Being One

Almost 15 years ago I married a man that is better than any I have ever dreamed of.  He was perfect for me, and still is.  We met at school, got engaged about six months later, and then married six months after that.  You can read the full story here. We had almost known each other for a year.  Some would say this was crazy, they may have thought we were too young (I had just turned twenty).  I say we were young, yes.  We were naive, perhaps, but we were full of faith, love, and hope--all of which creates the perfect beginning.

 

What creates an enduring love and a unifying marriage?   "By divine design, men and women are intended to progress together toward perfection and a fullness of glory. Because of their distinctive temperaments and capacities, males and females each bring to a marriage relationship unique perspectives and experiences.  The man and woman contribute differently but equally to a oneness and a unity that can be achieved in no other way" (David A. Bednar, Marriage Is Essential to His Eternal Plan, Ensign, June 2006).

When we marry, we each bring certain gifts, abilities, and more.  I have found in my marriage that my husband fits me so well.  He helps put strength into the areas I have problems with, and I feel that perhaps I do the same for him.  In a sense, together we complete each other.  Sheri L. Dew said, "Our Father knew exactly what He was doing when He created us. He made us enough alike to love each other, but enough different that we would need to unite our strengths and stewardships to create a whole. Neither man nor woman is perfect or complete without the other. Thus, no marriage or family ... is likely to reach its full potential until husbands and wives, mothers and fathers, men and women work together in unity of purpose, respecting and relying upon each other’s strengths."

What I am thankful for in my husband is that he doesn't let my troubles and weaknesses blur his love for me.  He continues to treat me like the queen he married all those years ago, even after I have exposed so many of my failings to him.  He continues to amaze me with his thoughtfulness and strength.  He continues to show me that he loves me and that we are in this together.

A Mother's Day creation for me.

 We read Jesus reply to the Pharisees about marriage, "And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, and said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder" (Matt 19:5).

We sacrifice for each other.  As marriage partners, we both give our 100%.  It isn't a 50/50 effort, it is our full effort.  We serve with no thought of what is in it for us.  We put God first.  David A. Bednar also taught that "the ultimate blessings of love and happiness are obtained through the covenant relationship of eternal marriage.  The Lord Jesus Christ is the focal point in a covenant marriage relationship.  ... The Savior is positioned at the apex of [a] triangle, with a woman at the base of one corner and a man at the base of the other corner.  ... [As the man and woman] individually and steadily "come unto Christ" and strive to be "perfected in Him" (Moroni 10:32), through the Redeemer the man and the woman come closer together."

Through this kind of living, the man and the woman can become one.  Unified in all things.  Their family will be strengthened, and the children will understand and know the love of God better because of the example of the parents.