Acedia

Just finished Acedia & Me by Kathleen Norris.
What is acedia? "Sloth," "spiritual apathy," "laziness or indifference," "a cousin to depression."

Norris examines her marriage, her life as a writer, and how acedia effects how she relates to each. I had never heard of the term previously, but her description made it familiar to me. A funk, not depression but not normal, either. A state that is impossible to describe to others, but recognizable to those who know you well as not quite right.

It is Norris' observations on life, particularly marriage, however, that stand out.

Like faith, marriage is a mystery. The person you're committed to spending your life with is known and yet unknown, at the same time remarkably intimate and necessarily other. The classic "seven year itch" may not be a case of familiarity breeding ennui and contempt, but the shock of having someone you thought you knew all too well suddenly seem a stranger. When that happens, you are compelled to either recommit to the relationship or get the hell out. There are many such times in a marriage. When the other person does something unforgivable, can you forgive? When you do something unforgivable, can you accept forgiveness?

I'm grateful for forgiveness, for love that "bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." (1Cor13:7)