It’s hard to believe. We almost didn’t make it. We were young (by today’s standards, not back then), we had no idea what we were doing and we didn’t have positive role models.

I heard often growing up that I would never succeed at anything so I didn’t want to fail at my marriage.

I suggested we try going to church.
So we did.
After a couple of attempts we quit.
Life threw some more curve balls.
It went from bad to worse.

We tried again.
A different church.
This time we kept going.

Things continued in a downward spiral in every area of our life. Church wasn’t the magic pill. God was. Life’s struggles brought us to our knees and that made all the difference in the world. Life’s struggles didn’t end at that point. In fact they continued to get worse, but the healing in our marriage had begun.

The odds were against us, but God was for us. It hasn’t always been easy. Marriage is hard work and it’s not a one-sided effort. It took a lot of work and God’s grace to get here, we still have to work at it, and we still have to seek God, but it is worth it. And it does get easier.

I Corinthians 13:4-8

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.

Forty years.
Doesn’t seem possible.
It gets better each year.
I want 40 more.
Loving you Greg.

Celebrating marriage and God’s redeeming love on the journey, Jackie