Marriage

Joe and I had the opportunity to steal away to Big bear for a two day retreat to celebrate our 2nd wedding anniversary.

I love marriage…

I have learned so many things and have grown so much from being married to Joe.

I have learned that love is a choice. I wake up every day deciding to love Joe, no matter what happens, no matter the stresses or strains that come that day, no matter how tired I am or how confused I am. I am committed to loving him, and I believe that as a result of that commitment, the warm, comforting feelings of love will follow. Are the relationships in your life built on commitment or the good feelings that the other person brings? If this is the case, what will happen when these good feelings are gone?

I have learned to be myself. Who I often tell others or even myself that I am is oftentimes not accurate. However, there is a safety in being with one person for such a large portion of every day. I care about our relationship and the strength of it to such a degree that I desire to consistently be myself with Joe, and although it is sometimes frustrating to him to see me morph in front of his eyes when I am around other people, I believe that it is comforting for him to know that I am always the same around him. I believe that if you cannot share yourself with another person on a daily basis, please don’t marry them. So much of marriage is built on friendship. Living behind a mask with your mate would be an incredibly straining ordeal no matter how amazing they may seem, you need to be able to be you and have them be okay with who that is.

I have learned that love is all about sacrifice. With every decision, it is not, what do I want today or tomorrow or this year? It is always what do I want and what do you want, and how can we, as we continue to seek the Lord, combine these visions into a synchronistic, compatible whole. As it says in the Bible, our lives are not our own because we have been bought with a price. It is the same in marriage. My life is not my own anymore, and I love it. It is a beautiful thing to live for someone else.

I can’t wait for our next anniversary and in the meantime, am daily rejoicing in the security and joy of being Joe’s bride.