HIMPower Magazine August 2015 | Page 34

Love & Relationships Dear DiAnne Dear DiAnne, Dear Reader, One thing my husband and I always hear from married couples is we should surround ourselves with other Godly married couples, just to be sure we have a group of like-minded friends. We did that. Here’s the problem, I now find myself comparing our marriage to theirs, and frankly, they seem as if they have it all together, and we don’t. Are we missing something? —Reader We’ve all been there at some point in our lives. I think the name of the road we travel down is called Comparison Street. I understand. The thing is, you don’t get to hang out on that street, you have to eventually move to a street that reminds you that you, your marriage, your family dynamics and everything that comes with it is different from anyone else’s. Let’s call that street, Unique Street, and let’s live there for a minute. I remember bringing my second child home from the hospital at a whopping 5 pounds! He’d been in the NICU for over 2 months, because he was born at one pound and nine ounces. When it came to reaching physical milestones, my son was a little bit behind. Emotionally and mentally, he was way ahead of even his older brother’s progress, but he crawled late. He walked late. He didn’t even venture to run until he was well into kindergarten. He was very different from his older brother, who I’d swear came out of the womb in a track stance. After I had my third child, a little girl, I was finally convinced that while milestones are helpful for parents tracking the progress of their children, one couldn’t necessarily hold to those milestones as law. Why? Well, because every child is unique. It’s the same with marriage. You see, at the start of a marriage, two whole people come together to make 34  HimPower August 2015