rebelling against low expectations
Best of the Reb Rewind: To celebrate the past 19 years of the Reb, we’re republishing a selection of the very best articles throughout the years. Enjoy these throwbacks as we travel back in time to when it all began. You think about it a lot. You wonder who it will be. You wish it could happen soon but it completely freaks you out. So let’s talk about it: dating. Marriage is exciting. It’s...
I saw him before he noticed me. He looked as tired, nervous, and excited as I felt, his head turning back and forth, looking for me. I hurried to the edge of the crowd, waiting for Peter to make his way through. It had been six long months of blurry video calls, calculating time zones, and missing milestones. Have you been there? Are you there now? He turned the corner, and wrapped me in a sweaty...
“Oh, one other thing!” I momentarily paused my pacing and tried to find the words to say. “You still think of me platonically, right?” The silence stretched way too long. “Uh oh.” I slid to the hard, cold floor. Peter and I were friends. Good friends. We encouraged and challenged each other, prayed for each other, and gave each other relationship advice about other people. “Well . . .” As Peter...
“It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends.” – Albus Dumbledore “Sara, I wish that you had invited me.” We sat across from each other, afternoon light playing with the steam rising from our mugs of tea. I uncomfortably folded the tea bag tag into a tiny square. Erin and I were serving on the same ministry team, and God had been...
About a year ago, I went for a walk with my grandfather, and he said to me, “You know, when you get married someday, the man you marry will not be the same man you are married to five years later.” I was shocked for a moment and felt a little confused that my beloved grandfather didn’t think my marriage would last. But then he kept speaking, “Your husband will change,” he said, “and so will you...
February 14th. Also known as Valentines Day, an occasion many a forlorn single dreads. Each year, while the rest of society posts sticky-sweet, chocolate-coated tributes to their spouses and significant others’ online, all the lonely hearts of the world mourn their singleness like it’s some sort of malignant disease. Surely, you’ve seen the ‘woe-is-me-I’m-so-alone’ posts on social media, too...
He was tired, burnt out, and needed a good meal. I couldn’t give him a hug. He was graduating! I couldn’t cheer or take pictures or bring him a gift. It was his birthday. I couldn’t make him a cake or throw him a party. And so instead, I stared at a circle, leg bouncing, waiting for the call to reconnect. Wishing I could be there for him. Wishing I could take care of him. Wishing I could do...
Editor’s Note: We’re thrilled to welcome Gary Thomas to the Reb today! His book The Sacred Search is an excellent resource for Christ-centered relationships and choosing a spouse wisely. This article was originally published on February 13, 2020. When Tom Cruise—playing Jerry Maguire—uttered those now famous words, “You complete me,” he was married to his second wife, Nicole Kidman...
Have you ever thought about what would happen if relationships as we see them in today’s romance movies existed in the real world? Would they endure once the crisis subsided, the stage lights dimmed, and the characters settled into everyday life together? My guess is probably not. The emphasis of chemistry over compatibility-based relationships in modern media sets unrealistic standards for...
As a preteen girl, I wrote letters to my future husband. In those letters, I often wrote the words, “I am staying pure for you,” or, “I am keeping my purity to be a gift to you on our wedding day.” During my teenage years, I read a plethora of books on Christian dating that taught me to think through my purity this way. They motivated me to remain pure by promising that it would keep my wedding...
rebelling against low expectations
