Day 5 // Life Lessons Through Marriage: Sacrifical Love + A Heart of Service
When I was a little girl, I watched my parents celebrate their wedding anniversary milestones each year. I watched them celebrate how God kept them and gave them another year together from the day they said, “I do.” As a daughter, I was very curious at a young age about what marriage would look like for me. Honestly, I knew since the start of college that I desired a sweet godly marriage, even through the years I didn’t get the dating thing right.
As I reflect on my five-year wedding anniversary today I can’t help but think about all the things the Lord has birthed through our marriage. Marriage is a commitment and serious business when you make a covenant with a person you decide to spend your life with. Over the past five years, I have learned about a marriage that relies on the Holy Spirit through life changes and adjustments. I learned how to get rid of the worldly timelines and lean into the way God wants to work through marriage for a greater impact on the people in our home and community.
Two years into marriage, when we got pregnant with our first born we didn’t know what different challenges we would come across with my pregnancy. There are a lot of things that we can look back on through those months but what was most precious was growing through it together as I endured some painful days of carrying her in the womb. I never knew how much sacrifice it took to carry a child until we started to grow our family.
It is interesting being married and thinking of what it takes to raise children who are well-loved. I reflect on the story of Jesus going to the cross and Him being sent by the Father. I know the story seems very complicated outwardly but Jesus made a sacrificial decision to get pierced on the cross so that we can have this life today, as His children. Children that are redeemed by His mercy and grace.
Closing out year five of marriage reminds me of the sacrificial love we can offer one another and our children simply by putting the Lord in the center of our marriage. It is a sacrifice where we are not dependent on our own efforts when it comes to strengthening our family.
Through these past five years, we have seen God birth passions and desires within us that taught us to serve each other in our home so that we can reflect a heart of service to the community and friendships around us. I have learned that the true heart of ministry and service in marriage starts in our home and I am grateful for all these years that have captured those very moments.
This blog series is dedicated to my husband Marquis D. Harris and my readers as I write about the marital life lessons I have learned as we count down the days to our fifth anniversary. Click the tag #fivedaystofiveyears as you visit the blog to find a new writing piece on this series.
