Monday, June 3, 2013

Marriage: An Object Lesson

Well, the other day I had a "Eureka!" moment while doing laundry of all things.  I went into that creepy, crawly, overly-crammed room we call the laundry room and began switching the load from the washer to the dryer when I noticed another chore to take care of.  I can't be the only one with this chronic problem.  My washer is filthy.  It could majorly use some TLC on the inside and out.  Shockingly enough I noticed that what used to be the space between my washer and dryer is now pretty much nonexistent, due to them shimmying around multiple times a day, I assume.  To make matters worse, they are so close that they've started collecting quite a pile of dust between them, right where there used to be edges.  It's almost as if the edges don't exist any more, or perhaps that's more of a mental thing for me.  Naturally, I left the mess for another time.  (In all fairness, I did need to dash back out to the dining room to continue school.  )

Now that I've completely grossed you out as to the state of my laundering equiptment, let me get to the point.  Seeing those machines all cozy and unlovely reminded me of marriage, or perhaps what marriage should be.  There's no doubt that a washer and dryer have very distinct functions, I mean, one washes and the other dries the clothes, right? But their purpose and goal is so much the same that although what they do is different, you almost forget to think of them independently.

My day to day activities vary widely from my husband's, but they are just as important.  We are working toward the same goal of raising a godly family and helping to build up His church.  We are interconnected, he and I.  What he does would be without meaning without what I do.  I wouldn't have the ability financially to do what I do if he didn't do what he does to provide and shelter us.

I find through the years, we have gotten more alike in some ways, but what we are doesn't change so much in the essentials.  I mean, he'll listen to me discuss hair ribbons for the girls but he wouldn't be caught dead thinking about them during his lunch break at work.  There's also a vice versa ditto here with college football, I might add.

When we get married we begin life together.  Through the years working together, we grow closer (and sometimes a little less attractive), but we work on toward the same goals through ups and downs until one without the other is hardly even useful.  Our identities become wrapped up in each other, different as we are.

That's a good thing.  That's getting through the dirty work of life together.  That's real love...having a purpose...together.

1 comment: