12 years and counting

So you may have noticed that my "about me" has changed. Yes, I've now been married 12 years. I don't think people make a big enough deal about anniversaries anymore. You hear about big celebrations at 10, 15, 20, 25, etc. but the ones in between seem to come and go without any one's notice. To me every anniversary is a big deal. Marriage is not easy and an anniversary is a perfect time to remember and celebrate the fact that we have kept our covenant that we made before God. (To see how we celebrated this year check out Joe's blog.) Making it to 12 was especially a big deal for me. Several years ago--in our first few years of marriage--I remember a pastor mentioning some of the most difficult years of marriage. For some reason, the year "11" stuck with me. You typically hear that year 1 is difficult and the other years that he mentioned didn't really strike me as weird, but "year 11" just sounded odd to me and I never forgot it. I came to dread year 11 of being married wondering what was to come. To be sure year 11 definitely lived up to my previous pastor's prediction--it was a tough year mainly because of all the circumstances going on in our lives. A job change and a move is tough on anyone at any year of their marriage. But in reflecting on the toughness of this last year I am once again reminded that in our marriage those tough years bring us closer together not further apart. 12 years of marriage has brought me a greater appreciation and love of my husband, Joe, who seeks fervently after our Lord and my Lord who has been so gracious in pouring so many blessings on us in the last 12 years. So here's to 12 and counting...