Thursday, November 3, 2011

Gratitude: Us

Today I am grateful for "us."

It seemed like I waited for a long time to find my Mr. Right. Living in Utah and passing the age of 20 basically made me feel like an old maid. Marriage seemed like a righteous desire and something that should have just happened shortly after high school - yet it seemed to elude me. I remember excessively wising I was married and looking for my Mr. around every corner. Funny thing was, I wasn't even quite sure what exactly marriage would have in store for me, if I were to ever find it. It's something I wanted so badly, but hearing about the "ups and the downs," just how hard it can be, that it's "not all it's cracked up to be" - I wondered what was it that made marriage so enticing and seem like the answer to all my problems. 

Now I know.
It is the "us" instead of "me."

In all my days of yearning to be a Mrs. I realize now that I never even scratched the surface of knowing what makes marriage so great. Even now I am still learning about the depth of marriage and the blessing it is. I think those extra years (if you want to see them as "extra") of being alone, with those lonely times when I felt as if my heart might just break were just preparing me to truly appreciate just what it is to not be alone.

Having my world change from "me" & "I" to "us" & "we" completed me in a way I never imagined. I feel like my whole focus has shifted away from myself and the wants and needs of another become even more important than my own (just one of the many divine lessons to be learned in marriage). My heart no longer wants to break, but swell with love in having found the one to make me part of an "us."

Even the little things of confirming plans and saying "yes, we will be there," fills me with a delight that I can't describe. Everything seems just a little more manageable with an "us" instead of a "me." I think this is where the adage "my other half" comes from, finding your other half makes you complete by making you an "us."

 And the cherry on top? The powerful blessing (a gratitude for another day) of the promise of forever getting to be an "us" with the love of my life.

5 comments:

brooke said...

i can't wait.

Annie said...

Beautifully put.

Shannon said...

(long comment alert!)
I'm not even there yet and I love this post. Thank you for offering your perspective and giving me an added measure of hope/excitement for my own future. I can somewhat relate to the "us" thing as Dalon starts accompanying me to different events - and I agree, it's amazing to speak in terms of "us." Love it.

And I love these gratitude posts you and your family do. I was studying yesterday how gratitude is one way we keep our covenants and it's been on my mind ever since. If I were as blog ambitious as I should be, I'd do this too (but for now I'm just trying to catch up on posting about Italy! It's a beast!)

OH - and I finished the book you lent me and loved it. Such a sweet story. Can we get together so I can return it and catch up?

Amy said...

What a sweet reminder for those of us who get caught up in the ups and downs and "not all it's cracked up to be"s. Thank you for posting this.

Jamie said...

Okay, well that's a great pic of you two. Both very photogenic.

Love that you are now "you two". Cameron really is great, but so are you. You make a great team.

Love you so much!