“So how’s the married life?”

I wish I could count the number of times I’ve been asked that question over the past two weeks. Each and every time, I smile and say “It’s wonderful! I couldn’t be happier!”

…but then, I am almost always met with the words “Enjoy it while it lasts.”

 

How discouraging, especially for a newlywed. I have waited twenty-eight years for this. I actually had to wait twenty-six years just to meet the man God made for me. Why put a damper on my excitement?

Better yet, why does it have to be this way? Why does the happiness have to end? Why do couples have to grow stagnant and forget why they fell in love with each other in the first place?

 

IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE THIS WAY.

 

Maybe – just maybe – it goes deeper than that. Maybe couples forget their first true love instead, Jesus. Once they forget to put Jesus in the center of their relationship, everything begins to fall flat. Now, I understand that Jordan and I will hit rough times. I understand that we will get angry with each other and disappoint one another. But I never, ever want to enter into the place of constant bickering and misery that I see so many couples in today. I want to continue to date him. I want to continue to love him more each day. Most importantly, I want to continue to grow together in Christ.

Dear friends, I encourage you that if you are in that stagnant stage, do not grow bitter and spread your unhappiness to others. I ask that you examine your heart and have a real discussion with your spouse to make things right. Marriage is meant to be a beautiful thing. It is a true gift from God, and a gift that I do not intend to take lightly. It may have taken twenty-eight years of patience, but from this point on, the smile I wore on my wedding day never has to leave again.

“Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.” – Mark 10:9