A few days ago, one of my best friends in the world asked his amazing girlfriend to become his wife. Obviously, this is a huge, exciting, wonderful thing, but I have to admit that I’m almost embarrassed by how thrilled and emotional I am about it. I feel like I have the same naive, idealistic ideas about marriage that I did when Kevin asked me to marry him almost 9 years ago. There is not a speck of, “I hope they know what they’re getting into,” or “Marriage is tough.” Instead, I just feel joy and hope in boundless waves.

And this has got me thinking about how most of the really great things we do, we do out of hope. Marriage, parenting, ministry, friendship–all of these choices make us incredibly vulnerable to heart ache and disappointment, yet they are the things that give our lives meaning. Perhaps our expectations are unrealistic, perhaps we intentionally ignore the “warning signs” of issues to come (every great relationship has them, after all), but more and more I think that God wired us exactly like that on purpose. Because life is an exciting, messy, beautiful journey and the more intimate our relationships the more exaggerated these attributes become. Who would really want a clean, sterile, safe life? Not me! 

So here’s to Matt and Bess and all the other dreamers and adventurers willing to put it all out there for hope and love!