Mariposa Kisses (aka Dianne's Blog)

I love my silver James Avery ring with a cross carved out of the middle of it. It is
particularly special to me because of the inscription on the inside, which states my
name, my husband's name, and ten years, celebrating our marriage commitment. After last
summer's idyllic and warm-weathered retreat to the Newport Marriott Villas, I noticed my
ring had taken some beatings. Principally, I noticed that its brief visits to the
chlorinated jacuzzi had taken their toll. My beloved ring became tarnished and unsightly.
Upon noticing its shocking blemishes, I decided to store it away in a special jewelry
box.

The months went by and though I intended to call the company to get a replacement or a
special cloth to try to soothe over its newly gained imperfections, I did not. Instead, I
wore other rings and kept in my mind that eventually I would make the call for its repair
or its replacement. Then, after months of its absence on my left middle finger, I decided
I would just wear it anyways, defects and all. It looked a little bit silly next to my
platinum wedding band and diamond. However, I firmly decided that I no longer wanted to
go without it on my hand and stayed the course in wearing the tarnished piece.

The most amazing thing resulted. From life's daily routine as a mom and a wife, my ring
perked up. Life's daily tasks took care of the blemishes on my tattered ring. It seems
that the routine of doing the dishes, washing the laundry, and daily interacting with my
husband and three children had polished the ring back to its shiny and glorious state. I
was astonished to look one day and realize the black tarnished material had not only
dissipated but that it had disappeared altogether.

Marriage is like my ring. Sometimes without even knowing it, we put our marriage in
danger. We distance ourselves or we go too many months without talking deeply or dating
with romance, and before we know it, our hearts are tarnished. We're surprised by the
change and we feel the heaviness of the black stain hanging over us. But, there is hope.
Marriages, just like my ring are made of good stuff. They too can make a come-back, but
you have to stick with your marriage. You can't give up even when it feels like a
replacement is the easiest solution.

I'm so glad I kept my old ring, in lieu of exchanging it for a better and shinier one. It
would have been easy to do because the company backs their products with a 100%
satisfaction guaranteed policy. But it was refreshing to me to see that as I have stuck
with my ring, I have also pressed on in my marriage over the past eleven years.
Sometimes, we have felt like giving up as our wills have collided and our rough edges
have battled. Likewise, our differences have evidenced themselves in our cacophonous
parenting styles.

The compass that has held us steady to the course has been our common faith in Jesus
Christ. This is why we chose the cross in the middle of our anniversary rings. In our own
strength, we are weak and frail. With our own might, we can't navigate the storms. But,
as the Apostle Paul victoriously proclaimed, "I can do ALL things through Christ who
strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13). You can too if you put Christ in the middle.

Labels: marriage, moms, struggles

# posted by Butterfly Kisses @ 8:32 AM