Weddings and marriages have been on my mind a lot lately (probably b/c my sister, Jessica, just got married! see the previous post). I had the privilege of being Jessica's matron of honor, and at the rehearsal dinner I gave a toast. It was nothing too profound or original. As I choked back tears, I said something along the lines of:
- "I love you both"
- "I am excited to have a new brother...although I feel like Ryan has been part of our family for a long time"
- "We, as their friends/family, have an obligation to support them, love them, & pray for them"
- "Marriage is hard work, but a blessing beyond what you can imagine"
I didnt think much of it, but the next night after the wedding I was talking to my stepdad, John, and he asked why I said "Marriage is hard work." My 1st response was a resounding "Because it IS hard work." Hello, I have a whopping 500 days under my belt; I know a little something :)
His point was that marriage takes work, but is that really "HARD work?" Maybe it is just semantics, but I appreciated his point. We choose to be married. If we go in with our eyes wide open, we know that our partner is not perfect (gasp!). While, I think Adam is perfect for me, I know he is not perfect, and I know that I am not perfect (no laughing!). Thus, when you have two imperfect people under one roof, it takes work in the form of compromise, patience, and compassion. So, John, maybe marriage it isnt HARD work, but it takes work daily, right? On day 1, 2, 3....day 500, 501...day 15,000, etc!
Happy day 4 Jessica and Ryan! Happy day 500 Adam!
