Annie and I finished our Marriage Preparation course with the Church this past weekend. It was a marathon ten and a half hours of speeches, activities, conversations, music and praying.

Overall, I found the course to be pretty good. Read my previous thoughts on marriage prep here: Marriage Prep Course.

Throughout the day, I continued to ask questions, but by around six in the evening, I was completely drained and no longer felt able to ask questions, and the organizers noticed. There was more than once where they would say, “anyone have any questions?” and then point me out. At the end of the day, when passing out our certificates, they joked that they had to long consider if I had passed or failed because I had asked so many questions.

Some people seemed to appreciate my questions more than others. Annie was also concerned sometimes that I was sharing too much, which would seem like I’m a know-it-all. I guess I just wish that the couples going through the course felt more free to share. There was one moment where a couple did, and it was really meaningful to me, as it was regarding something that Annie and I are still learning to deal with as well.

Did Annie and I learn much that we didn’t already know? Probably not. Did we make some new friends? Most definitely. If nothing else, the course was a great way to meet couples going through the same thing as we are, and most of them were of the same faith background as Annie, which gave another commonality to our interactions.

Was it worth it in the end? Some people, when they hear what I went through think they dodged a bullet by not having to go through all of this, but I think it does have some benefits. I can definitely see where if a couple hasn’t thought about children, finances, communication, conflict resolution, faith, and family then they might be presented with information or conversation starters.

I can also appreciate the interaction with the community. I got to meet some great people, and spend time with them. It was like our own little club, and I know when I see them out in the community, we can give each other a knowing nod. Having moved here from Ottawa, it has been hard for me to meet new people that aren’t just connected to Annie and her family.

While it was a huge commitment of time, I’m happy that we went through it.