“Is This Us?”—Reimagining Conflict as a Context for Connection & Caring

4418 Rea Road,Charlotte NC 28226

19 April, 2023

Description

Conflict in marriage is inevitable. And yet sometimes... it can be gut-wrenching, exhausting, and crazymaking. In the worst of fights, one or both partners may end up saying or doing things that feel way out of character. One jab or stonewall or freezeout provokes a heightened or more desperate response from the other, and so on and so on. Before too long, the hurts aren't healing as easily as they once did, and it starts getting harder and harder to trust. And after so many turns of the vicious cycle, we can find ourselves losing hope, as well as the intimacy and kind regard we once cherished for one another. If you have felt this way at all in your marriage, hang on-- there's hope. Licensed mental health counselor Wendy Osborn and her husband Chris (a mediator and conflict resolution expert) have experienced those dark places at pivotal points in their 29 year marriage, and have found a source of hope and healing that they are grateful to be able to share. As they have discovered, quite frequently "the hard way," the keys to navigating the present more gracefully and building a more hopeful future together often lie in getting to know and better understand the formative stories that lie in one another's past. The heart-wrenching but insightful NBC hit television show “This Is Us” perhaps illustarates this concept better than most, and a few short clips from the show will serve as a catalyst for an honest and practical discussion of why, how, and about what couples fight--and how to change the game altogether. Through sharing their own stories of heartache and healing in their marriage, Wendy & Chris will share how God often reveals Himself to us in our stories of struggle, doubt, and trauma—all for the purpose of helping us grow in faith, hope & love.