In June my husband and I will celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary. There will be no new diamond anniversary ring, no public renewal of vows, no obvious sign to the outside world that anything of great importance has occurred.
But we two know. It has taken fifteen years to become the couple we are today. A couple who has known bitter tears, raucous laughs, deep divisions, sublime communions, late night talks and early morning goodbyes. There has been not enough time, not enough money, not enough me to go around and yet... yet... God has filled the gaps, been there for me when my husband could not, been the miraculous money that got us through to the next month, been the third leg of this matrimonial stool. And we plan to celebrate because, to us, something monumental has occurred. Something monumental is occurring everyday in this beautiful, messy mosaic of our marriage. While 15 years may seem a lot to some, in reality, we are still a very young married couple. In trying to summarize what I feel has helped us out so far I created this little acrostic poem:
M ~ make time to talk, to laugh, to be together.
A ~ ask forgiveness and forgive freely.
R ~ rely on God and pray together out loud.
This will transform your married life.
R ~ remind him you love him everyday.
I ~ initiate intimacy.
A ~ argue with dignity.
G ~ guard your words in his presence and out of his presence.
E ~ exalt the best, ignore the rest and pray that he will do the same.
I hope that in ten years, upon our 25th wedding anniversary, I can return to this silly little poem and find that it still describes us, as we once were and as we continue to become.
Joining Ann Voskamp in exploring "the practice of marriage".
This really spoke to me. My hubby and I will be celebrating our 20th Anniversary in a couple of weeks. Everything you wrote is so true. Congratulations on your upcoming 15th Anniversary! ~Alana~
ReplyDeleteHi Found your blog from another...
ReplyDeleteYou don't need to keep this comment up..
Is is possible to correct the reference
in your blog title? I looked up Psalm 59.
There are only 17 verses. Perhaps it should be verses 16-17.
But, I have to say thanks for the blog verse, since I'm looking up names of God and want references to post next to them. So, that's why I looked up the Scripture.
Thank you for your concern. I took this particular interpretation from the New American Bible Translation which can be seen here: http://www.usccb.org/nab/bible/psalms/psalm59.htm even though it differs in number from other translations I own. I hope that is helpful. Your work on the names of God sounds interesting. Thank you for taking the time to visit and for your comment.
ReplyDeleteThis is not a "silly little poem" - it is a GREAT poem that needs to be posted on our refrigerator as a good reminder of what it takes to be a successful married couple. Yes, I said successful, because I believe that divorces are versions of failures. Looking at my husband and myself, we have to work on R #1 and A. We do pray out loud together as a family at mealtime, but we do not pray out loud together at other times. That is very powerful! Arguing with dignity: hmmm...that is something we will always be working on!!! As we approach our 15th Anniversary, we will not have all the pomp and circumstance that will show everyone the importance of the day, either, but we are the happiest we have ever been as a married couple, and that is worthy of our own CELEBRATION! H2U
ReplyDeleteI’m here from Ann’s today.
ReplyDelete15 years – and many more to come. I can read between both the lines the struggle and great joy – and wisdom.
And the poem – not silly – brilliant – brava!
This was a really nice thing to read today
God Bless and Keep You and your husband and your marriage
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