A Sacred, Imperfect Union of Love

We. The two of us. For life.

Our lives are intertwined—his and mine. Not just based on that covenant we signed. It is much more powerful than that.

A Deeper Love of Shared Lives

It’s a shared web of experiences that bind us tight. Far from a perfect union, this marriage is dynamic, waxing and waning with the day’s tide.

We both stumble, tripping over each other and more often ourselves. Not all is as it should be.

He orients the dish-draining rack incorrectly, puts plastic where only Pyrex goes, and leaves hats hanging around the house. Sometimes he even chooses a football game over a conversation with me.

I nag a little too much, pick up less than I should, and expect every football game to wait until after our talk. I, of course, know the correct way to position the dish-draining rack.

But we’ve climbed the mountains and forged the valleys together. We’ve shared dark days and starry nights, devastating defeats and exhilarating accomplishments.

Years have weathered us, perhaps mellowed us.

We’ve experienced the grief of losing loved ones and the comfort of close family relationships.

We’ve welcomed children into our lives with open arms and released more with clenched fists. Together we face uncertainty, fear, confusion, and, yes, joy, as we traverse the rocky rapids of the world of disabilities.

We’ve known both the pleasures and the disappointments of a life shared by two sinful beings in a fallen world.

Yes, this union is flawed, marred by the filth of sin. But it is a precious union worth fighting for, a sacred one, conceived in love.

A love between one man and one woman—between him and me. A God-ordained, grace-strengthened love meant to last in all its imperfections.

Love between a man and a woman is a God-ordained, grace-strengthened love meant to last in all its imperfections. Share on X

 “‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate” (Mark 10:7–9).

Reflections: What does your sacred imperfect union look like? Are you letting God’s grace strengthen the interwoven strands of your marriage, or are they unwinding?

Praying that on this Valentine’s Day you experience a renewal of the love that began your life as a couple.