When a male leads on the ballroom dance floor, he leads with strength and clear cues so his partner knows what steps she’ll take next. The female dancer has to place complete confidence and trust in her male counterpart, as much of the time she is being led to dance backwards. When Michael and Cindy first took dance lessons, they noticed that a lot of their interaction on the dance floor was very symbolic of their roles in marriage. Hear more in this podcast/broadcast about submission in marriage and on the dance floor.
All newlyweds face initial adjustments or difficulties in the early stages of their marriage, but the key is how we respond and learn from those difficulties for the next round of trials and adjustments life will bring.
Just as conflict is inevitable between two married sinners, external trials and hardships are also to be expected. It’s not a question of “if”, but “when”. So how do we respond to external trials that impact our marriages? How do we shift expectations and position ourselves to grow closer together through the trials rather than drift apart?
As most couples approach marriage, each partner holds unrealistic expectations and unknown expectations. Our unrealistic expectations stem from a lack of true understanding of what marriage really is, but our unknown expectations can be even trickier, leaving us frustrated and confused but not entirely sure why.