I said something interesting at work last night that I think bears repeating.

We were discussing future project schedules and I was asked to weigh in on what my schedule would look like for the next few months. As the reply came out of my mouth I did discover some things, but first what I said: “I don’t care. I have nothing I’m really looking forward to until Kimberly gets pregnant which as of right now we aren’t planning for, so I’m free to work like mad at least until next year, maybe longer.”

Of course, even in the relative context, it sounds as if I just don’t have anything I’m looking forward to, but that’s just not what I meant. So far (a whole ten days in), I am still shocked and blessed that I get to wake up with Kimberly as a wife. That phrase alone is something I look forward to saying for the rest of my life, but it made me think of something else: I’ve grown up a lot in the last two weeks.

There are many milestones that American culture pushes on us from birth. At 10 its double-digits, 13 is the teenage years, 16 is driving, 18 is “adulthood”, 21 is drinking age, 25 is rent-a-car (for cheaper)…after that, it’s the depressing milestones of “oh dear, look at me now I’m 30” and the subsequent “I’m old” markers that are sure to follow. While those are all based on age, there are a few that aren’t and are completely subjective to when they happen. For instance, getting married.

Getting married offered Kimberly and I the good opportunity to mark our lives doing all the things that we’ve always told ourselves (together and before we met) that we would do as adults. Things like going to church and planning for a financial future…the things that most people and even ourselves in previous mindsets always say “we’ll do when there are kids because that’s when its important.” We realized that the fact is if its important than now is the time, not later. If you don’t purpose to do it now, you’ll never do it.

Wow, right? I recognize that statement is huge for me to have arrived at and while I wish I could say it was because of some stunning steps that I made as a person in myself, its not. I can’t even say its something Kimberly has pushed me to want to do. As they say, “you can tell a lot about a man by the company he keeps” and lately, I’ve been keeping phenomenal company. The night before Kimberly and I got married, some dear friends of mine offered to come over and pray with me and before they did, they encouraged me to live the life that God has called me to which is to love Kimberly and lead our home. Not scary things, just those that make sense in this context of life. I do have to say that having that encouragement and accountability has already helped eons in our short marriage and I hope that this foundation we are setting up will hold us firm in itself for the rest of our lives.

And that is how I know I am experiencing the art of growing up…

[kyle]