The Vow Matters!
/I got some news yesterday that really saddened me. I tried not to care but when a marriage ends, a family is broken. My heart hurts for the couple struggling and now choosing to go separate ways. It hurts more knowing God is not in the center of their marriage or lives.
It had me reflecting on my own marriage and struggles. We once were separated and it’s a dark time in our marriage we choose not to dwell on. What I learned most during it all was something so simple...
The vow matters!
For better or for worse. Richer or poorer. Sickness and in health.
The VOW matters!
I know the world thinks that if you’re not happy, the marriage isn’t legit. It’s a “we’ll stay married as long as we’re happy” kind of mentality.
Reality is God asked you to make a vow, a commitment to the your spouse. When we commit to someone for life, we lean on God to sustain us. Marriage is hard... so freaking hard!! And when you’re struggling, you need God even more.
A very wise man and pastor once told me “you chose him and knew what you were getting into before taking that vow.” It’s true. I chose my husband on my own. I vowed. And that vow matters.
You may be reading this and are struggling right now. You may be sad, lonely or feel lost. But you promised. You committed. You vowed. At one point you loved your spouse enough to marry them and I promise with God, you can find that in your heart again.
It is not love that keeps us together. In any marriage, love may fade... for a time. The vow is what matters. When feelings fade, the vow holds us together long enough for the feelings to return. Y’all, marriage is not a fairytale. It is love, selflessness, patience, tolerance and enduring the hard times TOGETHER.
I am so grateful I stuck to my vow. I love my husband more today than I ever have in the past. God is the center of our marriage and the center of my life. Without God, there’s no telling where we’d be and my husband wouldn’t still make my heart skip a beat every time he kissed me. It’s because of God I am madly, deeply in love with the same man 17 years later.
