I have never felt such joy as I do now being married these two months. Committing to life with my best friends has opened a special gate of happiness into my life that truly proves marriage as a gift. The sweetness of waking up together each day, living and loving and serving together, sharing a life, is a divine blessing. I am happy in a new, deeper way. They were right, more than they knew.
Dying to self and serving someone else with your whole being brings, strangely, a new type of life injected into my heart. Being able to wholeheartedly belong, love, submit to another in such an intimate way of day in and day out – marriage is a joy.
Too many people say that marriage is hard. Yes, in the sense that denying yourself and choosing to love out of a decision when you don’t feel like it and just want to lie on the couch eating cookies while your husband does all the dishes is hard. Yes, marriage is hard work and requires the Spirit, commitment, and effort to build it, but it in itself is a joy, a gift!
How can it not be, when you are married to one who seeks the Lord and His Word? How can it not be, when you can experience life together and be one flesh and have a built-in teammate who is dedicated to your flourishing? Marriage doesn’t just happen or fall into place – it requires work! But it is a beautiful, special, sweet gift from Jesus.
I am the same person I was before I got married. I still like to read, I stay up too late, I get seconds on desserts, I am selfish and sinful and redeemed by Jesus. I didn’t magically change when I got married like I assumed (not in a drastic way, but lol me when I thought being a Mrs. would inspire me to put on makeup and do my hair everyday and overall be better at life for some reason). In fact, I think marriage has revealed that I am way worse than I thought I was, because now there is another human able to scrutinize my sin 24/7 and he loves me so much he rebukes me for it. I’m being challenged and stretched and it is good.
Marriage is ultimately about Jesus – that sweet picture of the gospel, of His love for His church in Ephesians 5. It is a lofty and humbling privilege that He invites me to participate in this image, this shadow play that I do not deserve in the slightest. He gets all the praise and glory for these sweet two months and three days.
