Yesterday my husband and I celebrated 37 years of marriage. Hard to believe how quickly the years have passed! It seems like just a few days ago that the elder of my two brothers walked me down the aisle to meet my groom. In the wedding photos, Jack’s light-sensitive glasses appear to have pink-tinged lenses, and we’ve often joked about how he viewed the day through rose-colored glasses.
Oh, how very many couples enter into matrimony the same way--expecting the romance to last and the road to be problem-free (or at least with only minor potholes)! In real life, though, our rose-colored romance sometimes doesn’t even last beyond the honeymoon. We return home to bills, responsibilities, and each other’s bad habits. Promises we made to love, honor, and cherish turn into “nag, grumble, and tolerate.”
There are days--many days--when I look over at the man I married and wonder how we made it this far. He’s a morning person; I’m a . . . well, a middle-of-the-day person. He’s a doer; I’m a ponderer. He’s outgoing; I’m reserved. He works with numbers; I work with words (and yet I’m the one who balances the checkbook!). There are lots of things we just don’t get about each other and probably never will.
The truth is, we wouldn’t have made it through 37 years of marriage without our commitment to each other, to the sanctity of marriage, and to God. When times got rough, we worked even harder at bridging our differences. When the problems got too big for the two of us, we sought help. Neither was willing to simply give up.
No marriage is perfect. No marriage is problem-free. The survival of a marriage depends much less on romance than it does on plain old commitment. But once you’re secure in that commitment, a little romance goes a long way to take you from surviving to thriving!
Where are you on your marriage journey? Any issues you need to face together or pray about? Any negative behaviors you need to correct or forgive? What one thing could you do today to rekindle the rose-colored romance from your wedding day?
What a great post, Myra!
ReplyDeleteAnd Happy Anniversary to you and your hubby!
I hope my husband and I are fortunate enough to see 37 years together. Most of the time I just wonder how we've made it 10! Another 27 on top of that seems unfathomable at this point.
But it's certainly something to strive for.
Happy Anniversary, Myra! My hubby and I will celebrate 18 years in August. Many of the things that were issues when we married seem so trivial now. We've learned to give and take, and let go. I pray we make it another 19 years, but then you'll be at 56... We'll never catch up! ;>)
ReplyDeleteHappy Anniversary, my friend. We celebrate number 37 next week. I still think it's uncanny that we were married within one week of each other. We were just meant to be friends. We're the flip side of you guys, though. I'm outgoing. Max contemplates. He writes in a foreign language (computer code). I write with REAL words. One difference from y'all, though--he's the morning guy; I'm the night-owl. And I ALSO keep the checkbook! Blessings to you today.
ReplyDeleteThanks, everyone! We had a great celebration last night--dinner and a lake cruise! Lovely evening.
ReplyDeleteThirty-seven years used to seem like FOREVER to me, too--but we made it! And in good health and still enjoying each other's company. It can be done!
Carla & Max, one of these years we'll have to go out for a shared anniversary celebration. Amazing, huh? ;>)