Mary, the Wife

I have been reflecting on marriage a lot lately. In part, these reflections are inspired by the recent and unexpected death of my 38-year-old brother-in-law.

In the last two months, I’ve seen my own marriage in a different light.

It’s not a bad thing for me. I have witnessed a lot of marital strife and a few divorces. Taking time for my growing and evolving understanding of marriage is a good thing.

Lately, when I think of my widowed sister-in-law, I see Mary at the foot of the Cross. Since her suffering is inspiring my introspection, it follows that I should look to Mary in her marriage.

Mary was, after all, a married woman, though too often we seem to forget that. Her marriage is so important that Joseph has a feast day just for his role as her husband (on March 19; read more about it at ChurchYear.net and Catholic Culture).

Mary was a woman with a devoted husband and father who predeceased her. She knows, so well, the pain of burying a young husband, the grief of holding a sobbing child, the difficulty of returning to a new and strange version of normal.

What does this mean to me? How can I learn from someone wracked with pain when I have it all: a happy life and a healthy husband? Should I feel guilty?

The lesson, for me, is one of being open, of saying Yes.

Yes, God, I am Yours. Yes, God, so is he. Yes, God, I know Your will is better than mine (even if I don’t understand it or see the good you can bring from it).

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In other news…

I mentioned my new “Mary in the Kitchen” segment on Friday (in #2), and now you can listen to it on Episode 64 of Catholic Foodie. Enjoy!

I had tons of fun on Saturday morning appearing on a Catholic Weekend that must have set some sort of record for longest-time-to-record-a-one-hour-show. Listen in (if you dare).

And, if you want to know what I thought of the FABULOUS book Rocking the Cradle Catholic, you can read my full review at CatholicMom.com.

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Frances

Sorry for your loss. We always wonder why, when we lost a loved one but only God knows. May God’s will prosper in our lives and not our own wills.
Vicki – aka Nama

Losing a loved is never easy – no matter whether it is expected or unexpected. Losing someone expectedly gives you time to say your goodbyes, your I love yous. When you lose someone unexpectedly it makes you ponder: did I say I love you enough, or did I even say it. Did I spend the time I should have with them or did I make excuses not to?

Make sure you take the time now to spend with the people that are in your life and tell them what they mean to you. It may be out of your comfort zone to say I love you, but when it’s all said and done, those 3 words mean more than anything. And the time you take to spend with the ones that are important is never wasted time. When they are gone, the only wasted time was the time you didn’t take to spend with them.