Marriage Limitations

Recently, the circus surrounding the polygamist compound/ranch in west Texas has become big news. The issue of polygamy has been raised. Reportedly, girls as young as thirteen were forced to marry. People, rightly, are shocked by this charge.

This brings me to the issue of marriage, in general. I do not have much taste for the culture wars that many Christians revel in. However, I am annoyed by the charge of those who support the idea of homosexual marriage, that heterosexuals can marry anyone they want. That is simply not true.

We have numerous laws and mores in this country governing who can and cannot be married.

As is the case with polygamy, a person cannot be married to more than one person. I cannot decide that I want to marry another woman while still married to my current wife. (I do not know why anyone would want more than one wife. I have not figured the first one out yet.)

Again, as the Texas case shows, age is a prohibition in marriage. A couple of fourteen year olds cannot decide to get married. Some states offer marriage with parental consent.

There are limits on marriage to close relatives. Brothers and sisters cannot marry. In some state, close cousins cannot marry.

The thing is, if marriage is defined as anything other than one man and one woman, there is no end to what marriage can be defined as. Could I marry my motorcycle?

Opening Pandora's box can lead to things we really do not want.

Learning Something About Us

For the last fifteen months or so, my wife has been sick. No one knows why. She started losing weight rapidly. When that happens, the first thought is the "Big-C" (cancer). She was scanned, poked, and examined every which way, and the doctors found nothing. It has been an ordeal.

Thank God, she is feeling much better the last month or so. Her weight has stabilized and headed upwards.

Over that time, it has been a rough ride. There have been a lot of questions. I will not delve into all that here, but I have learned a lot over this time. I think my wife has too.

We have learned a great deal about ourselves and each other. We have been married for over fourteen years now. I was amazed that I still much to learn about her, and what makes her tick. She has learned about me. Not long ago, she remarked, "I can't believe it has taken me 14 years to figure this out." I completely concur.

Struggle often does that to us. It forces us to look inward, and upward. We are forced to look at who we are. In doing that we learn about who we are. We learn about others. We are also forced to look upward. Sometimes, there is only God to rely on. We are are weak and broken. Those around are weak and broken. Only God's strength can sustain us, and bring us through difficulty.