The emotional place where a marriage begins is not nearly as important as the emotional place where a marriage finds itself toward the end.” ― Elizabeth Gilbert I promise all of you that I didnt forget David Sparks birthday over the weekend. As I watched his birthday wishes pour in I thought I would wait until a calmer moment to share my love with him. David has the opportunity to share with the couples that give him the honor of being a part of their weddings. He gets to have those embarrassing pre-marriage conversations with them, as well as the important conversations about the desires of their hearts for their life together. What a big responsibility. What a beautiful privilege. If I were to have that same opportunity to share with all of them I would say this. Have a beautiful, memory-filled wedding day - but make your bigger plan be about your daily life together. Be honest about the things you are feeling, even during moments of anger - but always temper everything you say with the deep love you share. Marriage is never perfect - fairytales rarely include the moments when relationships are riding a roller coaster and youre hanging on with white-tipped fingers. It happens. Feelings get hurt, things go wrong at work, family issues arise, and the person who bears the brunt of all of that emotion becomes the person who shares life with you every single day. Marriage is work. Dont fool yourself. And dont believe people that tell you that marriage shouldnt be work. It most certainly should be the work of two individuals who love each other and desire the very best for and from each other. And sometimes thats really difficult. But I would also tell them this - its worth it. When David and I shared our wedding vows, we never thought that our marriage journey would lead us to this place. Who ever truly thinks about the in sickness and in health part of those vows? I think for me it was more about how well he would take care of me when we had our children, and Im not really sure what it was about for him. We could never have imagined these moments. What I would say to you this morning is that while Davids diagnosis and prognosis has been devastating, the moments of this past year that have given me the opportunity to love him through have most certainly been worth all of the years that have previously led us here. What an honor for me. What a privilege. What a gift. As hard as it has been I believe it has been one of the ways God has reminded me that I trusted Him long ago when I followed David to Kentucky, and He is still guiding and loving me, and securing my future even while we teeter on the brink of heartbreak. As David celebrates his birthday I just wanted him to know that he has taught me so much about love, acceptance, forgiveness, joy, honor, encouragement, perseverance, and hope. I am a better person because he has honored me by loving me every step of our journey together. Happy Birthday, David. All of my love, Dawn.
Posted on: Mon, 22 Dec 2014 14:37:47 +0000
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