Today my husband, Chad and I are celebrating 13 years of marriage… I think.
I’m pretty sure you lose track after 11 years or so. Ha! When I tell you that we’ve been through the highest highs and the lowest lows together, friend… I. Mean. It.
We met “Titanic Style” on a cruise ship headed to Mexico back in 2005. He chased me around the boat for a week, we fell in love, got married and the rest is history. (That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.) #wink
(We have the 2nd Greatest Love Story of all time. To read about the Greatest Love Story, click here.)
Together we’ve laughed, we’ve cried, we’ve argued, we’ve grown, we’ve made babies and raised babies, we’ve chased dreams, we’ve built houses and companies… all of it, together. Actually, we still do all those things! Well… except the baby thing, that’s a done deal unless God has an odd sense of humor. Ha!
Chad gets me to do the craziest things with him. I couldn’t even imagine it any other way. He’s my best friend, my partner in crime, the one who cheers me on, the one who drives me crazy when he snores, the one who wraps his (very attractive) arms around me and melts away my stress, the one who lifts me in prayer exactly when I need it the most, the one who stands beside me and the one I want to grow old with. He’s everything except my soul mate: that title belongs to Jesus. And my husband not only knows that, but he loves me even more because of it.
But enough about us!
Here’s a crash course of 13 things I’ve learned in 13 years of marriage:
I’m sharing this with you to help YOUR marriage grow forward and thrive, because marriage is a good, good thing. It’s one of God’s sweetest gifts! Here we go…
- Spend more time planning your Marriage than your wedding. That fairy tale day will be over in a matter of hours. Spend wayyy more time preparing your heart, mind and finances for the lifetime that will follow your wedding day.
- Learn your spouse’s Love Language early in your relationship. (Check out “The Five Love Languages” by Dr. Gary Chapman.) This is a game changer.
- Your marriage will go through Seasons. Some of them will be stressful and hard, but most of them will be joy-filled and beautiful. Every season will hold either a blessing or a lesson.
- You will both change and grow over time, as individuals and as a couple. That is okay! COMMUNICATE what is going on in your head and heart as you grow!
- Marriage should be a 3-strand cord. The “God Strand” will be the strongest of the 3. Keep the cord tightly woven. A 3-strand cord is not easily broken.
- Forgive, forgive and forgive some more. It frees YOU.
- Never talk badly about your spouse to your parents. (I received this wisdom from the preacher who married us.)
- Express appreciation to your spouse every day, even if it’s for something small.
- Never quit on the same day. (This bit has served us well.)
- Have fun together, often! Make silly memories and have dumb inside jokes. Sneak off just the two of you, even if it’s only once in a great while!
- Pray for your spouse, especially when you are angry at him/her. This will soften YOUR heart and lessen YOUR anger.
- Choose Love. Choose your spouse, every single day. You made a commitment when you said “I do.” Choose to honor it.
- Marriage, and all aspects of it, get better with time! It’s a beautiful thing!
Here’s to a Thriving Marriage. Stick around to see what happens in our next 13 years!
Your Marriage was meant to THRIVE! Download my FREE Happy Marriage checklist to grow forward with your spouse!
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