I smiled, even though she couldn’t see me, and said, “It might seem like it would be easier if we could marry someone who is just like we are. But by creating men and women to think, feel, respond, and act differently, God gives us opportunities to balance each other out. If you’re having an emotional day, you don’t want Carson in exactly the same mood.”

Lauren chuckled. “Yeah, I see what you mean.”

“And being married to someone who is different allows us to grow in ways we couldn’t with our clone. In order to get along, we have to learn to do things like get to the bottom line instead of talking our man’s ear off and sit through an action movie instead of a chick flick.

“If we each married someone who was exactly like we are and we always got our own way, we would be selfish people who wouldn’t know how to give and take. But instead we learn to compromise and to see things from another point of view. And there’s something I’ve learned after thirty-two years of marriage: I’m not always right, and my way isn’t the only way.”

If you are married, you have an opportunity to grow and mature through being in an intimate relationship with someone who is hardwired differently from you. Celebrate his uniqueness, and instead of being frustrated because he doesn’t think, feel, respond, and act just like you, learn to appreciate the unique way God created him.