Love Is Holding on for Dear Life
22 years. We have been married for 22 years. In some ways, it feels like we’ve been married forever. I can hardly remember a life lived apart from this man I love.
Scott proposed in front of Cinderella’s Castle at Magic Kingdom in Orlando. The castle was decorated to look like a birthday cake to celebrate 25 years since the grand opening of the park. (I prefer the unadorned version of the castle, but no one asked me about the change.) I said, “Yes!” He slipped the ring on my finger; we kissed; and then . . . we got in line for Alien Encounters, a 4-D ride based on the movie Alien. It was scary. It was intense. But we held onto each other for dear life.
This is what we have been doing for 22 years since.
We moved . . . several times. We started a new ministry. We built a house. We raised two sons (one still has a few years at home; the other has one foot out the door). We started a new church. We lived in the mundane of everyday life, days not fit to be included in the highlight reel.
Decisions have been scary. Days/months/years have been intense. Throughout the journey, we have done one thing right—we have held onto each other for dear life. Though our patience with each other may have been thin at times, though kindness may have been lacking in times of immense stress, we refused to let go.
Only one relationship eclipses my marriage. God loved me when I was unlovable. God rescued me from self-destruction. God healed my broken heart. God cleared out the lies in my mind with the truth of His Word. God forgave my sins and reconciled my relationships. God gave me a purpose for life.
“And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.”
For each of the past 8,014 days, my husband and I have chosen to remain together, to not allow the bond and the love between us to be broken, even on the days we might not have even wanted to be in the same room with each other. The choice was never based on our own strength or even on the depth of our love, but on God’s strength and the depth of His love. Individually, we placed our trust and our faith in the God Who loves us unconditionally. We held onto each other for dear life because we first held onto God for dear life. Are you holding onto God for dear life, above all other relationships?
We held onto each other for dear life because we first held onto God for dear life.
“But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.”
