Kelly’s Blog

This morning I was amazed to jump onto the Cyberbrethren website and find that the picture of my clay crucifix sculpture was on the website!! Scroll down till you see the recent “Cute and Cuddly Jesus vs. Suffering and Dying Jesus” article. This is a widely circulated blog with a very large readership, being associated with World magazine, so the question remains: how on earth did he get a hold of this picture?!? I’m very happy that the image was used to relate to an issue that’s been at hand on the blog recently: the legitimacy of a crucifix as a devotional object. (There’s another full-length article on the site about the subject that’s well worth reading, including the history of more radical Reformers obliterating the crucifix image, the iconoclasm that persists in churches today thanks to Pietism, and how, though certainly permissible, the “empty cross” has nothing especially to do with belief in the resurrection.)

Since Alex and I are gone for most of tomorrow (and possibly the next day– long weekend here in Canada) I figured that now’s as good a time as any to reflect a bit on one whole year of marriage! Our anniversary is of course tomorrow, July 31st, better known to some as Harry Potter’s birthday. =op We’re going up to Winnipeg to experience the sights and sounds of something called “Folk-lor-ama,” various pavilions set up by various countries and cultural groups. Sounds very us, doesn’t it?

What can I say–marrying Alex has been the single best decision of my life. Although the factors that moved us together had been in motion long before we had any realization of them, they came to a wonderful culmination on that Saturday as friends and family witnessed the two of us stating, rather loudly and happily, our marriage vows. It was a wonderful day, and I think it would be fair to say that neither of us has ever been less nervous and more confident about so major a prospect.

When you’re single, it’s pretty hard to try to look ahead and figure out what getting married, and being married, is really like. Dating is one thing, but it’s doesn’t necessarily provide you with a clear picture of the person you will spend the rest of your life with. I remember worrying, along with the rest of my friends I’m sure, how we’d know if we’d really found “the one.” You’re gazing into uncharted territory. But due to personal circumstances I was really, really lucky to not have been through the whole “start- hopping- around- really- big- young- adults- church- groups- in- search- of- a- spouse” temptation. Then before you know it you wind up at the Church of Generic American Protestantism which wants you to be there for your “felt needs,” including dates, and your whole picture of church gets screwed up, and you wind up with watery, lowest-denominator Christianity to boot–but you think it’s okay ’cause at least you have a Christian hubby! Whew!

I’ve heard that the first year of marriage is one of the very toughest, which is pretty encouraging. Obviously there have been lots of changes with coming to Canada and learning to deal with having twice as much stuff in your living space, but as husband and wife it’s been remarkably smooth. We’ve yet to have anything remotely like a major argument. In fact, we’re kind of like the same person, with small discrepancies (probably the hardest thing on Alex is his wife’s messed-up sleep schedule, when she wants to stay up all hours of the night). Oh yeah, and he’s much nicer. And I’m much more allergic to mosquito bites. And he dislikes cats. But besides that, who can really tell us apart anymore? =o) I do hope that all of you readers out there may experience the most wonderful joy that is a happy marriage, and if you are experiencing it, that you never take it for granted!