5 years ago, my husband and I were in the car, driving home from church, chit chatting about this and that as we were talking through our premarriage counseling and I remember thinking we were missing something. There was something we were lacking. Not forgetting, but not knowing what it was enough to go looking for it.
Now, looking back, I can tell you what it was – it was the realness, the vulnerability of someone to walk through life with. It was another couple (or a girlfriend for me) with more experience saying “yes, this is messy and it’s beautiful and with Jesus, you’ll make it through this too.”
I think it takes an amazingly unique and special gift to just pick up and do life with someone. And I bet a lot of us are familiar with the dullness that comes in when we know we are missing out on that.
That’s why I’m so thankful for a book like Messy Beautiful Love. Darlene Schacht of Time-Warp Wife does an incredible joy of plunking you down, right at her kitchen table, handing you the warm beverage of your choice, and sharing and doing life with you. Not only did I feel like I was in her house, but I felt like I could see and feel her stories and the parts of life she was describing.
Messy Beautiful Love is about marriages – the realness, the depth, and the forgiveness that marriage experience every day. But more than that, it’s about knowing and working through what God has for us in our marriages, to experience Him in humbling ways.
My two favorite things about this book are :
One – At the end of each chapter there is a challenge. And the challenge is really a way to kind of reset our thoughts processes in our marriages. To think “what’s something good about my husband?” or to think “what are the blessings that I have experienced today?”. Changing our thought processes will have a lasting impact on our marriages.
Two – I love how she talks about her husband! So kind, respectful, and loving, Darlene says true things about her husband without a hint of irony or painting him as a caveman. This is how I want to talk about my husband to other people! And it’s so amazing to see her write this way.
This book is a delightful read. Darlene’s ability to tell stories and pull you into her world is remarkable. It’s also real – no daisies and buttercups and fake smiles, just honest t- goodness joy from working with the Spirit to do marriage and life in a way that is pleasing to Him.
I am thankful for women like Darlene who have braved the path ahead and been pioneers for women’s fellowship online. And I’m thankful that she would write a book and share more of herself with the world.
I encourage you to pick this book up and join us for a discussion in the month June with the ‘Read, Pray, Love’ book club. (And you can see the whole reading list here.)
mariajj2555 says
This really sounds like a good book. It is definitely one I want to read.