Having a Heart Engraved with a YES

In the last month…..

We got married (WHOOOO).

We moved from Minneapolis, MN to an apartment in the basement of Fischer Hall on Wheaton College’s campus in Illinois.

I started a new job in Residence Life.

We both will start Graduate School next week in the Christian Formation and Ministry program.

We are now living in community with 600 freshman and sophomore students.

A beautiful illustration of our new life rhythm in this community was our recent attempt at “date night.” After welcoming and checking in 400 first-year students, James and I decided to have a date night. A half hour into our date, the fire alarm started blaring and our date concluded with us standing outside along with 400 students and every fire truck around Wheaton.

If marriage doesn’t reveal how selfish you are, living in community with 600 college students absolutely will.

3 weeks into marriage, God is teaching us that while we desire to be a couple that is “available” to respond to the needs of others, our natural inclination is to isolate ourselves and engage in community only when its convenient for us. Furthermore, I’ve noticed that when I am “interrupted,” or invited to actually live out my value of “being available,” my heart’s first response is one of bitterness or resentment, instead of joy or gratitude.

God is inviting us to hold in tension living intentionally within our marriage AND being available to the needs of those we live in community with. While time set a part for a date night is absolutely important, I am being challenged to consider how I can intentionally pursue James throughout the day (making him coffee….leaving a note in the morning..) rather than waiting for a scheduled period of time. Furthermore, I am constantly reminded throughout the day that our marriage isn’t just for US….its created to be a vessel for the God to move through to love others…..during freshman orientation…..and FIRE DRILLS. My heart’s response to these interruptions is what matters.

My prayer this year is that we can continue to be a couple that has a YES engraved on our hearts…a YES to be further transformed into Christ likeness through dying to our selfishness….a YES to be available to the students around us….and a YES to learn how to live intentionally in our marriage while living in community.


Be Blessed,

Katie & James