In It For The Long Haul

This weekend, I had the opportunity to witness a wedding between two wonderful people. As the weekend progressed, the rehearsal, rehearsal dinner, pictures and so on, I was reminded of all the wonderful feelings I had during my special weekend.

All of the festivities were great, but nothing could have come close to comparing to our ceremony. I can so intimately recall our wedding vows and how each word coming out of  my mouth came straight from my heart. In that moment, it felt like there was no one around, just an opportunity to commit to a lifetime of service to each other and to those around us.

Over the last 7 years, our marriage has been anything but perfect. It wasn’t anything like the movies make it look, and the debt of school and starting off on your own was much more detrimental than I could have imagined. Yet through each sharp turn, each road block, and every bumpy road, I find myself more and more grateful for him. I didn’t say my vows with these things in mind, and even though some came on harder than others, my love has grown stronger.

Marriage is not something to be taken lightly. And just like any relationship–professional, friends, family, and so on–you will have disagreements, days, weeks, months, or even years of learning to work with each other. In any relationship, you find more than one person, which means more than one personality, more than one thought process, and more that one way of doing things. What you have always done may not work in a year. As you grow up, so do they. Unlike all the other relationships, one of marriage is one where you choose to grow in the same direction.

I know that life is not full of rainbows and butterflies, but of reality and truth. The reality is marriage is to be built on love, respect, honesty, graciousness, mercy, focus, and consistency.  We are designed to do life together, not against each other. To build into one another and help add value to each others lives. I am so grateful for the day I said, “I do”, and I know that though the road may be narrow and even impossible at times, I am glad I don’t have to navigate it alone.