Working at It

Today I celebrate 14 years of marriage to my wife. That's no small feat in today's society. And I'd be lying if I said it was all wonderful. And I'd also be lying if I said I always did my best to love my wife. But I can also honestly say I'd do it all over again.

Right now I'm in the midst of preparing to officiate a wedding this weekend. When we met with the couple a few weeks ago, we talked about the usual stuff that you talk about with people who are about to get married: communication, love/romance/sex, money, etc. Basically, we talked some about the old axiom that marriage is work. And this is true. Just as life is work. In order to maintain your house, improve at your job or grow spiritually you have to work at it.

Sometimes I don't understand that well enough. It's easy to convince yourself that having to go through tough times is work. But working at marriage is more than that. You work each day at doing things that show your spouse your love. You work at becoming a better person. You work at improving your marriage. Without that work, your marriage grows stagnant--even dies.

And so, I try to remember each day to work. Not because I have to, but because I want to. And sometimes I fail at doing it. But that's no reason to give up. My bride is reason enough to keep trying and trying. Because we're going to keep celebrating this day for years to come. I love you, Beth.