ANNIVERSARY!

oday is our anniversary! Shawn and I have been married for 4 years as of today! Today is a celebration of our blessed union. It is truly blessed because the Lord called us unto himself -Calvinist alert!- after our engagement, but before our wedding, allowing us to begin our lives as a married couple in Him.

We have been married for 4 years, but in January we will have been a couple for 10 years! The crazy part is that is doesn't really feel like it's been that long at all. On one hand, it feels as though I have known Shawn all my life, on the other finger (inside joke), it feels as though it were only yesterday that we went on our first date.

Shawn and I have both done a lot of changing since we were married 4 years ago. We've grown a lot in Christ, that's for sure. We've strived to take on our God given roles. He has dedicated much of his time to studying the Bible and learning gentleness, as to be a godly leader for our family. I have been putting much practice into keeping my duties at home in order and being Shawn's helper. It's been a challenge for both of us. The desire is there, but the change didn't happen over night.

The great thing is that marriage is pretty easy for us as believers. We've got the same goals, same parenting ideas, same attitude regarding the past, present, and future. All of these things are laid out for us in the Bible. Once we know what God wills for our marriage, we can both press forward, not looking back, and take ourselves in that direction.

Trust me, we spent 5 1/2 years living together as if we were a married couple when we weren't. We shared a bed, bank account, toothpaste tube, and a closet. After we accepted Christ -Armenian alert?- Shawn moved out for 6 months until our wedding. So, I have 6 months in a proper engagement relationship... much more difficult after living together. 4 years of being married, back to sharing the closet... I can definitely say that our relationship as a married Christian couple has been much easier than either of our previous situations.

I think what it boils down to is that sin makes things complicated and miserable. Living in it everyday is bound to bring heartache. No matter how "happy" we were, we were never even aware of what true happiness is. The six months apart was agonizing, but we did it because it was the right thing to do. I think that it has helped us to tell others in our previous living arrangements; "If we can do it, so can you" although no one we have told has tried. =[

Now that we are properly living together (and sharing a closet), life is much easier. I love being married, and I have a lot to compare it with. This is the best!

Love,