Freedom

A MARRIAGE AS BEAUTIFUL AS YOUR WEDDING DAY

Welcome to our Freedom Issue! When we started dreaming up this beauty, we couldn’t get away from the idea of being free and what this could look like in your marriage. The picture I had in my mind was one free of inhibitions, where you can throw your arms back and dance like no-one was watching—no fear or shame. But being free also takes standing your ground and fighting for what you know to be true. What has evolved between the beautiful imagery is some rather personal stories and I hope inspiration for you both on your journey.

Let’s take a couple steps back though before we delve into the goodness. Take a moment to think about your life and the freedoms you have as an individual. For us here in Australia, we have incredible education and health care, we have freedom of speech, and the list goes on. Yet even with ALL of this, we can still feel completely bound. I recognised this feeling in myself late last year. There were so many times where I’d unknowingly let fear stop me in my tracks; for me, it was a fear of people. I found myself holding back because I was scared what others might say, think or do and it had me trapped. I’ve come to realise that true freedom is something within us that we must take hold of, draw a line in the sand and invite our heart and mind to step up to the plate. When I was operating out of fear, anger or insecurity, I wasn’t allowing others to really see my true self and I wasn’t being everything that I could be. I believe we all have an innate goodness in our depths, but somewhere along the way it gets lost in all this fear rubbish.

To be able to give my best to Luke, I have to be my best. But in order to be my best, I have to let go of the things holding me back. I’ve had an image in my head illustrating this; it’s of a super cute dog on a leash that really wants the ball, but it’s just out of reach! It seems as though there is absolutely nothing the dog can do to reach that ball. She can pull and tug all she wants at the leash, but will never be able to get to the ball … unless she is released. The leash is like our fear and insecurities—it keeps us from reaching what we really want.

I’m pretty sure I want more for my life than being stuck on a leash. I want to scream into the wind and dance like I don’t care who’s watching. I want to stand tall and be all of who I’m meant to be, not just for me, but for everyone around me. It will take time and hard work, and I will need support, but I need to face this fear, drop the false selfpreservation and expose myself to truly becoming one with my love. Who better to travel through life with than the one you’re most free with.