Nov 21, 2017 3 min read

Wednesday is my 14th wedding anniversary. If you see my husband around town, remind him for me, OK?

All those years ago when we got married, I thought it was going to be easy. I thought since I loved this man, we would get along and agree, and live happily ever after. I thought since he loved me, we would always be the happy-go-lucky couple we began as.

Wow, was I naïve.

Over the years, we have disagreed about many, many things. One time, we had an argument about cheese. Yes, cheese. See, I told my hubby I didn’t want cheese on my breakfast sandwich but then changed my mind after he had put it away. He thought I was being snarky about making my own breakfast and I told him he could blow it out his wazoo.

Nope, it doesn’t sound any better after explaining it aloud.

We have also disagreed about things of importance, like how to discipline our kids, where to invest our money and what health issues to address. For example, I felt the chest pain he experienced this past spring warranted a trip to the doctor. He didn’t, but after much persuasion allowed me to take him. Par usual, I was right.

Whoops. That’s one of those phrases that has gotten me into trouble before. I’m still a work in progress, OK?

At any rate, I have discovered over the years marriage is the hardest job I will ever have. (I think it is even harder than parenting children because for a number of years the kids have to listen to what you say while your husband always has to choose to hear you.)

My faith in God has done more for our marriage than anything else I have tried. When I think of how forgiving God has been of the big things I have done to Him, I pause to reflect on how I am able to forgive my husband the little things he does that drive me crazy. When I remember how self-sacrificing Jesus was for the world, I can be a little more in tune to my husband’s needs. And when I take the time to do these things for my husband, he is more able to respond in kind to me.

We keep working on it, and of course, we don’t do it perfectly. But you know what? We didn’t promise to be perfect. We just promised to see it to the end.

There have certainly been times when we’ve considered throwing in the towel. It has seemed easier to quit than to keep slogging through the tough days. But the bottom line is I can’t imagine my life without him in it. I love him, and he loves me. And God makes the rest of it possible.