3 Years and Counting
National Marriage Week is nearly over, and I haven't posted anything....oops. That's not to say I haven't thought about it, though. It's hard to sum up the great blessing that is marriage, but I'll give it a shot. Jordan and I have been married for over 3 years, and boy have we had quite the adventure already!
Unlike the national average, we got married pretty young. I was only 20, and he was 24. Chalk that up to growing up in the Midwest, having strong faith lives, or immediately knowing that marriage was our future together, but we did it. While being young and married has come with its own challenges, it was definitely the right decision for us. We're of the viewpoint that if you know you've found the one to share your life with, and you've discerned this, why wait? We wanted to start our adventure together as soon as we could. At the end of 2017, on a frigid December day (much like today, in fact), Jordan and I entered the Sacrament together and pledged our lives to each other. Come sickness, poverty, health, or wealth, we are in it for the long haul.
Pretty much everyone says that marriage is really hard, but we tend to disagree. Life is hard. Experiences are hard. Living out our faith is hard. But choosing each other every day? Not hard. Often, it has felt like the world is against us and that we are constantly under some form of attack. It's felt more like when you're sitting in your house during a thunderstorm or blizzard. All around there is chaos, and your house is taking a beating, but inside you are safe. It drives you closer to each other. Granted, we aren't perfect. We disagree on things sometimes, tend toward selfishness, and struggle to keep God at the center of our focus. But that's our fallen nature as humans. A huge part of being a good spouse is helping each other to rise above all of that and to become saints!
Now that we have a child, marriage has become more complex. Our daughter is the supreme gift of our marriage, and is a sign of the multiplicative love Jordan and I have for each other. She is helping us to grow deeper in our relationship with each other, and to stretch ourselves in selflessness. There is something incredibly special about creating another person with the one you love most in the world.
There's a song that pops up in my mind quite often, and it usually makes me tear up. The main refrain of the song sums up what happens within a marriage when you both choose each other over and over again. Your love continues to grow exponentially. Love is naturally ordered to be grown, poured out, and spread to others.
That's the actual point of marriage, really. To be a living representation of the unconditional, ever growing love that God has for us and His Church. In fact, marriage and the family has been referred to as "the school of love." If you want to learn to love well, look to a marriage whose members cling to and reflect the One who is Love.
"Pretty much everyone says that marriage is really hard, but we tend to disagree. Life is hard. Experiences are hard. Living out our faith is hard. But choosing each other every day? Not hard."
ReplyDeleteI love this. : )
love your posts, so few people are still blogging nowadays, and I still prefer this format to other social media.