My husband and I got divorced before we got married. Several months into our first engagement, he abruptly severed the relationship and refused to communicate—crushing any hope of reconciliation.
Two years passed. While typing a document at work, he had a seemingly random thought: Maybe I made a mistake. Not long after, he called me to ask if I would consider getting together to discuss what happened. Eight months later, he proposed a second time and I said yes again—to the consternation of many friends and family members.
As the wedding date drew near, the forecasts we received from these friends were soberingly consistent: “Be prepared. You guys are going to have a difficult first year of marriage.” They weren’t aiming to discourage us. They had witnessed our tumultuous premarital relationship and knew us both to be strong-willed, opinionated, and determined. Despite their well-grounded concerns, we did not cancel our nuptials. Nor did we forget their warnings.
The Calm Before the Storm
After we officially became husband and wife, each minor disturbance caused us to hold our breath and scan the horizon for the predicted storms. Fortunately, our friends were wrong about year one. Laughter, long walks, great sex, and deep conversations became the norm. It wasn’t until year ten that the tornado hit, but by that time our roots were deep enough to withstand the wind.
To read the remained of this excerpt from chapter one of Making Marriage Beautiful, please click this link.