Small Stone #4 - Marriage

I'm going to an engagement party this afternoon, and I'm supposed to write a blessing or a piece of advice...what to say? I've been thinking about it for days.

I don't want to give a Hallmark card - I want to speak truth, but I don't want to sound - cynical? After all, I finally feel safe and loved and content with my husband of 23 years. And I finally believe I am able to love him with all my heart.

But it hasn't been easy for either of us, this thing called marriage.

So I wrote a "small stone".

What is marriage?

A pebble in your shoe,

A cracked mirror

reflecting who must change,

YOU.

Both curse and blessing

I now feel

after nearly 45 years,

three attempts,

failed expectations,

and a life of self-transformation

I may have something positive to say.

I recommend marriage as the best fertilizer

for personal growth

next to having children.

Simply add a good measure of Grace to both

and know, “It is what it is”.

Love never fails.

I dedicate this to the man who has taught me more about love than any man I've ever known, my ever faithful James H. Conner, Jr., husband and love of my life, my true soul mate.