Marriage Stadium

On one of our first dates, Gary took me to a baseball game. I remember that the Brewers played the Boston Red Sox. The scary thing is that it wasn't an "interleague" game. Back then, the Brewers were in the American League and they played at County Stadium (Are we old or what?)

Shortly after we were married, Milwaukee County Stadium was demolished and work began on Miller Park. Every day as I drove past the ballpark on my way to work, I glanced at the big digital sign that kept track of the number of days until the completion date. Monday: 200 days, Tuesday: 199 days, Wednesday: 198 days... You get the point. Waiting. Waiting. Waiting. After all the years in an old and out-dated stadium, it was hard to be patient for the new one to be finished. Brewers fans eagerly anticipated the new field and updated seating, the retractable roof, open-air patios, better parking, and the new shops and restaurants.

Sometimes it can be hard to wait. We all know how hard it is to be patient as we anticipate our wedding day. We think about all the exciting things the new ballpark called "Marriage Stadium" will bring: Getting to wake up next to our spouse every day, having her/him there to greet us when we come home from work, cuddling up in front of the tv at night, or finally getting to use all those cool things from the wedding registry!

However, even after "opening day", we are all still technically "under construction". What God does after we each say "I do" is miraculous and mysterious. It's as if He knocks down the old stadiums that housed our individual, private and single lives, and He begins the process of building something new and better. Each person must learn to make adjustments to shared life in the new ballpark, and playing on the same team. "Marriage Stadium" takes a lifetime to build.

Here are some practical examples of things that take time to construct, especially in the first years of marriage:
1. Worship: How and when will we pray or read the Bible together?
2. Lifestyle: Will we go to bed together at the same time?
3. Hospitality: How often should we entertain guests and how will we do it (dinner parties, game-night, or just "hanging-out")?
4. Finance: How much money will we spend on decorating? On electronics?

READ: Hebrews 3:4 For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.
Habakkuk 2:2-3 Then the LORD answered me and said, "Record the vision and inscribe it on tablets, that the one who reads it may run. For the vision is yet for the appointed time; it hastens toward the goal and it will not fail. Though it tarries, wait for it; for it will certainly come, it will not delay.

QUESTIONS:
1. Did you think Marriage Stadium would be complete after your wedding day? Were there any surprises of things that needed to be demolished and rebuilt during your first few months together?
2. What areas of your marriage are still "under construction"? What does God want to build in your lives right now?
3. Discuss what do you think God's vision for your marriage is? Write it down.