Last night we had breakfast for dinner; bacon, eggs and toast. Jeff came in while I was cooking and made a comment about how I can bring home the bacon and cook it too; like the jingle. Well the kids weren’t familiar with the jingle “I can bring home the bacon, fry it up in a pan, and never let you forget you’re a man…” So a discussion developed and the long and the short of it was they understand that marriage is a partnership and sometimes both bring home the bacon and both cook it too. Jeff and I have a marriage which exemplifies partnership; so it was a good opportunity to explain the roles of men and women with the kids.
There is a wonderful document that the prophet and apostles of the church put together in 1995. It is called “The Family-A Proclamation to the World”. This is the link if you would like to read it. It discusses the role of men and women and the importance of family. During my divorce this brought a bit of sadness to me because I felt like that I was not living up to the guidance provided because I was divorced. I no longer feel any sadness when thinking of this proclamation. My stake president (church leader) at the time explained to me that although divorce is not always the best way to resolve situations in our lives, sometimes it is a necessity. This leader knew the steps I had gone through to preserve my marriage (1st). The reasons I sought divorce was one of those necessities. Divorce is one of the reasons that there is the phrase “Disability, death, or other circumstances may necessitate individual adaptation.” My divorce was an “other circumstance”. So for my family, adaptation was necessary.
If it had not been for that divorce so many years ago I never would have known the happiness that I know now. Through the grace of God I am now married to Jeff. We have a marriage which is ordained of God and will last for time and all eternity, not just until death do we part. A marriage that will last for time and all eternity is no small task. It means that I have been blessed to have accepted Christ in my life, I have learned and practice the act of repentance, I have humbled myself to accept my imperfections and strive to become perfect as Christ to be worthy to enter the temples of God and have found a wonderful man to love who loves me and desired to be with me for time and all eternity. It may sound so simple but in action it can actually be so much more difficult. With a good partnership it makes the journey to eternal life so much nicer.
I am grateful that I have the desire and the ability to do as the jingle says: “I can bring home the bacon, fry it up in a pan, and never let you forget you’re a man…” Because Jeff and I work as a partnership, we each bring home the bacon, we each can cook it and we each remind each other of our value as a woman or a man. The proclamation also mentions that we are to love and care for each other and our children. It is no small thing that this proclamation reminds men and women that they are to love and care for each other, not just the children. That loving and caring for each other strengthens the partnership of husband and wife so the partnership will flourish long past the children growing up and starting their own families. This loving and caring for each other also shows the children how to love and care for their future spouses and children. I know that I gladly take every opportunity to let Jeff know how much I love him, how much I appreciate his efforts and how I am grateful to have him in my life. That is the beauty of a good partnership-working together and building each other up. I am looking forward to next month where Jeff and I will celebrate five years of marriage and look forward to a lifetime and into eternity with him.
