Excellence Pursued

Excellence Pursued

JK

Having been married for 31 days or so, I’d day that I’ve pretty much got this marriage stuff figured out. I am an excellent husband. I eat the food she cooks, I let her sit by me when I’m watching TV, and I have made the bed for 80% of our married life (as in, I make the bed 80% of the days that it needs to be made, not I make the bed 80% of the way, only to give up on the last 20%. Well, except for the days when I neglect to replace the decorative pillows. Sometimes throwing those last 15 pillows on there seems a bit superfluous).

You ladies out there are probably getting a bit jealous, in which case, please take a moment to repent. Don’t feel bad, but understand that the reason I’m such an excellent husband is because of the incredible amount of pressure there is to be excellent when every single moment of my personal life is being shared by someone else. All kidding aside, I will spend the rest of my life trying to figure out how to be excellent for Kristen to the glory of God, and it has already started. I woke up one day last week with this incredible feeling of reality bearing down on me. I realized what every married person has been trying to make me understand is true: being married is hard. It’s not that I’ve done anything majorly wrong yet (although I’m always one sarcastic remark away), but I’ve just been average. In my life BK (“before Kristen”) I was able to spend hours on my own, consuming massive amounts of television, facebook, twitter, Netflix, etc. In my life AK (“After Kristen”) this is no longer an acceptable use of my time. In all actuality, in my life BK, wasting that much time wasn’t acceptable either, but it took some vows and a live-in roommate with intimate access to every part of my being to help me fully understand that. With Kristen around, mediocrity is no longer an option, and I realized the other day how mediocre I actually am. This is truly the highest form of accountability I will ever face, and Kristen is God’s reminder to me that even when I’m alone, my every move is always being observed. In a passage devoted specifically to marriage, Proverbs 5:21 says:

“For a man’s ways are before the Lord’s eyes,
and He considers all his paths.”

I know that every choice and action I’ve ever made has been seen by God, but having this living, breathing representation of constant observation has added a whole new level of accountability. I am pumped to see the man I am years down the road thanks entirely to the positive influence of a beautiful and godly woman walking beside me every step of the way. Justin BK was pretty good, but Justin AK is taking glorifying God to an entirely new level.