Young Love

Some thoughts provoked by a young friend of mine and her matrimony troubles. She's a beautiful person, just recently turned 18 and, as of just about a year ago, has found the man of her dreams. She's always been a little boy crazy. Believe me, I remember her junior-high and high-school years (which weren't so long ago.)
Last Valentines day, her boyfriend proposed to her. It was very romantic, from the look of the pictures. Though I've not personally met him, I can say the man has taste in flowers for sure. They went on planning their wedding for August, waiting until she had turned 18.
Story short, they have not married. Not because their love has vanquished or because they are unsure or nervous about proceeding in a life long commitment. No, it is simply postponed until further notice because her father will not give his blessing. That is, not yet. For the little I know, His blessing weighs on certain requirements that the couple must complete. More pre-marital counselling, from my understanding, being the main concern. Though both of these young people are technically adults (she being18 and he being 20), some would encourage them to go on with the marriage, as it is quite frustrating and even costly to have to re-plan a wedding, re-send invitations, re-schedule an event for dozens if not a couple hundred people.
It is of my opinion, which rarely matters anyway in such cases, that they are doing the right thing by waiting. I mean, she lives at home dependent on her father's care for one. Not to mention the fact that they are both quite young doesn't exactly settle one's stomach about it all -especially if you are a loving parent (which I know her father to be.)
I reminded her in her weariness of dealing with all of this that how she handles and responds to her father in this disagreement is the biggest testament to her maturity as a woman. For instance, if you are whiny and crying at your father in bitterness - you are certainly not displaying a character of a woman whose ready to handle life. Not saying that was her reaction, since I don't know what it has been, but for example's sake.

Having been recently married myself, and though I love my husband dearly, I can not lie. Marriage is hard. Its harder than the hard you expect it to be. We were fortunate to be living with a marriage councilor before our wedding who happen to know us both fairly well. You see, God doesn't leave us without instructions on what to become to paint the picture of marriage that He intends for us. My biggest pre-marital struggle was coming to terms with leaving behind who I was and trading it in for becoming a person who completes "us." The idea of being a person who completes an entity of marriage, which is love, which is patient, kind, keeps no record of wrongs, etc. Ending (but not forgetting) my days of "freedom" as a "wild" single and buckling down for giving myself up to one person forever....ehh... doesn't always feel appealing. I have no regrets. I'm so very glad I didn't call off my wedding or anything, but it is a whole different life. No matter how prepared you believe you are, you realize that your true colors come out after a while and a lot of the time those are the colors your parents or siblings or best friends know about and your future spouse doesn't. And 99% of the time, you don't even know you have them either. 

"You'll have to clean the house and massage my bunyons and clip my thick, yellow toenails! Hey - marriage is no picnic! You gotta work at it." -Count Olaf