We stood in that pasture, surrounded by family and friends as we vowed to love each other through better or worse. We were young, and naive, and in love, and full of hope.

We said the vows, not fully able to comprehend the weight of our words. We made the promise of sticking together when we didn’t know what the future would hold. We grinned ear-to-ear as we slid the rings on one another’s finger.

Now, seven years later, and truly learning the meaning of for better or worse.

Learning that marriage is harder than we imagined, more delicate than we knew, and more beautiful than we thought possible. We’ve learned that a marriage can’t survive without grace and forgiveness. We’ve learned that God can take something broken, and stitch it together in His most beautiful image.

We’ve learned that marriage is hard work, and grit, and humility, and dying to self, and sacrifices, and choices. It’s choosing every day to work on your marriage, even when the sight of your spouse makes you want to scream. It’s choosing to love them, even when you don’t like them. It’s knowing that there will be seasons where you don’t feel “in love” but you choose to love them through it anyway. It’s knowing that daily work pays off and that after seven years of marriage there can still be a flame burning bright. It’s knowing that marriage isn’t what the fairy tales would say, but that it can be so much better.

It’s knowing that giving up would be the easier option. That the strength it takes to keep a marriage good is exhausting. It’s knowing that when you make God your foundation, you can whether the storms. It’s knowing the importance of dating your spouse, and laughing together, and intimacy. It’s knowing that in the throes of stresses, and parenthood, and supporting a family, that you’re better together than you are apart.

[mailerlite_form form_id=3]