Is Your Dream Marriage Beginning To Fade? Part II

[This story is a product of my own imagination. The names, characters, places and incidents are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.]

The high approbation that Temwani and Chisala received prior to and after their wedding was not mere flattery, nor sentiments blown out of proportion by way of exaggeration by those close to them. They were truly a dream couple, if not more. They were living in their newly acquired pristine house in Foxdale, a new and growing upmarket residential area of Lusaka. Temwani was driving a double cab silverlight Toyota Hilux, and for her birthday, he bought Chisala a pearl Nissan X-trail. Although they were both on wheels, they deliberately chose to use one vehicle when going to and from work, not because of cost considerations, but in order to maximize on their time together and nurture their love.

It was very evident to most people who knew them just how intimately close they were to each other. They were best friends, and their oneness was a clear expression of the biblical command that “a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.”  (Genesis 2:24, ESV). Temwani was so ecstatic about his wife, and in her he saw God’s provision of a “suitable helper.” Like Adam in the Old Testament on his maiden look at Eve, Temwani always marveled at the beauty with which the Lord had endowed his wife. Only God’s glorious sense of beauty and His creative power could have brought to him so perfect a partner, in every sense. He deeply knew that Chisala filled the void and loneliness in his life that no other creature could satisfy adequately. 

Playful moments were not lacking between these two. They made the most of their time together, and it was not infrequent that you saw them hand in hand at Manda Hill, or at church or in the bank. To augment their love, they always planned their vacations in advance. They have already been to places the likes of us just dream about. On their first wedding anniversary, they were in Cape Town for a week, and the following year, they went to Walvis Bay in Namibia.

And as their faith and trust in God was growing stronger, so was their marriage. What a lovely couple. They were very regular at all the stated meetings of their church, unless providentially hindered, and were actively involved in a number of church ministries, and serving with enviable zeal. They were noted for their humility and generosity. Success, and they were not short of that, did not get to their heads and ruin their testimonies. 

Towards the end of their second year in marriage, the Lord favoured them with a gift of a baby boy, Chisomo. The excitement that descended upon this couple was infectious. This addition to their family did not in any way disrupt the romantic rhythm that had already become their second nature. In spite of the expected responsibilities that parenting involved, they simply moved on and shared not only the mutual joy of Chisomo’s arrival, but also the added demands that he imposed upon their time and energy. When it was time for Chisala to get back to the office after her maternity leave that she wisely combined with the annual leave, helping hands were not in short supply. Temwani’s younger sister who had just completed her high school came to offer the much-needed help with taking care of little Chisomo while the parents were at work. Hers were capable hands, and Chisomo’s mother had fewer worries each time she left home for work.

As Temwani was making progress in his career at Stanbic, his brilliant mind did not stay idle. He thought of enrolling with one of the foreign universities to do a Masters in Business Administration (MBA). When he shared this ambition with his wife, she was visibly excited for him, and did not hide her pride in his desire to accomplish his goals and dreams. They were in full agreement that he should go for it, and so with optimism and high hopes, they entered this phase of their life together.

And that was the point at which their dream marriage began to fade.