Bliss

Jaime and Drew are celebrating a dozen years of marriage today. It's time to reflect. Twelve years, three children, 2 dogs, dozens of deployments, and 8 moves later, they are still happily married. Not to say that every day of those twelve years were happy, because they weren't. There have been big disappointments, problems, stresses, and heartbreaks. This last year has been the hardest one yet, and we are still mopping up the tears.

So what makes Jaime and Drew happily married? What makes any of us happily married when we are all just fragile people in a troubled world where crisis lurks around the next corner? Is it because they are so similar? No, they couldn't be more different. Is it because they are so intelligent? No, with apologies, they are not all THAT smart. Is it because they are so rich? No, they have piles of bills.

It's something else: faith, hope, courage, commitment, forgiveness, compassion. They trust that God sees them and hears their cries for help--faith; they know the promises of blessing if they trust--hope; they pull up their boots and march forward--courage; they stick it out even when it feels terrible--commitment; they release the offenses--forgiveness; they understand each other's hurts --compassion.

Jaime and Drew have all these traits and more. They also laugh together a lot, and gripe about the same things; they quote movie lines to each other; they exercise together; they fix up their home together; they dance together; and they love the same people--their children, their friends, their families. And they do these things over and over again. And the rule is, if you do these kinds of things over and over again, you get happy. That's what marital bliss is made of, and nothing more.

And that, my friends, is how it's done! Drum roll please: Let's hear it for Jaime and Drew and 12 years of bliss!