“…as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
Joshua 24:15
Twenty-seven years. Twenty-seven years ago two young twenty-something year olds stood up in front of a beautiful historic church during a wedding ceremony and surrounded by friends and family.
We had no idea what was ahead of us. We just knew we loved each other and wanted to live happily ever after together. The two of us had a ton of hopes and dreams. We said our vows—for better, for worse, sickness and health, till death do us part. We made that covenant to each other before God.
At that time, we knew at some point we wanted to live in the country, have at least two children and of course have horses, cats and dogs. We live in the country. We have cats and one dog. Anything else that we thought would happen in our lives really did not turn out like we thought. Surgeries, miscarriages and my struggles emotionally after them, job losses, financial ups and downs, loss of friends and family, loss of beloved pets, and so on. And there have been days it is simply hard to love each other unconditionally. Married life certainly has not been exactly what we thought it would be. We certainly could not have guessed what lie ahead of us twenty-seven years ago.
We have sometimes been asked how we have made the marriage work, how have we stayed together. I guess the simple answer is our marriage is grounded in Christ. And we did make a vow to each other that through thick and thin, with God’s help we would stay together. Being best friends and having shared interests (our community theater, music, South Dakota, Door County) and ministry (youth group, Operation Christmas Child, worship team, etc.) helps, too.
Yes, life has had it’s share of low points and tough times. “Date night” many times is just running errands. And as I mentioned times when it was just hard to love each other. But God has been good and blessed us. We rent a home that nicely fits our needs. We live in the country and have great landlords. No children of our own, but our lives have been full of youth as we have been youth leaders for years. God provided when we have experienced job loss. Recovery has happened after surgeries. We have been blessed with wonderful friends and family members. Christ is the foundation of our relationship.
Life isn’t easy. Marriage isn’t always easy. But I am thankful that we decided to do life together. I cannot imagine going through this life with anyone else. So thankful, too, that Christ is the head of our home and that we serve Him.
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