10 years ago today, we said “I do.” We had no idea what we were committing to, or where that promise would take us. We had already faced our share of struggle, but felt that we had come out on top. We thought we knew what it meant to forgive. We thought we knew what it meant to fight for each other. We thought we were prepared to confront whatever challenges we would face…together.
10 years ago today, we promised to love, honor, and cherish. We vowed to prefer each other; to care for each other; to respect each other. We declared before God and everyone present that we were committed to seeing it through. For better, for worse…we chose each other.
10 years ago today, we were full of dreams and ideas for the future. We had plans of travel and a beautiful home. Country living, and a couple of kids. We had good jobs, great friends, loving family. Life was good to us.
But we were not always good to each other….
10 years ago today, we were two individuals. We were separate entities, promising togetherness but fighting only for our own selves. We quickly forgot the vows that we made to love, honor, and cherish. We forgot how to prefer, care for, and respect one another. When better became worse, we each chose ourselves.
10 years ago today, we had no real idea what it meant to commit. To lay down our own lives for another. We didn’t know how to face a struggle together; and too often chose fighting over forgiveness. We didn’t know how to see past our own selfishness. It almost destroyed us.
But thank God, that wasn’t the end of our story….
These past 10 years have brought so much to our lives. I barely recognize the kids we were, when we said “I do”. We have experienced great highs, and devastating lows. We know too well the heart break of loss. We have equally cherished the joys of new beginnings. We have uncovered secrets. We have battled many demons. We have threatened to walk away. In the end…by the grace of God, we have chosen each other all over again.
These past 10 years have taught us how to love. As importantly, they have taught us how to receive love. We have learned to walk in honesty with one another. We have learned to forgive when we hurt each other. We have learned to root for one another. We have learned to speak respectfully to each other, even when we don’t feel those words are deserved.
These past 10 years have a brought a fulfillment of our dreams, and the birth of new dreams we never knew we had. Today, we dream of facing each day as one…no longer individuals battling for our own way. We dream of raising children who know how to live with integrity and love without fear. We dream of making a difference in the lives of those around us; by loving each other well, putting God first in everything, and praying those choices spill over into all that we do.
Thank you, for the past 10 years. I love you more everyday.
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