Marriage has a certain ring to it that echoes to the deepest depths of humanity's soul. One minute you're putting a ring on your spouse's finger committing to do life together, forever... Next minute, you may feel like you're in a boxing ring going toe to toe with your beloved. If you're wise enough to hire "forgiveness" as the referee, you'll get a chance to reminisce on the journey and look forward to what life has to b-ring. Allow me to indulge you on a few marriage milestones I've been fortunate to experience this past decade.
I've learned to write my plans with a pencil and give God the eraser. When I met my wife, Gretchen, at a church we both attended in Miami, I was genuinely interested in a platonic relationship and nothing more. To the point where I played match maker for a couple of friends who were interested in getting to know her. Obviously those attempts didn't materialize. Four years later, I found myself staging a surprise proposal at her job at Jackson Memorial Hospital. On July 2010, we exchanged "I Dos" and personal vows we wrote for one another. We've gone through mountaintop experiences and walked through some dark valleys these past ten years. Had it not been for our faith in Christ, willingness to honor His blueprint for marriage, and a village of like-minded individuals, we would've fell victim to the 2,400 divorces that happen per day. That's roughly 876,000 broken homes a year.
Family is a fire that can either refine or destroy you. This past decade has definitely strained and cleansed us from a number of impurities. It's hard enough trying to create oneness in a marriage between two different individuals, adding children in the mix makes it that much more challenging. However, the spark of contributing to the creation of little human beings is a joy beyond words. Best of all, I'm grateful to have a God fearing woman on my side as their mother. In a day where career and feminism are running rampant, I've been blessed with a wife who has sacrificed working full time to home school our three beautiful gifts from God. Trust me, it ain't easy, but it's worth it! We've had our ups and downs, but through it all, it's heart warming to see our children's educational plan remain robust during this COVID-19 pandemic as more distraught families are starting to defer to homeschooling. Believe me when I tell you, we're far from perfect. The fire of being married with children has left some burn marks, but with God's help we're striving to leave a mark of fine tuned legacy for His kingdom, our children, and generations to come.
So here we are, ring the alarm that we've been married for the last ten years. We've laughed together, got on each other's last nerves, traveled together, raised kids together, and managed to still look like we haven't aged much. A decade of marriage has definitely grandfathered us into maturity. One hundred and twenty months later, we look back to reflect on the growth, but remain humble knowing there's so much more we need to learn. Five hundred and twenty weeks are in the history books, we don't know how many more we have left, but we're hoping our lives will symbolize the beautiful struggle of Christ and his bride, the church. Whenever the Lord decides to dial our numbers to call us home, we hope to hear the ring tone of "well done, good and faithful servants."