Marriage Is Like Racoon Hunting

Posted on 07. Apr, 2007 by frank in family, relationships

I know that this sounds crazy but marriage is like coon hunting. Cliff, who is a good friend of mine from college, just left me a message on my myspace page and it got me thinking about the past. A few years ago I went up to his home town with him (up near Erie PA) and he asked me to go hunting. His father-in-law has 2 coon dogs and it was quite an experience. One of them was actually a show dog as well. He had this gorgeous animal trained like a soldier out of boot camp with perfect posture, clean coat, and incredible obedience. It was amazing to watch this guy and his dogs. They were in sync. They were on a mission to hunt some coon. It was amazing to watch him interact with these animals. They hit the field together and the two dogs knew exactly what other was doing. Even though they couldn’t see each other through the vegatation in the field they knew exactly how to accomplish their goal. One was trying to scare the raccoon out of the field and the other was following the edge of the field ready to chase it up a tree. There was this synergy that existed between them that was just inspiring to watch. A synergy that I wish all of us had in our relationships.

So, where do we go from here?

The closest thing that I think we get to this experience as humans is in a marriage. There are times I feel like my wife and I are totally in sync. She knows what I am thinking and responds before I even ask. It’s the coolest thing when we are “in step” with each other relationally, it truly feels like we can accomplish anything together. I think our relationships hit a brick wall when we sabotage the synergy for which we have worked so hard. I haven’t yet figured out why we sabotage ourselves but I do know that it is possible to prevent it.

Paul wrote about this in his letter to the Ephesians (4:31-32)
31Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

I find that when I follow that instruction I have better synergy in my marriage.