Today my husband, Marc, and I celebrate 34 years of marriage. The miracle? Our imperfect love is still here, relevant, affecting, reciprocal, and alive with all of the needs and desires that any living thing has.
Marc and I were married at the ages of 18 and 17, respectively. (I wasn’t lying when I said “miracle”.) Like any marriage, it hasn’t always been easy, a comfort, or something we even wanted to continue. And yet, here we are, lo these many years later, grateful for that very statement of fact.
Here we are. Here we are. Here we are.
This morning during my devotions, I drew the Strength card. So fitting on a day like today when I contemplate one of the most important decisions of my life. Strength. How is any healthy, authentic, dynamic relationship sustained without the presence of Strength? Marriage — the Divine containment between the sacred and the mundane, spirit and flesh, heaven and earth, in a constant dance with each other. It takes incredible resolve and faith to hold polarizing energies as one.
I’m glad that Marc and I have found our rhythm — our one-two-three, one-two-three waltz on our very own dance floor. My gratitude extends to all of you, our friends and family, who have joined in the dance … and especially to our children.
This morning as we reflected on our lives together, I began to cry when I considered the fruit of our union. When I think of our sons and grandsons and how, together, we have loved, nurtured, and empowered them, I cry. When I consider the support we’ve, collectively, been able to extend to our parents, I cry. When I remember all of those who have poured love and time, prayers and wisdom into our shared cup in the hopes of our now and future selves, I cry. When I think of my ancestors and what their lives mean to mine, to ours, today, I cry.
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
Two are better than one because they have a more satisfying return for their labor; for if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and does not have another to lift him up.
I am made better because of this union between Marc, myself, and Spirit, and when I am made better so are the worlds in which I am a part. Connected. We are all so beautifully connected to the decisions of our ancestors in the past and the lives of those in our lineage who are yet to come.
I don’t take this love for granted. Everyday is a choice, and I never want either of us to consent to being here for any other reason than we choose to be.
Today, we’re saying yes. Today is the one we have. Praise be.
Asé