Marriage is like “building-out” a flowerbed of life together.
The original lay of the land, and the plants which had previously filled up the “flowerbed” of singleness are “dug up” and “rearranged” … and together, a new “flowerbed of life” is created.
In mine and hubby’s “flowerbed build-out” from two years ago, we had to dig up lots of tree roots! And lots and lots of salal roots! We also had to dig out many half-rotten stumps.
In the process we came across a few large boulder-type rocks buried just underneath the ground. Here you can see one such boulder-type rock we encountered … directly where our future path needed to go. As you can see, the ground was nothing but roots! And this boulder/rock was an absolute beast to get out!
So also, when a couple is “building-out” their life together, they will likewise come across “boulder-type” issues buried underneath the surface. These issues are big! … and weighty! … and they wind up directly in the way of where the future relational “pathway” needs to go. All forward momentum and progress in the relationship halts, as the big weighty issue needs to be dealt with.
What to do with the hard times?? What to do with those big weighty issues??
For some couples, the big weighty issue becomes a rock upon which their relationship is crushed. They simply cannot overcome the issue. It is blocking all forward progress in their relationship. It is stopping the “build-out” of their life together. And they just can’t get it to budge.
The boulder/rock in the photo above took days for hubby and me to move. We dug and dug and dug … we pulled roots and pulled more roots from around it … and we dug some more! Even when we had dug deep enough that is seemed we should be able to move it … it simply would not budge! It was wedged tight down in the ground!
This is what those weighty issues in marriage are like!
It takes persistence! It takes effort! It takes sweat and digging! And about when you think you might have dug deep enough to address it … it still won’t budge.
Every marriage will have “boulder-size” issues like this. The question is: What will you do? Will you give up … will you let that “boulder-size” issue be the undoing of your marriage?? Or will you persist … will you keep at it, no matter what it takes … until you are finally able to unearth it and get it out??
Today’s background photo shows that exact same boulder/rock today. Hubby and I set it up as a cornerstone for the pathway we made through the new flowerbed. As you can see, the flowerbed looks much better today than it did when we started (per yesterday’s background photo). This boulder/rock is a testament to the fact that we didn’t give up … we worked at it until we got it out! We did that!
So also in marriage … don’t give up! Keep at it! … until you conquer that “boulder-size” issue.
Then set it up as a “rock of remembrance” … to remind you in the future how you overcame that hard time. Every time you see it you can be reminded that “we did that!” It didn’t stop us. We kept at it … and just look at the “flowerbed” of our life and marriage now!
