After twelve years of marriage, I never would have thought that I might need my wife to get me dressed. However, after the past several mornings, it has become clear to me that I couldn’t have done it without her.

This is outside of our norm. Last week I had shoulder surgery to repair the ligaments in the joint (because the silly shoulder kept falling out of the socket!) It was outpatient and lasted less than an hour, but the limitations will be here for quite some time. Things like putting on a shirt, bathing myself, and putting on a belt have become arduous tasks. Honestly, without Karen I don’t know how I would have done it. 

So, on the day we celebrated twelve years of marriage, it was fitting that she got me dressed so that I could go to church and teach to our congregation. The reality is that for our entire marriage she has been the person who helps me do the things that are out of reach, things I could never do on my own.

From raising a family, to accepting a call into ministry, and to just being a better man-- Karen helps me reach the places that seem impossible on my own.

As I study more and more relationships, I’m realizing many of us forget this very simple, but important lesson. We (the couple) are on the same team, and when we work together our reach for those impossible things somehow becomes possible. 

Marriage is the act of making impossible things possible, and ordinary things extraordinary. God gives us life-long partners so that we can practice the love that He has for us, the miraculous love, the legendary love - the love that would be out of reach on our own. 

Happy anniversary, thanks for putting my dreams in reach!