Lovey-Dovey.

I abhor the word "shallow." It haunts me in my dreams (nightmares, really). At my funeral, it would be the worst if someone said in my eulogy (or u-goo-leggy) that I never lived for something more. It's frightening.

But, I've kind of discovered that I have a shallow view of a lot of things. Most prominently, marriage. Oh please, don't misread that as "Erika hates weddings." Because that's false (why else would I take the time to photograph their deliciousness?). I just don't think I've ever grasped what marriage is really for.

Let it be known, I'm not the mushy romantic. Sure, I get a hoot out of romantic comedies, but let's be real, that's not really love. It's sappy. Overbearing. Unreal. And that's the kind of view of marriage that I've carried with me throughout the short 18 years of my life.

Last week I began reading This Momentary Marriage by John Piper. When I picked it up, I don't think I really realized that it was actually about marriage. I thought the title was some catchy gimmick about how brief our life is. Welp, I was wrong. If I had known it was about marriage, I definitely wouldn't have started reading it.

It's radical. My view of marriage has changed astronomically in just a few short days. It isn't mushy or lovey-dovey (where did that phrase even come from?). It's passionate, wholehearted devotion-to God. I don't have to love the person enough to marry them. I have to love God enough to marry them.

Light bulbs. So many, lighting up inside my mind. Gosh, now marriage seems too stinking sweeeet.

Ok. Maybe I'm just the only person who has (had) a completely awful (*cough* unbiblical *cough*) view of marriage. And, it's not because I haven't had good role models as parents. In fact, my parents are an amazing picture of marriage. The stupid cultural view has just completely skewed my vision of marriage. Humph. But, I'm out to change that. Stat.