What Did You Expect?-Part 1

As promised several weeks ago I am reviewing a book on marriage. Over the years I have read many on the subject, passing them on to the couples my husband and I counsel together. Paul David Tripp has written an outstanding book, What Did You Expect?-Redeeming the Realities of Marriage. As I read this book I did not expect to find a new handbook for those who would come to me with their marriage questions and problems. Tripp gets to the heart of the matter quickly: sin and the fact that two sinners want their own way and want to be loved as much as we each love ourselves.
   "Sin causes all of us to be way too self-aware and self-important...sin causes us to dream selfish dreams and to plan self-oriented plans. Because of sin, we really do love us, and we have a wonderful plan for our own lives."(p.47)
Tripp opens each chapter with a couple coming to him for help with real life problems in their marriage, some on their way to divorce court.
More on this excellent book in the days to come. I have a couple of days to get the house in order and pack a suitcase so I can make my way back to the family farm. For now you can read here about a couple with many differences.
"One way God establishes beauty is by putting things that are different next to each other. Isn't this exactly what God does in marriage? He puts very different people next to each other. This is how he establishes the beauty of marriage...the striking beauty of a marriage is when two very different people learn to celebrate and benefit from their differences and to be protected from their weaknesses by being sheltered by the other's strength." (p.67)