Brad and I celebrated 35 years of marriage today. -Not much hoopla, just a walk on the beach. That was enough.

My 35 year marriage is a product of God and a choice, a choice to stay married.

Brad and I have stumbled along this walk and powered through some tough stuff just like everyone else. In the midst of all this, I humbly offer My Sloppy Love List:

My Sloppy Love List

1. Love is digging deep when you’ve been hit hard.

Life is a flow of joy, pain and perseverance.  No one is immune.

Love may float in joy, but it digs deep in pain. 

In pain…love grows. 

2. Love is the intimate shared silence of a husband and wife when the doctor says the word, “cancer”.

Brad and I sat suspended in time. We nodded without understanding. My mind was racing, my heart was hurting, my soul was aching and words thundered into my consciousness: “I wish it was me….not him.”

After mind-numbing instructions and appointment scheduling, Brad and I walked to the parking lot. My husband loped his pleasant lope and hummed a nervous tune. 

I slipped my arm into the fold of his arm. He continued to hum. I matched his meandering pace. We walked together, step by step.

We climbed into the truck and sat in a lengthy silence of lumped throat and hard swallows. We silently prayed.

3. Love is moving forward together when you don’t know where you’re going.

“Love is patient…” – 1 Corin 13

4. Love is agreeing: “We’ll do whatever we have to do.” (Trusting God with what we have to do)

5. Love is “We’ll get through this together.”

That’s my sloppy love list.