[College Network] 

by Sarah Stephens

When I was asked to write this CitySpeak I thought out loud, "What do I have to write about? What can I write about my life?" To which my husband replied: "Um, hi." Oh yeah! We got married this summer!

Talking to people about getting married, the question I was asked most often was "Are you nervous?" And the advice I was given was "Don't do it!" The case against marriage was strong and alive in the hurts and experiences of others. All of those concerns were heartfelt and showed a greater need: Christ.

The biggest misconception about marriage that I had was that it was going to be all about us being happy. I thought we were just going to sit around smiling and holding hands in the sunshine (ok, slight exaggeration). But the truth is marriage isn't about this lovey-gushy emotion at all. It's about God.

During our premarital counseling Dean explained the purpose of marriage as a living example of the Gospel. Christ died a gruesome death so that we may know Him. We are to live this out together daily and through this we are able to show others the love of Christ. It's one of the most intimate ways we can know someone, and it's messy. I have to die to myself everyday and put my husbands needs above my own. And by nature I am not good at it.

Without Christ at the center of our marriage we would screw everything up. It's only been a month and we're still new to this, but so far so good.

Ephesians 2:6 "For He raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ."