Did I Really Say That?!

Saturday night, my husband and I drove down to Salem so we could attend the wedding of some friends. It was a beautiful wedding. In fact, it was one of the most beautiful weddings I've ever been to!

This is Jordan and Leah.

It was one of those situations where the bride is SO gorgeous that you wonder how the groom landed her. They are such a fun couple and even though the ceremony was amazingly beautiful, it was very light-hearted and fun. (The recessional was "The Way You Make Me Feel", by Micheal Jackson!) You could feel the excitement eminating from the bride and groom!

It seems very rare these days to go to a wedding where you know for a fact that the bride has every right to be wearing that white dress. And that you know the couple will do everything in their power to stay together "Until death do us part." It was refreshing to witness.

After the ceremony we were ushered into the reception hall where we sat at a table with some of our friends. They have been married just a little bit longer than we have, and we quickly started discussing the wonderful ceremony.

It's amazing to me how weddings hold a different meaning than they used to. It's so easy to get divorced these days and the level of commitment is so low that you sometimes wonder why couples shell out thousands of dollars for one giant party.

As I grow older and walk through life next to my husband of almost ten years, I've learned to appreciate what those vows really mean. We've really been through the ringer in the last few years, but we did the hard thing and worked through it TOGETHER. The part where the bride and groom say "Richer or poorer, in sickness and health, in good times and bad, 'til death do us part." means something much more when you've actually seen some of those "poorer" or "bad" times.

After years of working together on our relationship and not giving up, I can honestly say that my relationship with my husband is better than I ever imagined it could be. And to think we could have another 50 years together!

If you're having a hard time with your spouse, let me encourage you to stick with the hard times. Seeing it from the other side of trial, I can tell you that it's worth walking through tough times with your spouse. Your relationship will be better than you thought possible!

This is Eric and I on our wedding day.