Into the Fire

I spent about a month buying Bride magazines when I got engaged to my boyfriend of three years. I was 18 years old. Crazy to think of it now. Bridal magazines were definitely not me, but I indulged them for a short season. 

Females come in all sizes, shapes, and colors. We claim some of the same emotional makeup, but we can be vastly different in how we relate those emotions to circumstances. We can be soft, hard, and in between for our personalities. We can love glam and frou-frou or prefer low maintenance and style. We can be outdoorsy and love to camp or crave luxurious accommodations. We fuss over our makeup and hair or we go sans makeup with wash and wear hair. Athletic, demure, clumsy, and average, we are what we are.

I seriously doubt real men thumb through bridal magazines or spend much time selecting a tuxedo or whatever they plan to wear at their wedding. Yes, men manage to prefer certain styles – some definitely more than others – but to spend a great deal of time pouring over pictures of what to wear? Don't think so. Some men probably allow their brides to pick out their wedding-wear.

Males seek to control or at least manage their emotional reactions, contrary to most females. Many want to be perceived as strong and reliable while others are slothful and messy. Far more demanding of others' respect above all, males desire love but love to be desired. More apt to "fuss" over their vehicles or their pet projects, whatever those might be, some will look rugged and others aim for suave. Men are who they are and many of them like to keep it simple, which is why the female persona often causes great confusion for them.

Females and males struggle with communication because they're different from their brain structure to their bodily parts. Made to complement each other, in this sin-stained world they spend far too much time in conflict while striving for harmony, the perfection of creation a distant dream.

Because of the God-given role for a male and the prophecy after the Fall of how the woman would try to usurp her power over the man, we see the conflicts of today between the sexes amplified and exploited by both sexes. With either impatient couples rushing to the altar or to move in together without establishing godly parameters for their relationships, marriage becomes a ritual which can be remedied by divorce, and those who live together can simply quit merging their bodies and their homes and walk away from commitment.

Females and males, males and females, work together or in opposition to each other in the home, in the workplace, or even in spiritual arenas. The lost human soul needs redemption from sin to help each one through the mine field of life. And even then the course is hard and wearisome but well worth the challenge. There's nothing better than people willing to make an effort to invest in each other, to overcome the obstacles, to rise above situations in triumph.

Father, we're sinners. You love us. You help us. You save us. We're all desperate for you. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.