What 26 Years of Marriage has Taught Me

Chris and I celebrate 26 years of marriage this week.  We have been married more than half our lives and have known each other since we were 18 years old. We have grown up together and God Willing we will grow old together.  I find that a significantly comforting thought.  Married life is certainly a challenge, especially today when the divorce rate in America hovers near 50 percent and marriage and family are under constant attack in our culture.  Marriage takes real effort on the part of both parties.



26 years of marriage has taught me:

--To put others before myself.

--To give without counting the cost or keeping score.

--To have real gratitude for having Chris as a part of my life.

--To be more patient and forbearing.

--To not always feel like I have to be right.

--To feel awe and wonder at the working of the Holy Spirit in our marriage, especially since we did not start our married life within the Church and only came to our senses about how desperately we both needed God a few years into our marriage.

--To say "I'm sorry" and to say it quickly with no brooding upon whatever wrongs, real or imagined, I've felt afflicted with.  I've found the sooner I say I'm sorry the better I feel.  It always feels like a huge burden has been lifted from me as soon as the words are spoken.

Married love is so much more than feeling in love.  It's more stable. It's more satisfying.  It's more sacrificial.  It's more awe-inspiring.

Today I give thanks for the gift of our marriage.  Living out my vocation as wife and mother has indeed been a most blessed and happy experience.  I pray for God's graces to be continually poured into our marriage and family and that through our vocation we might be invited at the end of all things to the Lamb's High Feast.