It has become a tradition for me to write a marriage manifesto every year on our anniversary. Two years ago, I wrote about the tendency for us to fight with each other when we should be fighting for each other. Last year, I brought forth this notion that marriage is under attack. Not just corporately, but individually as well. Today, on the eve of our eleventh anniversary, I stand among the wreckage of life with four kids: constant noise, scattered toys, […]
We have a camellia bush in our front yard that refuses to take root. Every season, it fails to bloom. At one point, we even hired a landscape company to replant it to see if that would restore it to life. Its sad, withered leaves only confirmed the reality that it was dying. Six years ago, our marriage was like that camellia bush—hanging on for dear life, refusing to bear fruit. When the doctors confirmed that we wouldn’t be able […]
It was an overcast April morning. I stood in the fellowship hall of our family’s church. My heart was racing as I peered through the stained-glass window into the sanctuary. The stained glass blurred my view, but it appeared to be a full house. I wasn’t sure why I was anxious, but I couldn’t mistake the butterflies in my stomach.. I had no doubt that Liz and I were supposed to be married, but with a sanctuary full of the […]
Somewhere along the way, my wife and I let someone else define what our marriage should look like. Those one-size-fits-all definitions created dramatic expectations that grew from a seed of hope into a weed of perfection that threatened to choke out the possibility of us ever bearing fruit. I was conditioned to believe that if every dish was cleaned, if every meal was cooked, if every bill was paid, then we would have a great marriage. On the other hand, my wife expected me to […]
We get busy in life. Matt reminds us of why we dedicate ourselves to something other than ourselves.
- Robert Wagnon, CEO, Republic State Mortgage
