Years Wasted or Well Spent

Parents met with a divorce lawyer last week. Decided who would pay for what and how much it would be. Dad doesn't want to put anything in writing about how much he will pay (things like weddings and cars and such). He wants to just say that he will pay half and then do it when it comes time, no actual writing/legal paper involved. I feel kinda cheated, I don't know if I trust him to keep his word. I am sure he will help, but I feel like he'll be as minimalistic as possible.

I was talking to my Dad yesterday over dinner and we started talking about the whole situation. I told him how I had been talking to Matt about whether a relationship, if it ends, was a waste of time. I was actually thinking more about Alex and me than my parents. It seems to fit for both situations. I mean, if you date someone and break up, did you just waste those months or years of your life? If you divorce, were all those years a waste of time just because the end result wasn't what it was originally intended to be? You become who you are because of the people with whom you spend time. You would be a different person if not for that relationship. I don't know... It seems like if you break up with someone you've been dating, you did waste time and energy you could of put into relationships with friends that probably would have lasted longer. And it kinda feels the same way with marriage, other than the fact that kids come out of marriage and they aren't a waste of time.

My dad said he doesn't feel his 30 years with my mom were a waste. The only thing he pointed to as evidence that they were not a waste was Mary and me. So if they had not had kids, would he still say the marriage was not a waste?


In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. 27And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will.
Romans 8:26-27