It's True, I'M ENGAGED! However, if you think this is going to be another one of those blogs where a princess writes about her fairy tale life, then posts fairy tale pictures of how perfect everything is. THINK AGAIN. Now don't get me wrong, I am absolutely a princess, no doubt in my mind about that. But, I'm pretty sick and tired of the lack of reality being freely given from people in relationships, people engaged, people getting married, new moms, etc... I'm seeing these beautiful pictures, these well thought out captions, and it makes me think, "Wow their life is so picturesque...I want my life to be more polished", or "Wow that's such a creative idea!...I want more fun in my life" and the list goes on. Now we know comparison is a friend of the devil, but that doesn't mean it doesn't happen. The problem is, the comparison is happening with FANTASIES! So we are comparing ourselves to events and ideas that aren't exactly as they appear, and when we see truly beautiful moments we disregard them and think, "Oh the picture is just making me think that was incredible--I bet the shot wasn't even candid". When it ACTUALLY was a beautiful moment AND candid. I would like to straddle the line between fantasy and reality here because I think both truly do exist in life; fairy tale moments that are unbelievable as well as lots of tears, fears, and "what the heck is happening right now"?!?! But frankly, I was shocked by what it was like to actually be in a serious relationship, to actually date the kind of man I've always dreamed of, to talk about marriage, to get engaged...It was not this simple "I'm just so happy all the time" thing. There was so much more than that. I was surprised once I opened my mouth to hear how many people say "Yeah, I know right? It is really hard. I felt that way too", and yet no one is talking about it! So this will be a blog, of my journey, the good, the bad, the ugly, and the unbelievable. I will do my best to try and report what this is actually like in hopes that others feel the freedom to know that they are not alone when they're struggling, that they're not alone if there's tension when they "should feel" happy, that they're not alone when nothing seems to be working, and they're not alone when things feel to good to be true and you almost feel guilty to share how happy you truly are! Two hopes: I hope couples will feel encouraged to work through the hard stuff, communicate, serve one another generously, and keep the relationship healthy and alive. My second hope is that singles will enjoy the season they're in AND feel prepared to what they are actually walking into (I was SO not prepared...) instead of fantasizing about relationships as if they are the ultimate goal in life! And of course I hope to share our love story with you. The parts that we had to grow in, the moments we had to learn a lesson, and the truly beautiful moments hat could be part of a fairy tale. If even one person is touched by the thought that real love can happen or touched that real love isn't just sugar and spice and everything nice... then I will keep writing... None of us are alone because God is always with us, but sometimes it's nice to know that other humans are in the thick of it with us too!
XOXO
The Honest Bride