Marriage Moments II - Michigan Edition: Marriage Moments, #2

By Patricia M. Robertson

From sunrise over Lake Huron to sunset over Lake Michigan, from the Sleeping Bear Dunes to the Detroit Institute of Art, biking on Falling Waters Trail or ice skating on a frozen lake, Michigan is a great place for couples to live, raise a family, and enjoy their sunset years.

Marriage Moments II features many of the beautiful sites of Michigan, as well as contributions from local Jackson, Michigan writers, Ken Wyatt and Brad Flory. Patricia Robertson has crafted another set of meditations for married couples to help them reflect on the challenges and wonders taht are part of every married life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Patricia M. Robertson
• Release date: Sep 11, 2019
• ISBN: 9781393371939

Patricia M. Robertson

Patricia M. Robertson is the author of fiction and non-fiction books as well as numerous articles all related to spirituality of the everyday. In her thirty-five years of ministry she has walked alongside many families amidst the crises that are part of life, helping them to regain their balance. She currently resides in Jackson, Michigan where she continues to unlock the extraordinary out of the ordinary..

Book preview

Marriage Moments II

Michigan Edition

More Reflections on Married Life

––––––––

Patricia M. Robertson

Ken Wyatt

Brad Flory

© 2015 Patricia M. Robertson

2525 Cobb Road

Jackson, MI  49203

All Rights Reserved

https://patriciamrobertson.com

Edited by Ken J. Wyatt

Introduction

This book is a collection of one hundred reflections on marriage. Included are reflections by Jackson, Michigan, writers as well as reflections on some of the many beautiful sights in Michigan.

The reflections can be read as a daily reminder of the importance of your marriage or sporadically over the course of months, picking those that seem relevant at the time. They can be read individually or by a couple, sharing thoughts on each one.

We hope they give you insights into your own marriage and bind you more closely as a couple in a culture that tends to pull people apart. Enjoy!

-1-

Sunrise Over the Lake

Honeymoon at Lake Huron. We walk along the shores, swim in the waves, watch the sunrise while sipping coffee.

Gulls swoop down looking for tidbits of food. Rays of pink seep through the clouds until the sun bursts through in a flash of glory. We skip back into each other’s arms.

Day has begun. Our life together has begun.

Patricia

Reflections:  Reflect back on the day you were married. What went wrong? What was right? How long has it been since that day? How many changes have you encountered? Did you go on a honeymoon? Share your memories with your spouse.

-2-

Providence and Marriage

As the years have passed, I have discovered in both of our family histories evidence pointing to providence. One online dictionary defines providence as God, especially when conceived as omnisciently directing the universe and the affairs of humankind with wise benevolence.

Yes, in retrospect I can see the benevolent guidance of a loving God in our lives and in our marriage. This is not to suggest that everyone will see a marriage in those terms, but in our case, our circumstances and our faith have given us an appreciation for how significant a player God has been in our marriage. Without His hand at work in both of our families, we were most unlikely ever to have met.

I could offer many proofs. Here is one: About 1910, two young people encountered each other at a Salvation Army street service in Indianapolis, Indiana. In the early 1920s, two other young people encountered each other in a Salvation Army street meeting in Fergus Falls, Minnesota. Two separate marriages resulted from those chance encounters.

From those marriages came children and grandchildren. I was born because of one of those encounters; GiGi was born because of the other. And to add a significant layer to those chance meetings, in 1964 I first laid eyes on GiGi. Where else?  In a Salvation Army meeting.  

Ken

Reflections:  How has God played a part in your marriage?

-3-

Habits

Plan carefully the marriage experts had told us. Be careful during those early years they advised. Whether you know it or not, you are building habits that will be hard to change later.

If only we had listened then, if only we had been more intentional about everything we did and said. Instead we were free spirits. We went with the flow, ate what we wanted, did what we wanted, said what we wanted and let the chips fall where they may. And now, after years of marriage, we are stuck in a rut of our own making.

We could be eating better, working out daily, communicating more, all by-products of good habits. Instead we are fat and sassy, but happy none-the-less.

Patricia

Reflections:  What habits have you formed in your years together? Are there any you want to change?

-4-

Only

Here’s one poor word to use in arguments: only.

Why didn’t you call when you knew you would be late?

But I’m only 45 minutes late.

Her measure of only and mine can be horses of very different colors. Now I try to avoid that word.

Brad

Reflections:  Are there words you avoid for the sake of your marriage?

-5-

Sleeping Bear Dunes

My husband regales the kids with the story of the Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes as we drive, much as my dad had told me. We climb the dunes, up and down, then I sit