Thursday, February 12, 2009

Reflections

As I reflect upon our first year of marriage I can't help but smile. They said this would be the hardest, but it has been the best year of our entire life. I love Garth more than I did when we said "I do." We just get each other and there is nothing more comforting than that.
As I reflect on a year ago today, just days before our wedding, I can't help but feel the excitement again. That kind of excitement that makes it hard to fall alseep and causes a smile to be plastered to your face all. the. time.

I don't think I could explain what marriage is truly all about better than Donald Miller (author of Blue Like Jazz) and Gary Thomas (author of Sacred Marriage). So I won't try. These quotes give incredible depth to the mystery of marriage:

"God risked Himself on me. I will risk myself on you. And together, we will learn to love, and perhaps then and only then understand this gravity that drew Him, unto us." - DM

"To spiritually benefit from marriage, we have to be honest. We have to look at our disappointments, own up to ugly attitudes, and confront our selfishness." - GT

"... To wake and find you resting at my rib, to share these things that God has done, to walk you through the garden, to counsel your timid steps, your bewildered eye, you heart so slow to love, so careful to love, so sheepish that I stepped up my aim and became a man. Is this what God intended? That though He made you from my rib, it is you who is making me, humbling me, destroying me, and in so doing revealing Him. " -DM

"What if God didn't design marriage to be 'easier'? What is God had an end in mind tht went beyond our happiness, our comfort, and our desire to be infatuated and happy as if the world were a perfect place? What if God designed marriage to make us holy more than to make us happy?" - GT

"I will love you like God, because of God, mighted by the power of God. I will stop expecting your love, demanding your love, trading for your love, gaming for your love. I will simply love. I am giving myself to you , and tomorrow I will do it again. " - DM

"Romantic love has no elasticity to it. It can never be stretched; it simply shatters. Mature love, the kind demanded of a good marriage, must stretch, as the sinful human condition is such that all of us bear conflicting emotions." - GT

"If the purpose of marriage was simply to enjoy infatuation and make me 'happy', then I'd have to get a 'new' marriage every two or three years. But if I really wanted to see God transform me from the inside out, I'd need to concentrate on changing myself rather than on changing my spouse." - GT

"But what most of us crave more than anything else is to be intimately close to the God who made us. If that relationship is right, we won't make such severe demands on our marriage, asking each other, expecting each other, to compensate for spiritual emptiness." - GT

35 comments:

Megan said...

I LOVE those "quotes"

d.a.r. said...

How sweet!!!!

ashley said...

awww how exciting to be coming up on a year! do you have wedding pics up somewhere on your blog... i'd love to see! :-)

Jon and Steph said...

What amazing quotes... thanks for sharing!

Ginger said...

what a powerful post.

I love being in the company of someone who much like me knows how lucky she is to be married to the man that God made for her.

With Love from New Orleans said...

You two are an inspirational couple!

Lucky in Love said...

This post is amazing! I want those books!

Darci White said...

I just read every single one of these and wanted to seriously thank you for posting all of them.

I think that all to often we fixate on needing romance and sheer happiness from our marriages. Don't get me wrong, romance and happiness are wonderful, but as your quotes say, it is far more than that.

I love each of them! I'm going to post a few on my blog if you don't mind!

The Other K Wick said...

Wonderful quotes. I really like the one about "...God making marriage...to make us holy....rather than make us happy." WOW.

Tasha said...

Great quotes! Thanks for sharing these! They are really thought provoking.

Ellen Mint said...

Those are some great quotes.

Congrats on one whole year, may you get another 60 more.

Courtney said...

Aw those are great lindsay!

Newlywed Next Door said...

Beautiful. Congratulations!!!

The Pink Chick said...

Amazing! I love the quotes!!! Thank you for sharing! You have such a sweet spirit!

Tabbie:) said...

The last quote is my favorite!!!
Great post!!

Kristin said...

Wonderful post, friend! Congratulations on 1 year of marriage! I wish you the best for many years to come!

Mrs Anne said...

GREAT QUOTES!

YOU should have a PACKAGE today!

Girl Meets Beau said...

Oh I love all of these quotes! And yay for almost reaching the 1 year mark!! How exciting :)

Ron Centeno said...

Beautiful quotes!

Mrs. McB said...

This is awesome!!! I love it!

Liz said...

These are great quotes - I love them all. Congrats on a great first year.

~Mrs. Guru~ said...

Great quotes! Congrats on your anniversary!

Mrs. Nurse said...

Thanks for sharing the quotes :). I am glad that you two have had a fabulous first year together!

Emily said...

ahh thank you for sharing.. i Love all of those quotes!

Unknown said...

Isn't it great to "just get each other?" I love it! Yall are precious!

Sassy Engineer said...

I really enjoyed this post. The second to last quote was my FAVORITE! I'm so glad that y'all have had such an amazing year!

I have to say that our first year of marriage was the hardest but we grew a lot. I always hated when people would also say that it was all downhill from here. Isn't it horrible to think that it won't get better?! I never believed that. I know it will get better each year (even when it is hard).

Anyway, I know you and Garth will get even better each year - think how amazing and fun that will be!

The Blonde Duck said...

This is so inspiring!

Melissa said...

You and Garth are an awesome couple and I love those quotes!

Kaitlyn said...

Your marriage to Garth makes me all the more excited for my own to come eventually! You seem so amazing together. I love the quotes :)

JennyLee said...

Zane and I just get each other too. It's really the best feeling in the world!

Shell in your Pocket said...

Wonderful quotes to apply to our lives!
-sandy toe

Mc Allen said...

wow,, what an awesome reminder!! this was a wonderful post.... ♥

Mrs. S. said...

I agree that the first year of marriage has not been as horrible as people have said. I think that it is all about the struggle of trying to live together and balance that out. For some, it must be difficult. I am excited for you to celebrate your one year. It truly is a special day.

That's What She Said said...

awww, can't wait to have a marriage like that!!

As for the earring you were so worried I lost, I didn't. I just forgot to put the other one in. ha

Amber said...

Love the quotes!