Tomorrow (October 24th) we celebrate our 43 wedding anniversary.
How time flies!
We were married on a Sunday at 2:00 in the afternoon,
in our church, at a wedding Mass just for us.
It felt special. It felt right. We were ready for life together.
We had prepared long and hard to start off on the right track -
on the right foot, so they say.
We had the blessings of all our family and friends, most of them attending with us.
We were so looking forward to starting our life together,
beginning with a 2 week honeymoon that we had planned and saved long for.
Our life together would be a breeze and anything that wasn't,
we would face together and "fix it"
~ like most young couples without a clue.
The first year was so hard. Such an adjustment, even a disappointment.
Maybe we had expected too much of this life together.
I missed my big, noisy, crazy family.
He missed his Mother who was alone, now that he the youngest was gone.
We worked hard at trying to make a house feel like home,
even finding a small place outside of town to call our own.
We were free to come and go, together or alone, without waiting for "date night".
We ate what we wanted (if we could afford it) and when we wanted to.
On weekends, we stayed up late and slept in if we wanted to.
We answered to no one but ourselves and whomever we worked for at the time.
This went on for several years. Life was easy enough, but not perfect.
Something was missing.
I think it was a PURPOSE.
Eventually SHE was born. Two years later, another PURPOSE.
And life got a whole lot harder.
But, it also got a whole lot sweeter and meaningful, and even fun!
Through the years, we experienced great sadness at the loss of loved ones,
especially parents and close friends and even a sudden tragic loss of life.
We saw hardship like we never would have believed could happen to us (or anyone): career loss, heart attacks, food stamps, struggles with adoption and special needs,
major medical and other bills, just to mention a few things.
Like most couples sooner or later, our marriage was tested; our faith was tested.
If God had meant to bring us to our knees to bring us closer together
and closer to Him, it worked.
When we had professed our vows so many years ago,
"the two shall become one"
"for richer or for poorer"
and "in sickness and in health, till death do us part"
we were surely meant to find out what all that really meant!
We learned how to work together, REALLY work together.
We learned how to savor and appreciate our time together, and with our children.
We became more aware of each other's needs and less of our own.
We learned that it is much sweeter to give than to receive, as we found ways to show how much we appreciated each other in our daily activities and communication.
We learned that Love really is kind, gentle, giving, forgiving and patient
- even when you don't want to be.
We are still learning and changing and growing.
Through all the ups and downs of married life together
we began to understand the true meaning of the triangle of marriage
- God being at the top -
and how the "two shall become one" while remaining united with Him.
You just can't expect to face it alone without Him.
And so, We are one!
And, we are Blessed!
~ Gwen of IRISH ACRES