Healing Power

-
Dear Younger Self, 
I'm happy to report that ALL the problems you encounter in this mortal existence have a real, true eternal purpose.  Your's and your husband's sacrifices and growth need your faith! There are things you will experience that you cannot understand or work through immediately, and maybe even during your lifetime. But your trust in God and his ability to heal your marriage and your individual struggles can carry you through the roughest times. I know that professional counseling and learning how to be a better communicator are important, but there will be times when those things don't bring the peace you are hoping for.
It is only in  humble faith in  the atonement of Jesus Christ that you will be able to feel the healing power that your marriage will always need. All else will fall short. All else will bring you to the edge of your emotional threshold and despair will try to suffocate you. Simply believe. Believe that your Savior has accounted for your suffering. He has born your grief because he knew that if you chose the way of the gospel,  you'd have grief. You'd experience sacrifice and suffering, just trying to live as He asks. He is keenly aware and prepared for you to hand it all over to Him. Don't wait any longer. 
When Jesus was with His disciples on earth, He didn't camp out under shady trees or near fresh water to lounge, teaching a gospel of comfort. He had them walking...for miles. In heat. In the dessert, with little or no food and water. He didn't HAVE to do that. What did that accomplish?
I think it separated those willing to do, from those willing to say they do. Many people left Jesus, they grew tired and untrusting. They hadn't the faith to go on, to see where the journey of following Jesus would lead them. He knew that the truly faithful would endure it. I try to imagine that those who continued on the path with Jesus experienced amazing happiness, despite the harsh conditions, maybe even because of them! I bet they laughed, cried, bonded, and felt such a sense of peace, that they would have agreed to walk for the rest of their lives just to keep feeling it. 
I think marriage is like that. We have to have the faith to hope that there is something in it for both of us that makes the rough road worth the work when it feels too hard. The  marriage covenant path can  sometimes feel emotionally dry, or draining, unlike what we'd expected going into it. But if we keep our faith in Christ, we can see that He is in the lead, and we are following him. There is great comfort in knowing that we are on the path of the Savior, because you have a marriage sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise. Never lose sight of that. He is right there. Do all in your power as a couple to keep pace with Him. He has prepared solace, balm for you, so that you can not only endure it, but have immeasurable joy along the way. 
Love, 
Your Future Self

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Healthy Boundaries with Children

-
Image
  I have often found myself drawn to videos on social media of men and women playfully ranting about  some aspect of the difficulties of parenting. Honestly, who doesn’t love a witty, messy bun wearing,  exhausted mom, telling us “How it is”? This fresh and funny perspective  is relatable, and the sentiment  can be quite literally relieving because of  how phenomenally complex and challenging the realities of  raising children are. I mean, if we MUST go  through the daily rigors of parent life, we might as well  find  the humor in it, right? Although we pay homage to this type of parental comic relief with our likes and subscribes, we may be left feeling like the short clips of validation only carry us so far in terms of how we actually handle our own, very private difficult parenting situations. One element of frustration in child rearing that stands out to me is setting and keeping healthy boundaries. Boundaries with children are sup...
Read more

sex in marriage

-
Dear Younger Self,  I've been contemplating the sexual intimacy journey in my marriage and have come to learn that I'm definitely not the only one to struggle with feelings of purity and carnal desires. How do you reconcile it? What separates the two in marriage? Selflessness. When we are in a sexual relationship for the physical only, we are only taking and giving nothing in return.  I read a comment recently that beautifully describes the key, I think, to turning the sexual marriage experience into a sacred and pure one. The author said, "We tend to do for others what would make us happy if someone would do the same for us. And afterward we wonder why the other person isn’t happy. One great key to success in marriage is to find out what would make our spouse happy and then to find joy in providing that happiness."(Barlow, 1986) This is a wonderful description of how we can see the differences in our spouse more positively and having more to do with them, and ...
Read more

Married to My Friend

-
Dear Younger Self,  Your best friend needs you. You look up and sigh a huge, defeated sigh, but your shoulders feel heavier. You are feeling guilty because you let your mind wonder how you can give so much of yourself to this person even if he’s currently in a place where he cannot give back. “He won’t give back, even when he can”, you think to yourself. Guilt. Frustration. Stresssss…. I must stop you here and ask, Who is Dan to you? Is he, as a person, a friend to you? Do his worries cross your mind? Do you know what is currently happening in his day to day that causes him stress? Do you look for something under or around his unkind or snide comments that could be fueling his frustrations? Might they have absolutely nothing to do with you?  Do you think of him throughout the day in positive ways, or are you focusing on the one hurtful exchange from two days ago and replaying it over and over in your mind? You are giving power to your thoughts either way, so make sure t...
Read more