umbrellas and rainbows

Today is my 15th wedding anniversary.  This photo symbolizes our married life together more than any other, so I thought I’d share it!

It was raining the day we were married, and boy has it rained a lot in our married life!! We’ve weathered many storms together, as I’m sure you have too. We were fortunate to see a rainbow or two on the way to the reception that day, and God’s promise was evident… He wouldn’t give us more than we could handle. He would always be there to see us through the difficult times.

This picture is so meaningful to me for three reasons. One is because the umbrella serves as a symbol of God’s covering over us. We have been safe in His care in the midst of the wildest storms… unemployment, illness, miscarriage, looming foreclosure, loss of a ministry, friendship betrayal… the list goes on. He has covered us.

The second reason that I love this photo is because you can see our reflection in the water on the ground! Isn’t it interesting that we really see ourselves, for who we really are, when the storms come. I think that over the last 15 years, my husband and I have been transformed so much. Not just as a couple, but as individuals. Our reflections have changed through the years and we are looking more and more like the people that God wants us to be.

The third reason that I adore the photo is because we are together under there, and Manny is holding the umbrella. He has been there for me all these years… not always the way I wanted him to be, but he was there. He never gave up on me when I was hormonal, angry, overwhelmed, selfish, disinterested, dissatisfied, ungrateful, lost, or confused. He’s listened to a lot of *@#&*$# along the way, and took it in stride. He put his own needs on the back burner so many times because I needed something. He has loved me like he is supposed to; he has loved me like Christ loves the church. Now, he hasn’t executed it perfectly (yet)… but his intent was always to love me even if it came out “wrong” in my book.

It’s hard to believe that 15 years have gone by already. According to society’s standards, we are beating the odds… we are still married!  We’ve had some amazing times together. It’s never easy, rarely magical, not always peaceful, and full of surprises, but we are still married. When the storms came, we just huddled under the umbrella and tried not to shove each other out into the rain.

We’ll see what God has planned for the next 15 years! By then, we could be grandparents. (gulp!!) Whatever happens, we’ll still be cooped up under our umbrella looking for the rainbows!