the knot. We have had a very exciting trip down this marital road! It seemed like now was a good time to reflect on how being married has effected my daily life.
There are wonderful emotions on your wedding day when you bring your bride home! There is a beauty in the newness of your combined life. You go from living as a single person to living in community again.
There was a major change in who I am as a person. I went from having the identity of a single person, to having the identity of a married person. There was a change in the nature of our being. But when it comes to how my daily routine plays out, it just flowed naturally.
There have been some other changes. With both of us working, I’ve modified my exercise routine so that I can exercise when she isn’t home or when she’s sleeping. We’ve both learned each others quirks. But again, everything has flowed naturally.
There isn’t a good way to “prepare” for marriage. There is nothing like it. There is nothing that can get you ready for living together in marital bliss. The only real, positive preparation you can make is to become less self-centered.
The daily life of marriage is quite ordinary. I think that there is a real danger there. You get into the groove and then any time you get special attention from someone else, you get excited again. That is how affairs start. You start to make the world about you again and then, by that choice, you must satisfy yourself. The problem is that you don’t recognize the blessing of the ordinary.
There is beauty in the ordinary. There are small acts of love sprinkled into the day. There is the sharing of your life and future with your spouse. There is the chance to live in harmony, together.
In order to be successful in your marriage, you must recognize and appreciate the ordinary. It is then that your marriage is no longer based on feelings or yourself, but on the love you share with your spouse.
