Have you ever had joy feel so strong, that you found yourself fighting everything within you to hold back laughter?  Three years ago today might have been the most beautiful example of that I can ever remember. I was standing up at the front of the room, groomsmen to my left, and bridesmaids to my right.  The eyes of hundreds of our closest friends locked on me…until the music started.

As the acoustic sounds of Bethel Music’s “I will Exalt” rolled into the room, the atmosphere stood still.  My pulse beat so intensely I could feel it in my toes.  And in an instant, every eye in the room was transfixed on the most beautiful woman I had ever laid eyes on.  She looked perfect…and I was completely undone.

As the distance between us lessened with each step she took, the overwhelming joy I found myself in, finally burst.  I began weeping like I had never experienced.  She captured my heart.  She took my breath away.  It was absolutely surreal and the greatest day I could ever imagine.  (You can see the rest of our love story in chapter five of my book here.  I might be biased, but I think its movie worthy)

OVER RATED

The day Matti and I got married was the most heart exploding moment of my life.  There is no doubt it was an unbelievably beautiful wedding.  Hear me on this, both of us wanted a beautiful wedding, but more than that, WE WANTED A BEAUTIFUL MARRIAGE.

I hope you hear my heart on this when I say that weddings are over rated.  They are over rated in the sense that far too much emphasis is put on a moment, instead of a process. Our culture far too often celebrates moments more than the processes those moments are predicated on!  And what we often forget is that how much we enjoy life is determined by how we handle those processes.

Looking back on the three years we have been married, and the five years we have been the closest of friends, I can say that even through arguments over the way knives need to be washed or who is making the bed, my heart bursts with gratitude that we didn’t just have a great wedding, but we built a foundation for a great marriage.

Our wedding day was the happiest day of our life so far, but we still have so many incredible happy memories to make.  Every day, we make the decision to choose love, compassion, understanding, and communication, even when it’s tough.

So in all you are doing, remember this.

Don’t just have a great wedding, have a great marriage

Here’s to Loving the Process,

Gresh