Anniversary.

Marriage:

Though stronger than ever, we are beautifully more delicate than ever.  We have become increasingly sensitive to our own, and each others proximity to God.  If we are distant from each other, we are distant from God and if we are distant from God we are distant from each other.  This ebb and flow in marriage is to be expected.  What is extraordinary is that God will not allow us to endure this distance.  Like a rock in the shoe, our discomfort must be resolved.  Our hyper-sensitivity won't allow us to just push through or ignore things, God insists on resolution and restoration.  That is amazing to me.  Even in the petty stuff, no matter how hurt or sad one of us feels, what does not fail is our trust and hope in Christ.  Thus, our success in marriage comes from nothing we bring to it, merely a complete (and it must be nothing less than complete) dependence on God and the work of Christ.  God's strength in our marriage hasn't made us individually stronger, it has made us more fragile and more vulnerable.  It's so beautiful though.  If we turn from him even for a moment, we are no further along than 21 years ago.  Christ is not a helping hand to see us through hard times, he is everything, the very breath of life.  It is clear now that our marriage is not our own, but a vessel for God's will, and what joy it brings to us as a result.