"Benedictine" Marriage

Heading out to The Brunchery for a breakfast date with Rebekah. I'll just have to blog about the Eggs Benedict (or whatever) later! I have my priorities, you know!

- DEREK

10:30 AM - Now that was a good breakfast! And, yes, we both had the Benedict. Oh yeah - calories and great coffee - that's what I'm talking about!

The meal was perfect, of course, because I shared it with great company - and with excellent conversation. We looked out of the big windows and watched a heavy morning rain come down. It was beautiful; life is beautiful; we are beautiful together!

Sometimes I wonder about what people in adjacent tables might make of our dialogue. We covered topics such as our own personal faith, what we're doing to connect other people to authentic spiritual experiences, where Rebekah is planning to go with her sermon this weekend, and the new book I'm currently imagining. Fact is, we talk easily about these deep issues because they are real in our lives, and we are faithful to the discipline of staying in touch with one another on every level.

It's what makes this a Great Marriage. Marriage is about honestly dealing with the reality of life that is - by definition - challenging and wonderful and difficult and amazing... It is struggle - sometimes - but it is struggle... together. Right now there is much less struggle and much more whoop-it-up joy; but it's the commitment that makes it good, and the faithfulness to the ideal that we are in this together, two flawed people constantly engaging the process.

I'm glad I work out of our home, so we can do things like wake up and say, "Let's go to The Brunchery for breakfast." But I'm most glad that we enjoy one another enough to still be excited at the prospect!

Thirty years this summer! I had no idea being married would be anything like this wonderful, this difficult, this great, this complex, this important... - DEREK