Today, we have been married for 14 years and I’m sitting here, crying. All I can do is thank God for bringing us this far.  

I could caption this photo, “14 years strong,” or, “The love of my life for 14 years,” but please believe me when I say that this photo is only part of the story.

Please believe me when I tell you that we have fought hard. We’ve had to fight harder than I think either of us planned at the beginning; harder than either of us knew we were capable of. 

Please believe me when I say that just about every marriage statistic known to man has been against us from the beginning.

We haven’t beaten those statistics with only the warm and fuzzy feelings or just with snuggles, or even the feeling of being in love. Because love isn’t something you always feel, and when you do feel it, it doesn’t always feel good. Love is a choice, it’s an action. It’s saying, ‘your heart is important to me, regardless of how I’m feeling in this moment…’ 

An anniversary shouldn’t just be a day to mark the number of years. To me, an anniversary is a monument. It’s worth every couple – whether you’ve been married 2 years or 20 years – to stop and be thankful. Be thankful that each other committed; thankful that no one gave up. 

Life and love and happiness are messy.

Love and marriage really are a fairy tale: with all the beautiful things, the villains, the adventure, the battles, the twists and turns that take you places you never really thought about going. And if you fight hard enough, it turns into the dancing, the magic, the long looks, and that feeling of being in love comes back, stronger, deeper, more beautiful than ever.