Learning from Others: Part 2

This one may be my favorite thing I have learned so far: the role of community.

I love this one initially because it keeps me from saying and doing really dumb things :)

I was told during our engagement that community to support you and know all your dirt is important.  This does amazing things for avoiding feeling isolated, weird, and confused.  We don't have a really great grasp on this yet, but we are learning!

Part of how I have learned this lesson is through simply hanging out with married people who are ahead of me.  This is a story I have heard from at least three different women in different friend circles, "I really wished he would do (insert whatever), but he didn't, so I nagged and complained, then told all my friends about.  What I learned was it is better to pray about it.  He ends up growing into an even better version of himself than my nagging could have ever accomplished."

This is what I love about good friends and good community.  I am not very smart when I get frustrated and mad.  My go-to would be to nag or gossip about it.  Having these different wives tell me their experiences gave me a complete gift.  If I am frustrated and after bringing it up nothing happens, leave God to work it out.

Those women are saving me a lot of pain and emotional breakdowns!

This is just one example of how just being around people who are vulnerable and honest has helped our marriage so far, and I can't take any credit for it.

We are definitely still figuring out what this whole community thing means.  What does it look like to have friends who know what you as a couple are struggling with?  Even more importantly for us right now, who are those people?

This is an area I am highly passionate about and can't wait to learn more about.

So far I know community is vital for marriage and has helped tremendously.  Now, comes really figuring it out!


Other posts in this series:
Learning to Learn From Other People
Learning from Others: Part 1
Learning from Others: Part 3