Unshakable Faith
Day 24: Leaving and Cleaving
1. Are you "the man of his own home" or did you "establish her own household"?
When my husband and I got married, it was at the young ages of 18 and 19, so it was difficult for our parents to let go and know that we would be okay...But I am proud to say that my husband learned how to be "the man of his own home" and I learned how to "establish my own house". I think it helped us to live a ways away from both sets of parents, it forced us to depend on each other, and not on them.
2. Are you guilty of interfering in your married children's lives?
At this point in life it is hard to imaging having my girls fully grown and married...I find the idea of trusting someone else to care fully for them hard...but I pray that by the time that stage of life arrives, God will help me to let go. I find myself thinking about those two boys who will one day win the affections of my daughters, and I pray for God's guidance, and protection over them, for God's will to be done in their lives, so that when that time comes, I'll know that God has been working in their lives, just as He has been working in my girls' lives. I hope that will make it is easier to let go, when I know it is all orchestrated by God, and His loving hands are working in all of their hearts and lives.
3. Are you having trouble honoring your parents yet not allowing them to interfere in your marriage?
When JC and I were first married, we immediately moved about 6 hours away from my family and about 5 hours from his. This helped us to break the ties, but we still had issues with parents wanting to know everything about our finances, or wanting to give advise when we didn't want or need it. I understand now looking back, I see kids who are 18 and 19 and I think, "Wow, we were married at that age?!?" So, I know why it was tough for our parents to let go. But sometimes the interference made it difficult, we had to sometimes just not answer a question or tell them that it wasn't their business. It always made us feel bad, but we knew that we had to do it on our own and that there was just somethings we weren't going to share with other people. Over time our parents grew to know and understand that we were adults and that we weren't going to share everything with them, and we also grew to realize that there are times when it is okay to go to our parents for help. I think we all grew in the process, and we have a good relationship with both sets of parents. Which is a huge blessing!
