Marriage is Tough

Marriage is tough.  I'm sure we can all agree on this, especially given the divorce rate in this country. Some things have been on my heart lately, in part due to the realization that Jay and I will be married 21 years in April and were married at age 21. Wow. We made it. (Thank you, Jesus, because without you we'd never be together today. Truth.)

I have daughters, two beautiful, strong, brilliant daughters. I have a hardworking, fun-loving son. My prayer and hope for them is, and has always been, to know who they are, to live out a life full of God-adventures, passions and dreams.

Here is the honest truth of my heart...to my amazing daughters and my precious son...Be You. Enjoy your twenties. Be fearless. Race motocross. Fly airplanes. Study midwifery in the Philippines. Backpack through Europe. Travel to a developing country. Go out on a limb--way out of your comfort zone--with only God to hold you up. Do the things that thrill your heart, the things that move you to tears. Learn to serve the marginalized and love the unloved. Love justice and change your corner of the world. Jesus is enough.YOU are enough. You don't need a wife or a husband to make you whole. Live out the Father's plan for you so that if you do meet the "one", you begin that relationship knowing who you are.

I believe in marriage. Through all of the difficulties and hard times, I have grown to love and cherish my man. We aren't perfect and there are still days when I'd just as soon smack him as look at him. (Hey, just keeping it real.) Rarely does a day go by that he doesn't make me laugh, however, and I know that our next 21 years will be our very own God-adventure. But I cannot leave without saying this. I love my kids. I love my husband. I don't believe in regrets. Would I make different decisions if I were 20 again and knew what I knew now? Yes. I'd finish my degree, travel, sing, do the things my heart longed to do when I was in my twenties. And yes, I would wait to marry. Perhaps you married at a young age and you feel differently. That's ok. We all have our own experiences, opinions and paths to follow.

I read this blog post a couple of days ago (link here) and love this woman's perspective.  It's worth reading, particularly if you are the parent of a daughter. Love to you all!

Aaaand here's a laugh for all of you "old" marrieds out there...

from www.memeinside.com