marriage is like an electrical wire

today is a good day!

it was on this day, three years ago, that i walked…barefoot…down an aisle and into the arms of my soul mate.

yes… i said, “soul mate.”

we have not exactly had the typical newlywed journey….at all.

but…the past three years have taught us so much about each other, about marriage, about service and about jesus…it has not always been easy but i wouldn’t trade our journey for anything.

if you think of people on a series of spectrums, (liberal/conservative, introvert/extrovert, global/local thinkers, auditory/visual, right/left brained, etc.), jason and i are about as opposite as two human beings can get.

on paper, that’s great!

our differences should balance each other out…like a beautiful dance.

in real life, we have often times ended up feeling like we are in the middle of a train wreck…not a fairytale ballet.

 

we haved learned this….

without jesus, we don’t balance out.

without jesus, there is no dance.

without jesus…

we will fail.

just like jesus wants to be the center of our individual lives…he wants to be the center of our marriage.

he has to be the center.

when we allow jesus to be our music and to move our feet…we have balance and the dance is beautiful.

the analogy of a braid is often used to represent jesus being ever present in a marriage.

what jason and i have learned is that maybe an electrical cord is a better image…not as pretty…but more accurate.

yes, jason and i are “braided together” with jesus…but we have to continually cover that braid in prayer to make sure that those strands don’t separate.

holy spirit, be ever present…let not our braid unravel.

we are still babies starting out on this journey and we are just starting to figure out how to walk….i am so blessed and so honored to be learning alongside the one that my soul loves.

three years ago, i said these words to jason as we joined our lives forever.

today, i repeat them as we continue our journey together…always together.

jason…

over the course of my journey to get here today, i have had several different thoughts and beliefs concerning the idea of “soul mates.”

…at times i have thought them to be a myth and at times a reality…

however…it seems the older i got, the more i doubted that a soul mate might be part of my reality.

then…out of nowhere

there. you. were.

and miraculously, all of my jaded ideas and beliefs were changed.

i know with everything i am that when god handcrafted my soul, he knew that it would find its match in yours…and that when it did, he would use you to teach me his definition of what soul mates truly are…

while i used to think that soul mates would run to the ends of the earth for each other…you have taught me that soul mates run beside each other and carry one another when they are too tired to go on.

while i used to think that soul mates would turn their lives upside down for each other…you have taught me that soul mates provide a safe and peaceful place for each other in this fallen and chaotic world.

and most importantly, jason….

while i used to think that soul mates were pre-ordained to be together and pre-destined to fall in love…you have taught me that true soul mates choose each other…

every. single. day.

they are not bound together by love…. rather, they give their love

…of their own free will.

so…my sweet, sweet jason….

having learned all these things…i stand here today (or i post this today)…before you, the people we love the most (and the entire internet) and our creator and i make to you these vows (again):

i vow to run beside you.

rain or shine…smooth terrain or rocky.

i do not know what god has in store for us…i do know i am ready to face it head on…hand-in-hand…with you.

i vow to be your safe place.

not only trusting your love for me but meeting your thoughts…your words…and your emotions with unconditional love, grace and truth.

i will stand beside you.

support you.

pray with you.

and encourage you…

….in all of the big, life changing stuff and in the seemingly little, everyday stuff.

i vow to never hold back my love but to give it to you freely…

and jason,

i vow to choose you…every single day god gives us together on this earth.

from this day forward…

you are my forever and i will be your always.

go team us!

i love you, sonjay….more with every breath i take. happy anniversary…thank you for choosing me.

xoxo,

elu