Ok I admit it, I have a dirty little secret. I watch a lot of reality TV! I think it's because my real life is a reality show full of crazy foibles and watching other people's up and downs somehow makes me feel more "normal." Since season 1, my favorite reality show has been TLC's Jon and Kate Plus 8. I mean being a mom of one drives me batty enough much less contemplating having 8 little munchkins running around the house. But Kate and Jon seemed to do it like a well oiled machine. I felt a sense of satisfaction that they were actually rearing their children themselves, not the paid help. I watched in awe as they did things normal parents do but just in a larger capacity. I loved seeing them pick out pumpkins, celebrate birthdays, and make loads of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. It looks exhausting but somehow Jon and Kate managed to make it work. I always believed that is what family is about no matter what life hands you...you make it work.
 
Just like any couple, they argue. Having 8 kids would put stress in anyone's lives! As someone who likes everything to be in its place, I too have control issues. My husband and I disagree,
( a lot), and yes he'd call me a Type A control freak.  But we love each other and we make it work. I could relate to Jon and Kate in a way that I couldn't with other perfectly "scripted" TV couples!  That's what I loved about the show. I know it's television and for ratings the producers have to add drama.  They show them arguing a couple times a week and make sure every second of it gets in the 1/2 hour episode.

Another huge component of me loving this particular couple is that we share something else in common...our faith in God. I loved to see them praying on national TV for the safety of their family and giving thanks to God for all their abundant blessings. That's not usually shown on television. As a fellow believer in the power of prayer I found myself smiling when I'd see them being open about their everyday faith in a God that was bigger than any of their problems.
They seemed un pretentious, so "un Hollywood" and that was refreshing. Things did start to change in Seasons 2 and 3 with episodes of plastic surgeries and hair transplants. But I just thought, if it were offered to me for free, maybe I'd do it?

When the tabloid rumors started this last spring I was the first to defend my favorite TV couple. I said it was the public being jealous and that they wanted to find fault because the show was now a huge hit. After all, don't we love the underdog until they get rich and famous? Then we want to tear them down and smack them back to reality? Hollywood has been doing it for centuries. We have a love hate relationship with celebs and their personal lives. Look at the rise and fall of Mel Gibson, Tom Cruise, Jennifer Anniston and Brad Pitt. No one cared about Jon and Kate's marriage until it was released they were making $75,000 and episode. Now everyone seems to have an opinion. I'm not excluding myself. I feel like I know them. I feel like they are friends of mine. They're not but that doesn't stop me from thinking about their situation and even discussing it with my friends.  I was one of the millions on May 25, not to see Kate making sandwiches, but to see the body language "on the couch." Everyone wanted to see what was really going on. After all, they did sign up to do a reality show. Was it not our right to know?

Jon looked sullen and angry. Kate looked like she was just trying to get through the interview. After the first week, when they announced things weren't good and they didn't know where this was going I was mad. I wanted to jump through the screen and shake them and yell "Don't Quit! Keep Fighting! Who cares about the show and the money, save your family! Get counseling and pray! You've done it before, hit the floor and pray for a miracle! You believe in miracles you've said it many times! Don't stop now!"

The same day that the second episode aired, Kate filed for divorce. My heart dropped. This wasn't some TV couple like Ross and Rachel breaking up. These are REAL PEOPLE. The lives of 8 children are about to change forever. They say they love those kids and I believe it. I don't want to pass judgment on them. They are a real family dealing with real life situations. I can just hope that their television persona hasn't taken control of their lives and they do the right thing.  I hope they will turn the cameras off and remember their marriage vows and fight for what those stand for. Isn't that the biggest battle in any marriage? When you want to run out the door you stand strong.  That's what the bible tells us to do. Jon and Kate need to rely on their relationship with God.

I'm not advocating staying in any abusive or unsafe marriage. But if they are dissolving their marriage based on "communication issues" then I'm praying for  a reconciliation. I know the God I serve is in the restoration business when there are two willing parties. If you're one of the millions of people that are on this journey with them, then do something with me. Let's pray for them! If you don't want to pray for them, pray for marriage. Pray for mine, yours and every marriage in this country. If not just for the spouses for the children that are affected by divorce. There's no harm in hitting the floor and asking for a miracle. If Jon and Kate can "make this work" think of the millions of marriages they can encourage with their public platform. Let's hope they can use their fame for something positive and show all those people betting against them  that they can turn this around. There still are happy endings.  Once I saw a poster with penguins in Central Park that said "Change is the accumulation of small steps of courage." When we want to run think of March of the Penguins. The only thing they can do is take very small deliberate steps. But they make it work. They just keep on marching.