This morning as I was preparing to take my son to Tae Kwon Do, I wondered where my husband and daughter were. I glanced outside the front window and found my husband standing in the middle of the cul-de-sac wearing his flannel pj pants and cowboy boots. Why? Because our 3 year old daughter really, really, really wanted to ride her bike. She, too was in her pjs with princess slippers and a winter coat. It was 48 degrees outside (which is nothing for my Montana born and raised husband!) The view of my husband with our little girl was priceless. He was sacrificing his Saturday morning relaxation to spend this bonding time with our daughter. However, he doesn't view it as a sacrifice. He views it as his honor and his privilege to play with his baby girl- even if he is standing in the middle of the street with his pj pants and cowboy boots on! It is moments like these that make me fall more in love with my husband. We will celebrate our 9 year anniversary in May. While we love celebrating our anniversary, we find that it's crucial to honor and celebrate our marriage every day. Our marriage is a gift from God. Therefore, in honoring our marriage, we honor God. After all, it takes THREE to get married! Archbishop Fulton Sheen wrote a phenomenal book, titled "Three to Get Married." Those three, of course, are husband, wife and God. One of my favorite quotes from his book is, "it loves the other, not because of attractiveness, or talents, or sympathy, but because of God. To the Christian, a person is someone for whom I must sacrifice myself, not one who must exist for my sake." This quote perfectly summarizes the way to have a happy marriage. Marriage is a sacrifice. That being said, any sacrifice that is absent of God, is a burden. A sacrifice that is centric around the love of God, becomes a joy. To be married is to sacrifice yourself for the love of your spouse and for the love of God. One of the main, driving reasons why marriage ends is because of the absence of God. Without God, the marriage becomes void of the joy of sacrifice and is left with the burden of sacrifice. The absence of God in marriage results in selfishness. However, when a marriage exists with God at the center, it will endure. In fact, it will endure through all of the bumps, hills and valleys that is indicative of life. World Marriage Day is celebrated every second Sunday of February. This year it falls on February 12- tomorrow! The World Marriage Day is sponsored by the Worldwide Marriage Encounter. In 1983, the "World Marriage Day was designated as a day to honor the husband and wife as the head of the family, the basic unit of society." (wmd.wwme.org) It is no mistake that this day always falls around St. Valentine's Day-- the day that our culture celebrates love. If you are married, take the time to do something special celebrate your spouse tomorrow. If you are not married, then pray for your future spouse. When growing up, my mom used to tell me that the greatest gift that you can give your children is to love your spouse. These words ring very true. I used to never want to get married because I didn't think that I could possibly have a marriage that was as full of love as my parents marriage was. However, I have never been more happy to have been proven wrong. My marriage is full of the same love that my parents marriage was built upon - the love of Christ. ^^My Dad and I in Illinois at the Archbishop Fulton Sheen Museum in 2016 #SelfieWithABishop
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