Tim Keller said, “Marriage is the way for two spiritual friends to help each other on their journey to be the people God designed them to be.”

My husband and I met in Northern Virginia. I was 14, and he was 16, but what was always so special was that we shared our birthday. Even at different schools and away at college, we always kept in touch on our birthday.

When we were dating and engaged to be married, we would visit my grandparents in their cabin in the mountains on Skyline Drive. We continued to spend time with the two of them in our early years of marriage. They were married for 74 years. While my grandmother passed away two years ago, my grandfather passed away this past week. He was 99 years old.

A memory forever chiseled in my heart is that of their two chairs – always side by side, facing the same direction. Whether it was on the porch, beside the trail along the way up the mountain on the way up Loie’s rock, there were two homemade stumps, two large rocks to rest upon, or a bench that fit just the two.

Before Jon and I got married, I knew that was what I wanted. I set a heart goal to be a couple who communicated well and enjoyed spending time together; basically, I wanted to win at home. 

On October 5th, we celebrated our 26th wedding anniversary. I treasure every anniversary Jon and I have together as my parents were divorced when I was young and we have built our marriage on the Rock from the beginning.

Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. Luke 6:47-48 (ESV)

These past few weeks have caused me to reflect on a few keys to marriage we have learned so far.

Five keys to marriage we have learned {so far!}

1. Let it go. If an issue will not matter one year from now, don’t make it a big deal today.
   
2. Learn to like each other’s hobbies. Do as much as you can together. I like to fish now, and he even goes running with me!
   
3. Sit together in church; kids sit on either side down the row. This may be the only time you sit beside each other and possibly even hold hands throughout the week. In this space, I find time to breathe.
   
4. Get rid of anything that does not align with your Christian worldview. Your children are watching.
   
5. With mutual love and respect, all is grace.

While my grandparents did not pass down a legacy of faith to me, they did pass down a legacy of marriage, and for that, I am grateful.

Whether the two chairs are on a front porch, a dock, or a mountainside, two chairs facing the same direction mean we are on the same team. We are cheering on our people together, waiting together, and expecting a W in this game we call life!

Heavenly Father, I praise You for the gift of marriage today, a glimpse of the marriage the church will have with You one day in the near future. May we love as You loved. May we forgive as You forgave. May we rejoice as You rejoiced as the church body waits patiently for You to return. Your Kingdom come. Your will be done. In Your precious name, I pray, Amen