Did Joe Dodge a Bullet?

I have been asked that question several times since KatieLyn ran off in the middle of the night. I was asked again as recently as last week. To be clear, the questioners are asking if I think Joe is better off without KatieLyn; if marriage would have been a disastrous mistake.

Usually, I have had mixed feelings about the answer.

No, the marriage was clearly God's will for both Joe and KatieLyn. It would not have been a mistake. It was a mistake for KatieLyn to begin using the reasoning of this world to count the "what ifs" and to drop her faith in having heard God.

But... On the other hand, while we knew KatieLyn had a close relationship with her mother, we did not realize the magnitude of her attachment disorder, nor did we ever suspect the depth of dysfunction that later manifest in Gwen's triangulation demands to shut off and control all communication.

Enlightenment Can Come from the Oddest Places!

Who could have guessed that a discussion about North Carolina's bathroom bill, which requires persons using public bathrooms to use the gender that matches their original body parts rather than whichever bathroom they "feel like" in the moment, would have exposed a new level of βat&hit craziness in KatieLyn's family. Okay, maybe not actually the guano. Maybe factually the pee.

As we were delicately discussing privacy issues, the openness of urinals, and the dope-damaged brains of certain policy setters, the conversation took an unexpected twist. Apparently part of KatieLyn's job description as a nursery teacher is to teach two-year-old boys to potty sitting down—like a girl. I find that in itself disturbing, but that wasn't the part that left me incredulous.

I'm going to have to take the reporting of KatieLyn's word for this, I don't have an eyewitness, but reportedly, KatieLyn's mother has trained KatieLyn's father in a similar fashion because it makes cleaning easier.          
...   ...   ... 

Yes, it took me a moment to find words again. For what it's worth, the Bible is not exactly silent on this subject, so it ought to be fair to consider it here in a blog that compares real life with scripture. Every person has quirks and peculiarities. Those aren't the point here. What is more troubling is the degree of control that Gwen is enforcing over her husband. Telling a man, especially one's husband, how he may or may not use the facilities because it inconveniences your cleaning schedule is just plain freaky.  And weird. And abnormal. Emasculating one's husband because his God-given plumbing naturally splatters is definitely on the screwball side, and that he'd go along with it is worse.

Did Joe dodge a bullet? 

For the time being, yes. Until and unless KatieLyn is going to cut the apron strings that hold her fast, she can't be a good wife to anyone! She is willingly under the thrall of a control-freak mother, which would automatically make her a horrible wife.
I have said it before, and it is still true; God's design was for her to leave home and grow into her own person. She could have flourished and thrived if she'd been obedient to the Lord.
Joe dodged this bullet, but it hit KatieLyn in the heart.

But what about the 5th Commandment?

That is a legitimate question. It needs a post of its own. Yes, KatieLyn needs to honor her mother and her father. Real honor. Not false pride. I am not sure that she has grown to learn the difference yet.