I Did and I Still Do

As of yesterday, I have been married to one Justin R. Walker for ten whole years. I wonder how that is quite possible as I still feel relatively young and we are still quite relatively "in love." I know how difficult marriage is and can be. My parents divorced soon after I graduated from high school. Translation: I take marriage very, very seriously. And so does he. I think about how young we were ten years ago. How we made these outrageous vows not knowing the road that was ahead, but knowing with all of our hearts we'd be traveling that road together. United, as one. I was old enough in my heart that day to know we wouldn't always feel in love, to know that possibly someone or something would one day catch our eyes and we would have to choose again each other, to know that life would not work according to our "plans", that I would possibly wake up one morning and feel trapped or very much alone. But I also knew that bigger than all of those things was the story of marriage. The importance of vows. Sickness and health. Life and death. Redemption. And that the beauty of marriage is that it deepens over time. You think the whole courting/romance stage is the high point, the wedding, the celebration...but it's not. It is the lower then lows when you hold each other close in the night, it is looking my worst and him seeing me underneath it all, it is choosing to love again and again when this world says to give up, it is remembering the most life-giving, precious times as husband and wife and looking forward to a beautiful future with that same man, my soul mate, by my side. The beauty of marriage is that after ten years I can honestly say that I would walk down that aisle all over again and marry that fresh-faced, bright blue-eyed boy looking all excited and nervous in his black tuxedo. In fact, I would sprint down the aisle to get this whole adventure kick-started. And now that I have a whole ten years of marriage under my belt, I believe I can quite honestly say that being married rocks my world. (Happy 10th Anniversary, Justin, my love. This one is for you.)