Deconstruction Ephesians 5:22; Genesis 3:6-7; 16-21

It Shouldn’t Be This Hard Why shouldn’t marriage be hard and have its share of difficulties? Marriage is perhaps the hardest thing we do in the context of human relationships When we understand Scripture, we should know that marriage will take effort to work— effort for a lifetime

It Shouldn’t Be This Hard YOU MARRIED A SINNER—even if redeemed we are far from perfect in practice (Gen. 3:16) YOU MARRIED A PERSON WITH BAGGAGE YOU MARRIED SOMEONE OF THE OPPOSITE SEX—we are different

I Think I Married the Wrong Person There are some really wrong people to marry—like a psychopath In a real sense, in normal practice, WE NEVER MARRY THE RIGHT PERSON (S. Hauerwas) We must learn to LOVE AND CARE FOR THE STRANGER

I Think I Married the Wrong Person Remember Heisenberg! We must RECEIVE the person God has given us daily in faith—as they are We must persevere unless biblical grounds allow us to do otherwise—

Three Important Tips Stop comparing—your marriage is your marriage. While we can learn some things from examples, every situation is unique Commit to living within a biblical framework (follow the Word and trust) Persevere—better days can come!