20 Years!

20 years ago, I started on the journey of being a wife. So much has happened and changed in the past 20 years. Just this past week, I came across some old wedding photos that didn't make it into our wedding album for some reason (some of them were copies of photos that did make it). I thought it would be fun to share those as well as my thoughts on the past 20 years. So, in no particular order . . .

1. Love truly does grow better and deeper over the years if you commit to chose to love in those hard times.
2. I'm so thankful my husband has chosen to love me despite my many failings.
3. Learning to speak your spouse's love language is a must for a happy marriage (even if his love language is something that isn't top on your list).
4. God's ways for marriage truly do work.
5. Men need their wives to show them respect and submission is one of the best ways to do that.
6. Women need to know they are loved so #3 is key for a husband to learn.
7. My husband gets sexier with age.
8. Being a good father is more of a turn on than physical looks.
9. Praying together not only draws you closer to God, but to each other.
10. Having children helps you learn how selfish you truly are.
11. Experiencing labor with your husband by your side is one of the most intimate things that can happen in a marriage because of how vulnerable you are at that time.
12. Sex continually gets better because the more you know someone, the more intimate and pleasurable it is.
13. Never stop dating your spouse! Even if it is something as simple as putting the children to bed early or having them watch a movie in one room so you can be alone in another.
14. God knew that I needed my husband's free spirit to help me calm my anal-retentiveness. Opposites truly do attract!
15. So many blessings have come because I submitted to my husband's choices/ideas even though I didn't see how they made sense.
16. Marriage (and parenting) are all about sacrifice-sacrificial love as Christ demonstrated for us.
17. Sometimes when I think my husband is the one who needs to change, I discover it is actually I who need to change.
18. Communication is absolutely necessary for a marriage to thrive-communication not only about what is going on in your lives, but feelings and emotions, too.
19. Showing forgiveness to my husband as well as myself is necessary.
20. Making God the center of our marriage and family is the only way we have made it to 20 years and will be the only way we will continue to enjoy marriage for hopefully many, many more years!