This isn’t part of Cinderella’s happily ever after…
…or in any other fairy tale I’ve read. The prince and princess who overcome every obstacle, finally swept together in rapturous “love”, then wham. Every force available in the kingdom seems to shove them apart.
The prince works a stressful fifty-plus hour work week, travels, leaves before the sun goes up, comes home right in time to tuck the little ones in bed, nods off then speeds off again. His once stately shoulders sag under the burden of his workplace and striving to be a husband and father.
Once surrounded in glass slippers, the princess’ toes are now worn and calloused from her full time responsibilities. As soon as her feet hit the cold floor she is overseeing school and schoolwork, running to doctor appointments, managing medications, buying and preparing food, digging through mounds of laundry, all at the speed of light. Daily maintenance and upkeep also fall into her once smooth hands, and the demands of the household press down like a vise.
Was their love just a fairy tale?
In the book, “What Did You Expect??”, Paul Tripp helps answer our question. “…real love doesn’t live only in these grand, affectionate moments.
No, real love lives at street level. It lives when no violin is playing or bird is singing. It lives when life is busy, boring, or hard.
Real love doesn’t demand that life is easy or exciting. Real love loves as much in the dark of the night as it does in the warmth of the sun. Real love loves when love isn’t much fun and isn’t very fulfilling. Real love doesn’t quit when things are hard and doesn’t check out in the face of disappointment.
So, there is no such thing as real love that does not require real, willing, and daily sacrifices. There is no way to escape it-real love is costly. Real love calls each of us to be willing to suffer.”*
Is your marriage surrounded with fairy tale expectations that daily disappoint you? Or do you know that real life is more like a jungle than a kingdom?
Start today by really loving your spouse despite your surroundings. Get rid of the fairy tale expectations that will only lead to disappointment. Surround yourself with the truth of God’s word and pray for the strength to really love your spouse while navigating through the jungle.
If you are no longer married to your child’s father, it is very important to be respectful of him in front of your children. Despite the hardships, what three positive things can you mention to your children about their dad?
What are three things that you love about your spouse? Find a creative way to express them to him today.
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Galatians 6:9
By Tara Dovenbarger Come visit me on facebook!
*A MUST read!!! Tripp, Paul David. What Did You Expect?: Redeeming the Realities of Marriage. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2010. 198-99. Print.
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