Pictures have become an obsession of mine, as they are memories we are able to preserve in a frame.  It’s like a look inside our love window any time we desire to step back in time and “remember when …”

Walking along the beach as the sun began to set on the Big Island of Hawai’i last year, we stopped to place our camera on a rock with the self timer in order to snap a series of pictures.  This was one such picture, and although our faces you cannot see, our body language speaks volumes.

We danced on the white sandy beaches of Hawaii as the sun slipped lower and lower from the sky, soon to be swallowed up by the sea.  All of our cares melted away, and we felt so free!  It was as if just the two of us were on the beach lost in that moment in time.  Leaning in at first for a kiss, the snap of the camera captured this perfect moment as I threw my head back, and we went in for the “dip!”

It has now been seven months since that picture was taken.  Every time we look at it, we are reminded not only of the beauty that surrounded us on the island but in our hearts as well.

It’s far more than just a vacation picture.  It’s a look into our relationship, into the fun we have together, and into what makes us who we are without fear of judgment from others.  We’re on an adventure together in this life.  Ours won’t look like anyone else’s, and it shouldn’t.  Our path is unique to us, just as the love we have for each other is as well.

Make no mistake.  I’m not trying to say our marriage has been perfect.  There are no perfect relationships.  Every married couple will go through times where they feel the storms of life are tossing them to and fro.   Some days it’s as if you’re lost at sea with huge swells threatening to sink your boat or send you crashing into the rocks.  Right then and there you have to make a decision to ban together to ensure that does not happen.  You are a team, you make a plan, and you stick to it until you’re safely on shore …. together.  That’s the key right there.  You stick together, through the good and the bad … happy and sad … until you’ve overcome!

And on days you get discouraged, reflect back on happier times and strive to bring those back.  Do not give up until that has happened and you’re dancing around once again enjoying life together hand in hand or safe and secure in each other’s arms.

Love … even when the other person offends you, hurts your feelings, says or does something without thinking that harms your heart … choose love every time.  Forgiveness allows you to push wrongs out of the way and allow love back in.  For love wins … every time!