By Tanya Barnett
I was in my house the other day prepping for my kids to go to school, when I ran across a stack of our wedding day pictures. As I thumbed through each picture, I began to feel sad. I thought to myself, “I truly had no clue what I was saying ‘I do’ to.”
I actually found myself speaking to each picture as if the 1999 me could hear the 2016 me. I became so emotional that I started to bawl in the middle of my living room floor, cradling my pictures with the love and care of a mother nursing her newborn.
After I got myself together, thoughts flooded my mind about how unprepared we are for marriage. Our vows vaguely came back and these few words I remembered, “for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part.”
WOW! Looking at those words 17 years later, I now see how heavy they are. Those vows carry so much weight but I feel, most people haven’t realized how serious they are. Nor are people likely prepared to live them fully and until death.
I can admit that in those 17 years, Don and I have experienced them all, except for death, thank God!
We stayed through rich (rich in love, peace, joy) times. We stayed through the numerous unemployed, food stamps, pre-foreclosure poor times. We stayed through TWO premature labors and our son being hospitalized countless times as a baby. We stayed through me kicking diabetes in the butt and embracing my hair loss together. We stayed through homeschooling, military transfers and sleeping on people’s floors with three kids.
As I think back, I realize that I said “I do” to things I had no idea would come our way. I’m thankful I didn’t quit. I’m thankful he didn’t leave. I’m even more thankful we are in a place where I still say, “I do”.
BMWK, What are some things you and your husband had to overcome after saying, “I do”?
Tanya Barnett is the author of Being a Wife Just Got Real, Things I Wish I Knew Before I Said, “I Do.” She works tirelessly to inspire, motivate and encourage women and girls who are dealing with challenging life issues to embrace all of who they are. She is also the founder of Forever Free Books, a mobile nonprofit that delivers free books to children in need. She is an avid reader, aspiring author and loves to garden. She and her husband have three children and a dog. Follow her on Facebook /Instagram / Twitter