What makes it last?

Our life has been a crazy and hectic blur this past year. It has been just one thing after another. Trying to sell the house, moving in with the in-laws, building our new house, me and the girls being gone to Wyoming for 2 months, moving back with the in-laws, moving into the new house, and finally unpacking and settling in. I felt like these things just kind of took over our lives this year. The day to day wasn't always pretty or easy, but the end result made it all worth it.

I was thinking today that Robert and I have been married almost 7 years. He has been in my life for 8 years. That is close to a decade of being with one person everyday, day in and day out, and with that comes all the good and all the bad. Lets face it, being married is not one big fairytale all the time. If somebody tells you their marriage is, they are lying a little. Don't get me wrong, my life with my husband so far has had its fairytale moments, but I will also be the first to say that there are other times when things are so much less than a fairytale! Life gets hard, messy, we have been thrown many trials and changes in our life together, and I often wonder what is it that makes us last? I know that I am not THAT attractive all the time, and I know that I'm not THAT pleasant all the time, for my husband to say, "Yeah she is SO worth all this!"
I don't know what makes everyone elses marriages last, but after thinking a lot about it, I think I know what makes my marriage last. We have a love that isn't defined by attraction alone. Are love is much deeper than that. He knows my soul and I know his. Of course we know all about and agree opon religion, our beliefs, life goals, and political views. But aside from those kinds of things, we really know each other down deep in the soul. I know what makes him really tick. Most of the time I know what he is thinking or what he is going to say or do, or why he is really doing it before he admits it. I know he can do the same for me. That can be annoying sometimes, but how wonderful to know someone that well that you can be your complete self with and know they will love for it not in spite of it. We both know that when things get ugly and hard, neither one of us is going to throw up our hands and say, "I quit!" It is not an option for us. We went into our marriage with this mind set.
My husband and I have an eternal marriage. Those are not just words to us. We have made sacred covenant to each other and to God. We don't always live up to them, meaning we are not a perfect couple. But I think that the important part is not the we aren't perfect, but that we wake up every morning striving to do a little better, and try a little harder to perfect our marriage so that we will one day live eternally together. The goal is to live with our family in the presence of God.
After 8 years I can honestly say there is no other person on the earth that I would rather walk through this life with. For good or bad, richer or poorer, sickness and health, and whatever comes our way. I love you babe!




These are a couple of pictures of our wedding that just make me laugh and smile. Obviously I was a lot bigger and Rob was a lot smaller when we were married, but aside from the obvious, when I looked at these today I noticed a couple others things.
For instance, the way Rob is looking at me when we are dancing. The smiles on our faces after we had just come out of the temple from getting married, you can't fake that kind of happines. I remember that day and have nothing but a full heart and graditude for God putting us in each other's paths.

In the day to day grind and the business of life together, I think it is important for us to ask ourselves: Do we stop to really look at our spouses, to notice them, to hold them, and to cherish them?