My husband and I celebrate thirty-one years of marriage today. It seems like only yesterday that we were two kids starting our adventure together but at the same time seems like we’ve been together forever.
We’ve been through a lot. We’ve experienced for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health. We’ve laughed, cried, celebrated, mourned, embraced and fought.
Our marriage hasn’t been perfect. In fact, it hasn’t always been easy. We haven’t always agreed. There have been times that we’ve hurt each other. We’ve seen each other at our very worst. On rare occasions, we’ve threatened to part ways.
Yet, here we are, thirty-one years later with a marriage that is stronger than ever. How did we make it this far? We made a commitment to each other and to God, and we are not willing to break it no matter how difficult things get.
For thirty-one years, God has been the glue that holds us together through the good, the bad and the ugly. As we relied on God through the difficult times, He taught us what true love is.
True love is more than a feeling. True love is an action. It’s choosing to love someone even when they’re unlovable. God has taught us to love each other with the same love that Jesus has for us. The perfect love of Jesus is described in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7. “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”
Jesus loves us with that kind of love. He loved us when we were sinful and evil. We deserved death. Yet He took on the punishment for our sin and died in our place so that we could be forgiven and have eternal life with Him in heaven. We do not deserve His love, but He loves us anyway. This is the love that we must love everyone with. This is the love that makes a marriage work.
This is something we didn’t really understand when we were married back in 1987. But as we each grew in our relationships with Christ, His love, His ways, His plans, His calling and His purpose for us became clearer.
Together, we have learned to work as a team with God as the coach. And our love for Him and for each other grows deeper and deeper as time goes by.
God has blessed us through the years in ways far greater than we ever could have asked or imagined. He has blessed us with far more than we need and far more than we deserve.
I am thankful for the wonderful memories that we share, but I am also thankful for the difficult times and the struggles that we have overcome. I am thankful for a God who gives us mercy, grace, wisdom and a love that endures. I am thankful for a godly husband who loves me at my worst and a God who continues to be the glue that holds us together.