Broken Together

I have always loved a good fairy tale. I often drifted off to dreamland as a little girl with stories of princes and princesses dancing around in my head. Maybe that’s why when I stumbled upon the tv show “Once Upon a Time” the other day I can’t stop watching it! There is just something about the timeless story of a brave knight in shining armor rescuing the beautiful princess that never fails to warm my heart.

While many people in today’s world scoff at fairy tales, I’ve always thought that the story of a prince saving a princess is such a neat parallel to the Christian faith. While there is some truth behind the idea that fairy tales can cause damage to young girls who take the idea of a handsome, flawless man riding in to rescue them to heart, I still think these stories are worth reading and watching. It is utterly unrealistic to believe that any person can save us. No one but Jesus can do that, and when reading and watching fairy tales I look at them through a lens of faith, praising God that he sent a perfect savior to rescue me from my bondage of sin.

Even though stories of princes and princesses have always enthralled me, my practicality kept me from looking for perfection in a dating relationship as a teenager. Ben and I both brought plenty of brokenness into our relationship, and I am happy that both of us were smart enough to know that looking to the other to fix our brokenness wasn’t a good idea. (Thank you, parents, for raising us right!) I scroll through Facebook and get so discouraged by the many, many posts I see about how relationships aren’t worth it and that it is better to either stay single or simply enjoy as many casual flings as you can. After all, if the person I’m in a relationship with can’t fulfill all my needs, make me happy all the time, and fix my every problem, it’s not worth it, right?

So wrong!

I’m walking through a big trial right now. I have never felt more broken than I did on Friday. When talking about it with Ben, though, he never once criticized me or tried to ask me why in the world this happened. He didn’t try and fix what I had broken. He was just there. He listened. He offered good, Biblical advice. He held me and assured me that yes, this trial is difficult and it’s something we’d rather not deal with, but God is still faithful and will always provide for us.

He has never once tried to fix any part of me, and for that I am so grateful. Our relationship works so beautifully only because we’ve both realized that God alone can rescue us. We are broken people, and trying to fix each other will only lead to failure. As Ben has walked beside me through this most recent trial I am so thankful that he has looked to God for guidance and not tried to fix me.

Rest assured that baby is completely fine and everyone is healthy! It will take me a while to heal from what has happened and Ben and I would both appreciate your prayers as we prepare for baby’s coming in the next few weeks. In February I will have to leave my new little one and return to school to complete my internship, and I will begin searching for a full-time job as well—it’s going to be a stressful spring for me! While I know in my heart that God has my future already mapped out, it is always difficult to trust completely when I am in the dark.

Praising God that he gave me Ben, and that we can be broken together.