Marriage Musings

Sixteen years.

I sit here and stare at the cursor blinking on the screen and at the words I’ve just typed and I laugh.

I rejoice in the blessing of years.

I laugh at the absurdity of how fast sixteen years can fly by.

I smile when I remember my wedding day.

I laugh that I’m here. At this point. Typing sixteen.

I’ve known my man longer than I haven’t.

I laugh and rejoice and smile…and I do not take these years lightly. They are a blessing. Not a thing to take for granted about them. We’ve seen and watched and felt too many marriages that are disintegrating or falling apart around us. Some are physically separated, some still together, but emotionally divorced. It hurts to see it.

I never want to take my marriage for granted, yet I do at times. Marriage is a whole lot of hard work and forgiveness and grace and love. It’s a whole lot of learning about how selfish I am and how much I like my own way. It’s a whole lot of giving up self because Jesus lives in me and I love Him and I love my husband. It’s a whole lot of smiles and sharing good times and memories and laughter. It’s a whole lot of having someone there to hold your hand when life is rough and a whole lot of someone there, giving you a push, when the going is all uphill. It’s a whole lot of growing together and intertwining as your influences seep over onto each other and blend together.

Marriage is a reflection of Christ and His Bride. It is something beautiful and sacred and the whole picture and design of it are well beyond our comprehension.

Marriage is so easily discarded today. Marriages need safeguarded and cared for, much as prize rosebush needs tended and trimmed.

Treasure your spouse.

 

I’ve seen the hurt and devastation of divorce.

I’ve seen the pain and loneliness of a marriage ended by the separation of death.

I’ve seen how quickly one year rolls into the next.

I’ve seen the tenderness of older couples whose love is still going strong.

I’ve seen the lessons God has for us through marriage.

I’ve seen the blessings of  marriages that are treasured.

Marriage is treasure.

 

I follow some blogs and have liked some blog pages on facebook that are proponents for marriage. I see quotes from some of these, shared on facebook, supporting marriage and championing it.

One of my favorites is a photo of an older couple with this quote:

A reporter asked the couple how they had stayed together for 65 years. They replied, “We were born in a time when if something was broken, we would fix it, not throw it away.”

 

God doesn’t want us to throw it away either. Marriage isn’t nearly as much about the happiness we want the other person to give us, as it is about shaping us to be like Christ.

I’ve learned a lot in the last sixteen years and I’m still learning. Sometimes I feel like I’m just getting started on this whole learning and giving and growing process.

I. AM. THANKFUL.

Thankful for my man whom God has given me and blessed me with and granted sixteen years to us. Through ups and downs, smiles and frowns, here we are and I am overcome by the grace of God in giving me a husband, a friend, my love. I do not always make it easy for my man to love me and yet he forgives and loves me anyway. It is humbling when I stop and think about it and my heart overflows with gratitude to him and even more to my God. From Him comes love and grace and mercy and compassion. And He loves us all this way. Steadfast and true and ready to forgive and love even when we do not make it easy.

How great He is and how great His plan of marriage!

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