Laughing Until I Cry

He’s still the one

“There is no more lovely, friendly and charming relationship, communion or company than a good marriage.” – Martin Luther

35 years today. And it’s never been sweeter, even though I did yell at him just yesterday about what is and what is not a rhetorical question. Yeah, there really aren’t any issues we can’t squabble about. I squabble louder than he does.

It wasn’t easy. We traveled paths we didn’t expect. Paths we didn’t want to go down. Hard times do not necessarily bring you closer.

There were certainly happy days and times. But many days marriage felt more like chemotherapy than anything else. There were lots of days of turning not to each other, but on each other.  Lots and lots of days of just getting through it. Surviving. Striving to not kill him. At least not in front of the children.

But God was good to us. He kept us. He was faithful when we were not.

So now on the other side of all those hard days, I find a friend. Not only someone I love, but someone I like. Someone who makes me laugh, and knows exactly what is going to make me cry even before I do. Someone who loves me enough to sleep on my side of the bed so it’s warm when I finally get there. It’s the very picture of everything I want in a marriage. Someone to hold a spot for me, to invite me into a warm, soft, safe place to rest.

As for those hard days? More than worth it. Every last one.