Remembering Love This Christmas

There are moments in marriage that don’t come with a date or a calendar reminder — moments that slip in quietly, so softly you almost miss them. But later, when you look back, you realize: This was the moment my heart understood what my vows meant.

For me, it happened early in our marriage after we decided to approach marriage differently, God's way.

The house was dim. James was sitting on the couch, tired from the day, yet peaceful. James is always the calm that is a steady anchor to my sometimes stormy intensity. I remember watching him for a moment, not as the friend I once confided in, and not even as the husband I was learning to navigate… but as the man God was using to teach me about love, marriage, and patience. We both were learning that marriage was something sacred. Not me and him, but us.

The edges of our individual lives were beginning to blend. No, things were not perfect, far from it, but it was evident that God was weaving us together thread by thread, breath by breath, choice by choice. I realized we were no longer two people trying to figure each other out.

I began to understand unity for the first time. Scripture has always told the truth:“And the two shall become one flesh…” — Genesis 2:24. And with James, I finally felt it.

Couples, I encourage you to recognize your marriage as holy and your covenant as sacred. 

Marriage doesn’t become “one” on the wedding day. That is just the ceremony. But unity grows in the ordinary moments. And that’s the covenant. Covenant is the anchor of families. 

This December, as I sit beside the man who recently survived sickness, who is the head of our family, and who has loved me through all the highs and lows common to man, I'm thankful and excited to share our story. 

We are one. Not perfect. Very different. But still here living in gratitude.

And that, for me, is a miracle I celebrate every year in December, the month is all changed.