Hello my darling,
Your father and I have
been married for 1½ years now. I was 21 and he was 20 when we got
married. And even up to now, I still have people who say to me, 'Why
would you get married so young? Why don't you enjoy your life first?'
Even before your father
and I started dating, we talked about marriage. I think we both knew
that we didn't want to date for the sake of dating. If I was going to
date someone, I wanted it to be my future husband. So after a lot of
prayer and thought, we started dating and in 9 months we announced
our engagement. I can count on my hands the number of people who were
supportive of our decision. In other words, there were very few. Some
people even had the audacity to ask me if I'm pregnant. As if that
was the only sane reason as to why a person should get married. Then
others brought up the famous statement, 'You should first enjoy your
youth before you get married' As if getting married somehow caused
you to age faster and robbed you of your hair and every joy you may
ever have.
It made me think a
little and I realized what a warped and strange idea people had of
marriage. The world has portrayed marriage to appear as some sort of
cage. Some form of imprisonment or punishment. Very few people said
to me, 'You're getting married?? You mean you are going to spend the
rest of your life with an amazing man, sharing and enjoying your
youth and future with him??' It was more like, 'You're getting
married?? You mean you are going to be stuck with the same man for
the rest of your life??'
And it saddened me.
Because I have not enjoyed my life as much as I have with your
father. It hasn't been all sunshine and ponies, let me tell you that.
But I would not trade this life for anything else. For all the
'freedom' in the world. For with him, I am completely free. Free to
be myself, free to dream, free to hope, free to be sad and free to be
happy. I wake up in the morning to the same person and yes, that is
wonderful. Because it reminds me that there is a man on this earth
who loves me so much and whether it be good or bad days, he has
chosen and promised to be by my side. And all those things that
people thought I would miss out on? Not only have I not missed out on
anything, I've even had my bestfriend with me to laugh and cry
through it all. It doesn't get any better than that.
So why am I writing
this? Simply to say, don't underestimate the beauty and power of
marriage. Today people very rarely give marriage a thought. Just
living together will do. Marriage has become equivalent to a wedding.
Getting married means having the perfect wedding. But marriage is so
much more than a wedding. The promises and the commitment your father
and I made to each other before God keep us going through the tough
times. I can't and I won't just walk out one day 'cos I feel like I'm
not in love today. We are not roommates, we are husband and wife.
So in an age when
divorce is fashinonable and relationships only last for as long as a
mudcake would in my fridge, treasure marriage. Respect it and honour
it. It's not and it shouldn't be a prison. It's most certainly not
easy and you will face MANY challenges, but enjoy it. When marriage
is approached with the right attitude, it's one of the most
magnificent experiences you could have. It's a place you can grow
tremendously and it can chisel and polish you until you shine bright
as ever.
I pray that oneday you
will find a wonderful husband who brings out the absolute best in
you, like your father does in me.
Much love,
Mummy
You are the cutest couple ever. Beautiful in and out both of you.
ReplyDeleteBless you.
Tuija & the Zoo