Marriage Monday

"What counts in making a happy marriage is not so much how compatible you are, but how you deal with incompatibility."  ~Leo Tolstoy

Behold, our 9th grade yearbook pictures (my sister wouldn't let me out of the house until she had done my hair - good call, sis!).  This was the year we really began to become close friends, to run around in the same circles, to make music together in choir and orchestra.  If you were to look at our personalities and preferences on paper, you would immediately say we were incompatible.  But this was the point in our lives when we also began working toward dealing with those incompatibilities and filling in each other's gaps.  

Aaron's skills as a patient and intelligent tutor and problem solver propelled me through high school math and science and still help me grasp new concepts.  His endless supply of energy and wanting to "finish the task" balance my desire to make sure we are nurtured with good food and breaks for play in the midst of the crazy.  I need consistency and routine, he can go with the flow beautifully.  And sharing a stand in the cello section (when exactly is the RIGHT time to turn that page?!?) proved the perfect training ground for sharing life in marriage.

"May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ."  Romans 15:5-6

When I look at our differences as things God gave us to strengthen the unity in our marriage, I am prompted to give thanks and to respond in awe and wonder to my Creator instead of being frustrated with my husband.  I wish I remembered to be grateful every time our differences are highlighted, but God continually gives me endurance and encouragement towards our marriage relationship having "one mind and one voice" to glorify Him.