I went to a wedding recently and I was struck by how perfect the bride and groom looked. They appeared to have it all together. Young, good looking, every hair in place, makeup just right, smiling perfectly. They looked just like Ken and Barbie. (Assuming Ken and Barbie are married.)
Who wouldn’t want to be Ken and Barbie. They have great looks, great bodies, great clothes, a great convertible, and let’s not forget the great dream house!
There’s just one problem…Ken and Barbie aren’t real! How do I know? Think about it. They never stop smiling, never get old, and never lose their looks or their perfect posture. That’s just not how life works!
Yet, when it comes to marriage, we all have some version of Ken and Barbie in our head that we hold our marriage up to. We all have some Ken and Barbie expectations for our marriage with regards to looks, or personality, or finances, or recreation…and the list goes on and on.
But no marriage measures up to Ken and Barbie. Face it, many of us are lucky to measure up to Fred and Ethel, let alone Ken and Barbie. Besides, Ken and Barbie are not good examples to follow. Here are a few reasons why you don’t want to be Ken and Barbie…
- They can’t close their hands, so they can never hold hands tightly.
- They’re not very flexible, so they can’t work through problems well.
- They’re always smiling, so they always have to guess what’s going on behind the smile.
- They’re always young, so they never get to grow old together.
Marriage is not always pretty and put together. It’s messy, and complicated, and frustrating at times. As spouses, we get old, we sag, and we don’t always smile. But here’s the thing we have over Ken and Barbie…WE’RE REAL! And real people make better marriages then plastic people. So…
- You may not have the perfect body, but that doesn’t mean your body’s not the perfect fit for your spouse.
- You may not be as young as you once were, but you can be as young at heart as you ever were.
- You may not have the iconic dream house, but you can still have an inviting and loving home.
So make the most of your marriage, even if you’re not Ken and Barbie. Grow old together and make Ken and Barbie wish they were you!