Marriage -- Living Out Our Vows

My marriage has been one of celebrations, heartach, laughing together, and arguments that ended with me in tears and both of us in self-imposed isolation. We've both said things, hurtful words thrown out in the middle of a fight, we worried we'd never be able to undue. And through it all, we've learned true love, the kind that binds two hearts inseperably and reveals the love of Christ, holds tight through the good, the hard, the ugly, and the unexpected. 

When my husband and I first started dating, I spent hours dolling myself up in the mirror. I wanted my hair to look just right, my lipstick the perfect shade, whatever it took to see his eyes light up and hear him say, “You’re beautiful.”

Now, sixteen years later, my hair’s streaked with gray, laugh lines fan from my eyes, and it’s harder to find clothing to compliment my not so complimenting figure, and I’m thankful for ‘till death do we part. I’m thankful that even when I’m at my worst, lying on the couch with hair frizzed out and nose swollen red with the flu, my husband still looks at me with fire in his eyes and says, “You’re beautiful.”

Even when he's staring at a woman with frizzy, just-woke-up hair, who's dressed in her favorite, stained and tattered sleeping attire, and has mascara smudged beneath her eyes.

Because over the years, we’ve learned that beauty extends far beyond the exterior, heightened by a love that penetrates so deep, no amount of wrinkles, bald heads, pot-bellies, or gray hair, can distinguish the passion we have for one another.

Beauty is a life well-lived, a man and woman loved well. It's perseverance. Trust built, and when necessary, rebuilt. Arguments resolved and hurtful statements repented of and soothed. It's caring and serving and choosing to see the best in one another. 

But most importantly, beauty is utter dependence on our ultimate Bridegroom, the One who holds my husband and I together and shows us, through His death on the cross, what it truly means to love with passion.

Make sure to sign up for my free quarterly emailing. As a thank you gift, subscribers receive a free, 36-lesson Bible study based on 1 Timothy (download link sent separately, in a welcome email). They also receive great content (short stories, devotionals, recipes, and more) sent directly to their inbox each quarter. You can sign up HERE. (You can check out this month's mailing HERE.) 

If you love fiction, check out my latest novel, Restoring Her Faith, HERE, and you can preorder my next one, releasing in September, HERE.

For those wanting to learn how to more fully embrace their Christ-centered identity and rest in His grace, grab a free 

copy of Wholly Loved's Bible study, Becoming His Princess. You can do so HERE. 

And join Wholly Loved's interactive Facebook group, which is a safe place for women to share their struggles, questions, and celebrations, HERE.