I just finished a marriage article for Focus on the Family. I struggled writing this article thinking if I don’t have the perfect marriage, how on earth can I teach someone else how to succeed? The last thing I want to do is be a hypocrite. I don’t want to tell others to do something I’m not doing myself.
God is teaching me something. My marriage is not perfect, but I have learned something in fifteen years. This is what I sense God is saying:
- Write something you need to learn yourself.
- Write from your weaknesses, not your strengths.
- Write to remember what matters most.
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Write to encourage one person.
So as I wait to find out if I need to make revisions, I am thankful. Thankful for another opportunity to share my heart. Thankful for the writing gift God has given me(Writing is the last thing I would’ve thought to do. I struggled with comprehension as a child/teen. As sometimes still do.) Thankful for the way God is opening new doors for me. Thankful for my husband who accepts me as I am(a slow learner in marriage).
Tiffany, it’s so amazing that you would write about this. I know exactly what you mean. Fifteen months ago my husband and I were separated and on the brink of divorce. But God swooped in with His miracles, and through lots of intensive effort, we put it back together. Immediately, not one but TWO freelance jobs came to me, both of them books about MARRIAGE. I kept praying about it, asking God, Me? Really? You want ME to do this? And it became clear that His answer was pretty much: Shut up and get to work.
I learned SO much through writing the one book, and structuring a book proposal for the other. I even felt that my struggles lent a degree of authenticity (make that gritty reality) that someone else, who hadn’t been through major struggles, wouldn’t have been able to incorporate. I ended up thinking, I guess God knows what He’s doing after all!
BTW… thanks for your comment on my blog about “real life.” I totally agree about the sadness in nobody calling on the phone anymore. So often, I just need someone to talk to. And I stand there with the phone in my hand feeling awkward, feeling like I have no one to call, and then I put the phone down again and feel lonely.
Hey girl – Did you know that we both have been married for 15 years and that we both have 13 year old sons – how cool is that??!!
I am so glad that God is showing you those things! Cuz NO ONE’S MARRIAGE is PERFECT – but I am sure that you have learned many many great things to share. And I liked the idea of writing out of weakness and not strength – cuz that is such a God thing.
Hope they love your article – can’t wait to read it.