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I Didn’t Know What I Signed Up For…

An excerpt about love, expectations, and what happens when what we once believed meets real life.

He’s not going to marry me.

I didn’t get it before… but I got it now.

The first time it really settled in, I was standing in the laundry room—folding his clothes.

Silhouette of a person sitting pensively under a tree at sunset.

Red, black, and white.


These were the colors I had dreamed of for my wedding long before I understood what marriage truly was… or what it would require.

Like many of us, I had the dream.
The dress.
The setting.
The moment.

And of course… the man who would love me unconditionally and make everything fall into place.

One day, our king will come… right?

Delusional much? Maybe.
Because while marital bliss is possible…
it doesn’t happen the way we imagined.


We checked all the boxes:
• Dating — Check
• Engagement — Check
• Proposal — Check
• Wedding — Check


So… now what?

No one handed us instructions.
No one explained what it actually means to be a wife…
or how to walk through the days when love doesn’t feel easy.

No one told us what to do when the “good days” become fewer…
and the silence becomes louder than the love.

  

Where It Goes Left

Somewhere along the way, we believed what we were shown.

That love would be easy.
That the right person would always make us happy.
That “what’s meant to be” would somehow sustain itself.

Maybe we didn’t realize it at the time…
but a lot of what we believed about love wasn’t real.
It was learned. Picked up. Passed down.

  

Running on Empty

Many of us step into marriage expecting our spouse to fill spaces in us that were never theirs to fill.

The emptiness.
The wounds.
The years of what we carried in silence.

But no one really prepares you for what happens when those things don’t go away.

  

The Realization

Marriage doesn’t automatically heal loneliness.

Sometimes… it exposes it.
Sometimes it magnifies it.

And at some point…
you realize you don’t fully understand what you signed up for.

Not because you made the wrong choice.

But because you didn’t yet understand yourself.


If this feels familiar, you’re not alone.
And we’re just getting started.

Ready to Keep Reading?

Continue the journey with Learning to Love Him by Trusting Him. 

EXPLORE THE BOOK

A Look Inside the Study Guide

“We love because He first loved us.” — 1 John 4:19


Long before we knew how to explain love, we were learning what it looked like.


We watched the people around us. We paid attention to what they did—and sometimes what they didn't do. Some of us followed the examples we were given. Some decided we would do the exact opposite. And some of us simply figured it out as we went.


But what happens when what we learned about love doesn't line up with the way God intended us to love—or be loved?


That's where the deeper work begins.


The Learning to Love Him by Trusting Him Study Guide takes you beyond reading and into reflection—helping you examine what you've learned, what you've carried, and what may be time to see differently.

Reflection and journaling image for the Learning to Love Him by Trusting Him Study Guide by Ce’Ce Pe

Ready to Go Deeper?

The book starts the conversation. The Study Guide makes it personal.

EXPLORE THE STUDY GUIDE

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