At times I ponder this whole concept of our culture moving away from monogamous lifetime marriage as the norm, to other lifestyles – cohabiting, gay marriage, multiple marriages and multiple divorces in a lifetime.

It is easy to get on our Christian high horse about all of this, but since the nation used to be very heavily Christian I ponder where we as the church went wrong and how to appeal to a whole new generation that has been raised in a post-Christian culture.

As I read various stories and listen to people I realize that many people who are in alternative lifestyles have been deeply wounded – at times wounded by the Church or people in the church – unnecessarily. Doesn’t mean I agree with their choices.

Many ardent feminists have been deeply hurt by men in their past. A lot of cohabiting couples have watched their parents’ marriages breakup and don’t want to repeat the past, or to make lifetime promises that they don’t think they can keep.

I heard something awhile back “Hurting people, hurt people.”

I don’t have all of the answers. The one thing I know is to keep working diligently on my own marriage so that we can be an example for others. One of my heart’s desires is to have a marriage that others who are observing us and knowing us would want. One marriage at a time, we can change this culture.