14 years ago today...

...our family started.

We see our wedding anniversary as the birthday of our family.

Today our family turns 14. {That sounds like a long time!}

Our wedding, now, seems somewhat of a blur in my memory. I know there were many beautiful moments. But what strikes me most is how a wedding really has nothing to do with a marriage. No matter how much time one spends planning a wedding, nothing can truly prepare you for what it means to be married, even what it means to love.

Love has to be chosen, fought for, and sometimes held onto for dear life. At 22, when I walked down the aisle, love seemed so....what's the word?...sparkly. Smooth, shiny, and sweet. Not something I know it to be now, something to be hammered out with equal parts sweat and tears and joy.

And then what about the next 14 years to come? What will I think of love then, as I turn 50? Perhaps, like old cotton sheets that get washed over and over for years, love becomes broken in and regains some of its softness, from wear, and wrenching around. Think of the difference between soft, new sheets, and soft old ones. The old ones have a texture and a comfort that you cannot manufacture. That kind of comfort can't be bought. Only wrought.

I think this past year has yielded a softness to our love that we have not known before. And that hasn't come easily. (I talk about that here, and Kevin talks about it here.)

But I'm so deeply thankful that year after year, God continues to help us hammer out our love. He continues to inspire and encourage us. He continues to teach us who Love really is. And for all of these 14 past years, and for all the ones to come, we owe everything we have to Him.

Thank you, Lord, for the gift of each other.

Happy Anniversary to you, my loved husband, and Happy Birthday to our family!

{In honor of our anniversary, I'll be talking about marriage for a bit.

Tomorrow, i'll be hooking up with Jami's new linky on the topic of encouragement.}