Love Yourself...

In my first post, I mentioned a Facebook share that set me off to start a blog. I'd love to share that very list here, but I'm apparently going have to type each item - one by one. I'll work on that for a future post. If you are hankering for a great list to look at in the meantime, just do a google search; there are all sorts of happy-marriage-lists out there.

One thing not on the list is doing a daily Bible reading that specifically seeks to understand the role of marriage in our lives. I have read through the Bible several times in my life, but I haven't done a devoted reading for a long time and now that I have a young one running around, it's especially hard to find time. I found an app that has a 3 year reading plan option, so if you divide up the entire a Bible to read over the course of three years, you'll only read about a chapter a day. I can do that! I just started the plan yesterday, so I don't have much feedback on how it's going yet, but I still invite you to join me! Today's reading is Genesis 2 - a very fitting reading to share on a blog about marriage since the closing verses address why we marry!

God made Eve by physically taking part of Adam to use as a starter (any bakers out there?), so Eve was literally and physically part of Adam. For the rest of us, we are hopefully not physically part of our spouse but we are supposed to be that joined. Our love for our spouse should be at least as good as the love we have for ourselves (and read 1st Corinthians 13 to find out what love really is).

As I wrote this, a little lightbulb went off in my head - I don't really love myself very much. I'm not completely filled with self loathing, but I did struggle with severe depression earlier in life. The negative self-talk frequently bubbles up and I have to fight hard to keep it in check.

Yesterday, another friend on Facebook shared a video about the new Dove campaign. Dove set up a few women with an FBI forensic artist to do a blind sketch of them; the women sat behind a curtain and described themselves to the artist. The same women also spent the day with another person, who wasn't told why they were hanging out. Then Dove had the companions work with the FBI artist to do a sketch over the same women. The results are shocking. The companions' descriptions generated sketches very close to reality. The description from the woman being sketched generated some pretty sad - almost grotesque - portraits. Morale of the story: we women don't love ourselves enough.


And if you don't love yourself enough - how are you treating the other half of you?

For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh. (Genesis 2:24 NASB)