Nine Years

Nine years ago tonight, these two yahoos got married (some pics here -- don't get too excited; they're of the scanned variety):

We were just babies, and I thought we were so grown up! And now here we are, nine years later, with three babies of our own. Time sure flies...

During the homily that night, our beloved Father Frank told us that the real test during marriage was to love one another even when we didn't deserve it, even when we were unlovable -- just as Christ loved His church and gave His life for it. It is easy to love each other when we are lovable. It is easy to love each other when things are going well, but it is much harder to love each other when things get tough. It is much harder to love each other when one of us is being a real pain in the you-know-what.

Thankfully, both Brad and I took the homily to heart, and in the past nine years we have done a pretty good (but by no means perfect) job of loving each other when we are unlovable. I could point out many times when he has been that way (he is, after all, a man!), but if I am honest, I will say that there are many when I have been unlovable, too. We are, after all, imperfect human beings living in a fallen world, but, thanks be to God, we are saved by the grace of God and the blood of His Son -- and because of that we can give each other grace.

I don't tell you all of this to make you think that Brad and I are two unlovable people dealing with a bad marriage. In fact, we have a very happy marriage that has only gotten better since we moved to Brad's farm. But we all have our moments. Luckily for us, we started our marriage where I always hope we will be -- looking toward the Cross.

To my husband, here is to ninety-nine more years together when we love each other through the good times and through the unlovable times. I love you. Thank you for loving me.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices in the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails...1 Corinthians 13: 4-8