Two Tired Souls, One Purpose

I know marriage tires you out in a way nobody warns you about before the "I do" at the altar. Two kinds of tired trying to understand each other at the end of the day, two exhaustions sharing the same bed, the same bank account, the same children to raise, and sometimes there's not even enough breath left for a gentle conversation after a whole hard day.

I never asked for a perfect marriage, free of friction, free of tiredness, like the pretty photos everyone posts. I asked you to comfort one another, to seek to be of one mind even when you're exhausted, to choose living in peace over being right in your last argument. It's possible to do this even worn out — because I, the God of love and peace, will be with you in this daily effort.

Today, before you demand from the other what they couldn't give, ask for strength to be gentle first, even while tired. Tiredness passes with a good night's sleep. But the way you cared for one another in the middle of that tiredness stays marked between you forever.