Wedding anniversaries are usually celebrated joyously as a couple reaches another year of marital life. However, not every year is filled with joy. All the same, we can honor the years even when it’s not a happy anniversary.
Marriage is hard work. It requires a lot of us and comes with many highs as well as many lows. Naturally, we want to celebrate the highs and overcoming our difficult seasons. Anniversaries are easily a joyous occasion at these times. However, what do we do with the lows – when our marriage is filled with heartache and pain and we are far from a season of celebration? Even here, we can honor the years.
Honoring does not always entail celebrating – it can simply mean acknowledging the significance of something. Honoring a memory, for example, may be more solemn than celebratory. As such, we can still honor the years of our marriage even when celebrations per se are not warranted.
To honor our marriage during these times is to remember our marriage is not just about us and our happiness. God has brought us together for his purposes, which are far beyond us merely having a happy anniversary.
Honoring the years is honoring God’s purposes for our union. We bless it because he has allowed it to exist even when his reasons are beyond our understanding. Perhaps it was to bring our children into the world or to be an example of redeeming love for others. Whatever the reason, honoring the years is honoring in faith God’s purposes in and through our marriage.
As much as we would love to celebrate our anniversary every year, some years we might have to faithfully honor it even when there are no parties to be had.
This is an act of faith, giving the true honor to God.
Photo by Esther Town on Unsplash
