5:17
Celebrate the Extraordinary
Do you ever celebrate the extraordinary? May is a month of celebrating for us….especially for me (Lisa). The month of May includes our wedding anniversary, my birthday, and Mother’s Day. Big win for me! 😉
Our wedding anniversary is May 17th and this year we will be celebrating 16 years of marriage. Each year, we find a new way to celebrate. Some years are bigger than others. (10 years was a trip to Italy…oh, if only all the anniversary celebrations could be that!)
Whether a simple dinner together, a thoughtful gift, or a getaway, we make a point of doing something out of the ordinary to celebrate the extraordinary.
We make a point of doing something out of the ordinary to celebrate the extraordinary.
It is EXTRAORDINARY that we are married for 16 years! We don’t take that for granted. Half of marriages end in divorce. And many end in the first seven years. We are beating the odds. That is something to celebrate and thank God for!
Here’s the question, though….when should we celebrate that? Only when that wedding anniversary rolls around? NO WAY! We need to celebrate as much as possible.
When we celebrate our marriage, it is more likely we will actually stay married.
When we look at our marriage as just another part of our existence, the union can quickly become stagnant.
When we view our marriage as anything other than extraordinary, that is exactly what it becomes…anything other than extraordinary.
I don’t know about you, but I want to be in an extraordinary marriage! I want to rock this marriage thing! I want to look at my husband every day and say, YES!!! I AM SO BLESSED!!! And I want him to wonder to himself, HOW DID I EVER GET SO LUCKY TO MARRY HER!
Part of making that dream a reality is simply choosing to celebrate! Here’s one way we celebrate our marriage. It’s super simple but highly effective.
Our anniversary date is 5/17. So, when it’s 5:17AM/PM, and we notice it, we acknowledge it to the other in some way. If I am sitting at my computer writing and I see that it is 5:17pm on my screen, I stop what I am doing and send my husband a text, “5:17.”
That’s it, you say? Yep, that’s it. That is one very simple way that we celebrate our marriage.
We each know that our spouse has stopped everything in the middle of their day to acknowledge our extraordinary marriage.
No money spent, no trip taken, not even actual words.
If we are together when it’s 5:17, one of us will say “5:17” and usually we will give a quick kiss and move on with what we were doing. Sometimes, it will produce a conversation or further encouragement. Either way, it is a beautifully simple way to celebrate US.
How are you celebrating your extraordinary marriage? How can you add celebrations throughout your week?
We would love it if you would share with us your ideas on how we all can be celebrating our marriages daily!
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I love this idea of celebrating our marriage. One thing we’ve been doing lately is going on dates where we dream together. Once a month or so, we go on a date that centers around dreaming about our future together. It could be going to Home Depot and looking at house project ideas, going and looking at RV’s or boats, sitting at home planning our dream vacation, etc. It’s been very helpful for us to dream of our future together and remind each other of our deep commitment to each other during times when our marriage is struggling. It brings us back together in a way that reminds us we’re passionately pursuing our marriage and we have a beautiful life together despite a rough season.
“Dream Dates!” I love it!