A Godly Marriage

To have a Godly marriage, or even a healthy marriage, is something most people strive towards but often find challenging.  It's even harder if you haven't been able to witness it in action on a daily basis.  But I have.  As has almost anyone who's ever encountered Jim or Mary Davis for more that 2 minutes.

Two things in particular have stuck in my mind since childhood.  They were spoken by my parents, then acted upon.  When I was twelve, I asked my mother how she knew she still loved Dad.  After all, I assumed the romantic butterflies had faded.  She said, “love is a choice you make every day when you wake up.”  I also remember hearing my dad tell my brother and I, very matter-of-factly (with no meanness whatsoever) “I love your mother more than I love you.” 

For 14,610 days, they have chosen to wake up and love one another.  They have lived a life putting one another first, over everyone else.  As they should!  They have made tough choices and sacrifices.  They have never had brand-name everythings and gigantic paychecks.  Yet they both consider themselves blessed beyond measure.  They've been able to travel the world together.  I love that after 40 years, they are still one another's best friends and favorite traveling companions. 

Oh sure, they have had moments of being annoyed by one another.  But I can probably count on one hand the number of times I ever heard them fight.  But I remember one time in particular, cross words were spoken.  Not only did they make up and the offending party apologized, the offender actually apologized to my brother and I as well.  The apology was not for fighting in front of us.  It was for acting disrespectfully toward our parent and for not cherishing their spouse.  The fight lasted a matter of minutes and was instantly followed by the apology.  The craziest thing about apologizing to my brother and I is that we were already adults.

The example these two are of choosing love daily is mindblowing.  The thing I find equally impressive is how easy they make the choice on the other person!  Each would probably credit the other with making the marriage easy.  I’ve never thought either of them was struggling to love one another.  He still thinks she’s the most beautiful woman in any and every room.  She still thinks he’s the kindest, most generous man she’s ever known.  I think they’re both right.

Happy Anniversary.