A year ago yesterday, I married my best friend and my beloved. Cadance and I were married on a beautiful spring morning in West Virginia, surrounded by family, friends, and loved ones. We made pledges of love and commitment to each other. Then we kissed, ate some cake, took some photos, and hit the road for Edisto Beach.
Since then, 367 days have passed. We've had our ups and downs like every married couple does. We've laughed, we've cried, we've agreed, and we've argued. Yet I can honestly say that I love my wife more today than I did last year, and am more committed to her now than I was when we said our vows.
I don't think this sort of commitment is unique to my wife and I. In both of our families and among both of our sets of friends, we see couples with tremendously strong marriages. We also, however, have family members and friends who have gone through divorce. What is the difference between one and the other? And what makes me so sure our marriage will endure, no matter what?
I think the difference is a God-given strength of will and ability to make a relationship a priority over other priorities. Birthed from a selfless love, the type of commitment marriage and other close relationships call for can be strong enough to drown out competing voices - but it takes recommitment each day and a strength of will that makes the relationship the priority. It is a level of commitment most eloquently expressed in Scripture by Ruth (albeit in a context other than marriage):
"Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me." (Ruth 1:16-17)
This is the sort of commitment that undergirds the best marriages, the best relationships. This is the sort of commitment that is necessary to go the distance. I strive for this in my marriage; do you?
In Christ,
Adam
Since then, 367 days have passed. We've had our ups and downs like every married couple does. We've laughed, we've cried, we've agreed, and we've argued. Yet I can honestly say that I love my wife more today than I did last year, and am more committed to her now than I was when we said our vows.
I don't think this sort of commitment is unique to my wife and I. In both of our families and among both of our sets of friends, we see couples with tremendously strong marriages. We also, however, have family members and friends who have gone through divorce. What is the difference between one and the other? And what makes me so sure our marriage will endure, no matter what?
I think the difference is a God-given strength of will and ability to make a relationship a priority over other priorities. Birthed from a selfless love, the type of commitment marriage and other close relationships call for can be strong enough to drown out competing voices - but it takes recommitment each day and a strength of will that makes the relationship the priority. It is a level of commitment most eloquently expressed in Scripture by Ruth (albeit in a context other than marriage):
"Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me." (Ruth 1:16-17)
This is the sort of commitment that undergirds the best marriages, the best relationships. This is the sort of commitment that is necessary to go the distance. I strive for this in my marriage; do you?
In Christ,
Adam
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