.....say what!  Oh yes, I said that marriage is like a small round chocolate cookie sandwich.  "And this," you say "is how you begin a new blog?"  Yup.  Yesterday was my 25th wedding anniversary and I've been thinking a lot about marriage, and of course, waxing philosophical.  Aside from the obvious comparisons like "it's sweet" or "people love it or hate it" and such, let me explain.

The divine Oreo cookie is a delicious combination of two chocolate wafers and just the perfect dollop of cream frosting.  I prefer mine dunked in a glass of milk just long enough to soak up some milk, but not so long as to become soggy.  Not everyone eats Oreos this way.  In our marriage the Preacher has always handled all of the financial burdens and I even check with him before I spend $25 or so.  Not every marriage works this way.  In our marriage I organize the kitchen cupboards a certain way and really like them to stay the way I organized them even if the Preacher was searching around in there for something to fix for lunch all by himself.  Not every marriage works this way.

But I think the comparison that started this whole line of thinking was the comparison in my mind between "becoming one flesh" and twisting the Oreo apart to eat it.  I can feel when the Preacher gets home before I hear him.  If I'm not feeling well, the Preacher can tell it just by looking in my eyes even if there are no symptoms to be seen.  We are literally one flesh.  We are definitely two separate but similar parts, much like the two chocolate wafers of the Oreo.  What brought us, and keeps us, together  is the frosting or our love.  Once the two wafers are sandwiched together and joined by the frosting it is considered one cookie.  Now, isn't that just the most beautiful picture of marriage!

And on the flip side......if you break apart the cookie, it must go through some really painful twisting.  A little bit of the frosting stays on both of the chocolate wafers no matter how skillfully you separate them.  And the breaking apart of a marriage is the same.....no matter what causes the separation.  I've seen so many marriages come apart and often watched someone I thought was a tough cookie crumble in the process.  Cookies are much stronger when they're whole.

I am so blessed and so grateful to have my cookie intact!  Now, I love Oreos, but I love, love, l-o-v-e, LOVE the Preacher!  And we've got some really good frosting holding us together!