You like to travel; a cruise is your idea of heaven, or a Route 66 road trip has you pulling out maps, or an all-inclusive resort with a white-sand beach has you salivating for a fruit-flavored iced libation.
I’m sure you have some great stories from your travels…
As you might know, Robert and I are traveling full time. We’ve been on-the-road for five months with our F150 pickup truck and Open Range Light Fifth Wheel.
Twenty weeks. – 152 Days on the Road – Not all those days have been fun.
In fact, I’m really not liking the noisy spot we’re stuck “swimming” in right now! (But it’s just a part of the story -not the whole thing.)
We often hear that life is like a journey, and if you’re married, it supposes the fact that your married life is a journey. A journey is always about going from one spot to another.
Great travel is made up of all sorts of experiences – or stories.
Just think of the stories people tell from their travels;
- running out of gas on a lonely stretch of highway,
- the hurricane that blew through their Caribbean retreat,
- the tent that collapsed in the middle of the night,
- dropping the Go-Pro video camera on the bottom of the lake,
- the expected reservation not found on arrival,
- noisy neighbors, etc.
Sometimes we only hear the horror stories.
But in the greatest travel experiences – the ones we delight in – we also learn how those bumps, dips and divots became a part of the greater journey. A great story.
Great stories tell how those travelers made the most of the all the experiences; bad does not need to automatically add up to horror.
Sometimes bad can be added to the whole to make a great story.
5 Ways Marriage is Like Great Travel
Great travel is made up of the stellar, the good, and the bad. Like every story, conflict is what makes the event interesting.
Overcoming conflict makes the best stories. A great marriage story is the same.
1. Moments of activity and moments of relaxation.
Just like travel, the same is true in a marriage journey; you’re going to have busy and quiet years. The busy times will have a combination of good and bad, as will the quiet times.
It’s just a part of the journey. It’s going to be a great story.
2. A Companion.
Your companion on every journey is God. He doesn’t disappear in the valley or on the mountain top. Ideally, He is leading – and you’re following.
In your marriage journey, the best story happens when He is leading.
3. Know your outcome.
If you’re traveling, you have an idea of what the trip will be like. Shouldn’t it be the same for your marriage journey?
Sometimes we see couples getting married with more of a plan for their wedding day, then their marriage journey. And that’s OK if that was you. But it doesn’t need to remain that way – you can decide what a great marriage will look like, and take steps to move toward that outcome.
4. Inevitable scenic detours.
Instead of calling those times of uncertainty “getting lost”, we call them scenic detours.
Marriage doesn’t always follow the prescribed route. Sometimes we all go on scenic detours. You can’t plan everything- it’s all a part of the marriage journey, and makes the story interesting.
5. Make it work.
I’ve watched a few seasons of the television reality series, “Project Runway”. One of the hosts, Tim Gunn, responds to designers in the midst of the process with “Make it work.” It’s his encouragement.
In great travel, making it work by improvising is the challenge. You’re not always going to have exactly what you need to make it to the next stop. Sometimes you need to just find another route, another tool, another option, another idea…
It’s the same in marriage. You’re going to need to improvise.
Yes, marriage is like travel.
All those:
- moments of activity and relaxation
- being led by a great Leader
- knowing your outcome
- with some scenic detours along the way
- and improvisations, while making it work,
… will make a great story!
Marriage – the greatest travel story ever… Rejoice over the good stuff.
And don’t worry, if you’re in a yucky, muddy spot right now.
Take heart.
It’s not the end of the story.
shared with http://debbiekitterman.com/declaration-of-dependence-tune-in-thursday-21-guest-michele-morin/
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