Celebrating 2 years of marriage

On  August 7th, Hebert and I celebrated our second-year anniversary! Its kind of hard to believe that its already been two years, it seems like we just got married a couple of days ago.  These past two years have really been such a blessing to me.  I'm so grateful that God has given me an amazing husband!

This past year was not an easy one.  I broke my ankle on a mission trip and had surgery.  I had to be on bedrest for four months with my husband taking care of everything for me, and I mean everything!  I could not shower on my own.  I could not go to the bathroom on my own.  I could not even walk without his help.  It made me learn to depend and trust on somebody else for my life.  Its the first time that I had been physically humbled in such a way and I have to say I truly needed to learn this lesson.  Our marriage has grown stronger because we've had to learn how to work together as one unit, instead of two.

One of the things that I'm constantly learning in my marriage and one of the things that I see over and over again in the couples that I help counsel, is that it is important to redefine our definition of love.  The love that is modeled to us according to the world, is such a shallow, superficial, wishy-washy, and weak type of love.  Its a love based purely on emotion, based on "what you give me" is "what I give back."  Its based on temporary feelings, emotional highs, it has a list of conditions and expectations, it seeks revenge when wronged, and cares more about itself than the other person in the relationship.  However, there is a higher definition of love, called agape love, its a love that seeks to edify the other instead of itself; it is willing to give its life for the other person.  Its sacrificial love.  Its an unconditional love, that has no record of wrongs, it is a decision made to love, it is a steady, consistent love it doesn't change according to circumstances.  This is how Jesus loved us.  He didn't keep a record of wrongs whenever he chose to die for our sins.  He made the decision to give up his life for us, not because we were good, but because he loved us.  Jesus is our supreme model on how we are to love our spouses and those around us. 

1 Corinthians 13 is a great definition of agape love.  1 John also has some agape verses.  Here's an excerpt from 1 Corinthians 13:

Love never gives up.
   Love cares more for others than for self.
   Love doesn't want what it doesn't have.
   Love doesn't strut,
   Doesn't have a swelled head,
   Doesn't force itself on others,
   Isn't always "me first,"
   Doesn't fly off the handle,
   Doesn't keep score of the sins of others,
   Doesn't revel when others grovel,
   Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
   Puts up with anything,
   Trusts God always,
   Always looks for the best,
   Never looks back,
   But keeps going to the end.
Love never dies.

Learning to love like this of course is easier said than done, but it is something we have to practice as Christians, that's how we are supposed to be known, its what sets us apart - our love.  Marriage is where we truly learn to love somebody else through good and bad.  Through marriage we learn about God's love for us, but we also learn how to be a reflection of God's love for our spouses and those around us. 

For those of you wanting to know more about agape love or a good book on marriage I seriously recommend, "A marriage without regrets,"  by Kay Arthur it is an amazing biblically-centered book and there are lessons in there that you will keep with you for the rest of your life.