Some Things You Never Tire Of
Monday, June 1, 2015 at 10:22PM
Michael and Donna Martin

By:  Donna Martin

There are some things that you never tire of – a beautiful sunset, devouring a delicious meal, savoring your favorite desert, hugs and kisses from your children and grandchildren, a word of encouragement, an unexpected gift, and waking up to the one you love.  When checking into a hotel on a recent trip the young college girl at the registration desk ask me how long Mike and I had been married.  When I answered almost 43 years she exclaimed, “Wow!  That’s amazing, but don’t you get tired of waking up to the same face every day?”  That thought had never crossed my mind.

“No, I explained.  “It just gets better.  We are best friends, and I can’t imagine my life without him.”

On June 2, 1972 at 8:00 in the evening our marriage began.  In front of our friends and family Mike and I vowed to love each other for the rest of our lives.  At that moment we both had no idea of what that really meant and what was in store for us during the next 43 years, but we knew that whatever it was, we would face it together.  And that is what we have done.  The thought of breaking that vow has never entered our minds.  As the years have quickly passed we have learned things about each other that we did not know on June 2, 1972.  Most of them have been good; however, some have been a little surprising.  We have learned from each other, helped each other become a better person, encouraged each other, and at times disappointed and hurt each other.  Our lives have not been perfect, but the secret to our lasting marriage is that both of our lives are committed not only to each other, but to someone who is perfect – God. 

God was in control of the many different situations in our lives that ultimately brought us together to become man and wife.  He has a purpose for us and a plan for us, and we want to grow and change and become the people that He wants us to become.  In his book, What Did You Expect?  Paul Tripp makes this insightful statement, “Marriage is meant to be a tool in God’s hands to expose your heart and to drive you to the end of yourself.  Marriage is meant to expose your self-focus and self-reliance.  It is meant to convince you that you are needier than you thought you were and to encourage you that God’s grace has more power to transform that you thought it did.  Marriage is meant to teach you how to give, love, serve, forgive, support, encourage and wait… God is not working to form your marriage into what He designed it to be; no, he is working to reform you into what you were created to be.  It is only as we grow and change that our marriages can thrive.”

Marriage is not a destination.  It is a process of growing, giving, loving and living.  I can’t imagine having to face each day alone without the love and support of Mike.  I will never grow tired of waking up to his face every morning.  If fact, that moment becomes more precious as the days and years go by.

The Martins currently present “Happy Together” Marriage Enrichment Events for churches and organizations.  To schedule an event call Michael at 940-735-1515. They are certified “Prepare/Enrich” Facilitators and are available to work with couples on an individual basis using the “Prepare/Enrich Assessment.”  They publish a weekly “Happy Together” Blog about family and marriage issues.  You can order copies of their new books Dancing With Death and 366 Tidbits We Have Learned in 14,610 Days of Marriage, read, and subscribe to their “Happy Together” Blog by logging onto the Martin’s website at www.happytogethermarriages.com.

 

 

Article originally appeared on Happy Together Marriages (http://www.happytogethermarriages.com/).
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