Thru the tough times....

Ok, I'm going to risk sounding stupid or like a know it all.  Well I take that back, I don't think I'm a know it all.  Rather as someone who prefers to call a spade a spade & bring things out in to the open.

That said...I've been thinking recently how stressful, new, exciting, un-nerving, unfamiliar, trail blazing, etc, the first few years of a marriage are.  And all of that is wonderful, and a part of the bigger picture.  But something came to my attention recently (and was/is something I've felt in my own marriage) that just simply breaks my heart.  It seems like there is this incredible amount of pressure to have your newly formed marriage appear pristine, wonderful, and lovey-dovey at all times.  Talk about intense pressure!  Is the first year of marriage the easiest thing in the world? No!  Is it the start to one of the biggest adventures of your life? YES!  But golly it can feel isolating when there's an expectation (said/unsaid, intended/unintended) that the image you're supposed to give off is that all is peachy keen.
I was, and still am, thankful that I had(have) people around me that I can go to when things aren't all that rosy between Isaac & I.  That I can confide in when times are tough, when I'm having a hard time connecting or finding that middle ground.  Those people helped me to see past the immaturity & selfishness of myself to see the bigger picture.  Goodness that is needed.  The first year of marriage is so incredibly challenging - you're melding two very different lives and trying to find & create a new reality, a new normal.  And often, at least in my case, that can cause friction and/or misunderstandings.  
Personally I've felt in my experience that the Christian and my YL community that crazy pressure to give the impression that all is well, that you're the epic picture of perfection & that God has bound you so tightly together so quickly that nothing will ever near the line of challenging.  So not the case, most of the time!  God never intended for us to have an easy go of it.  Yes He intended us to have life...& life to the full, but with that full life comes with it challenges that will push us to our bounds.  We're intended to be together, to have a partner to battle thru the tough times.  And in my opinion it's this partner that will love, support, & challenge us to continue to grow as a human, as a Christian, and as a spouse.
"As iron sharpens iron, So one man sharpens another." Proverbs 27:17
I'm incredibly thankful for my husband, for the ways that he loves me & challenges me, for the ways he cares for me & allows me to care for him.  But I'm also incredibly thankful for the community around me that allows to go to them for advice & wisdom. 


I'm praying for a specific couple that are dear friends of ours.  Newly married, and experiencing those first tough times.  Praying they feel secure enough to reach out to those around them if they are in need. Would you pray as well?

How were your first couple years of marriage?  Did you feel like you had a place to go to when you just didn't know how to handle things, for encouragement?
<3