As of today I’ve been married to my wife for 4,987 days, which is the equivalent of 13 years and 239 days of marriage. Sometimes I feel like we just got married, and it just hasn’t been that long. But putting it in the perspective of days, that is a long time.
Of those 13 year and 239 days at least on day per year, our wedding anniversary, is dedicated to celebrating our marriage. So 13 days out of the total 4,987 days of marriage. That is only 1/4 of 1% of those day dedicated to celebrating our marriage.
That just doesn’t seem right. The most important relationship we have, second our relationship with God, and we really only “officially” celebrate it less than a half percent of the time we’ve been married.
Here’s an idea, let’s celebrate marriages everywhere!
Apparently I’m not the only one who feels this way. This week there are people all over the place not only celebrating their marriages, but celebrating everybody’s marriages. They are celebrating marriage in general for National Marriage Week! Yep, there is such a thing, and I actually like it!
I think I first heard of National Marriage Week last year, but didn’t think it was a “real” thing, kind of like I’ve done with Valentine’s Day and other holidays in the past. Big mistake!
I’m all for this. The purpose of National Marriage Week is…
to create a collaborative campaign to strengthen individual marriages, reduce the divorce rate, and build a stronger marriage culture.”
That’s a mission I can definitely get behind. In fact, my wife and I have strategically chosen this time of the year to launch our 7 Rings of Marriage Web Show featuring the stories and lessons learned of great marriages. Our kickoff episode will be done via a live Google Hangout here on my site this Sunday, February 15th at 8:30pm EST. You have to have a special link to check it out.
Will you join us in celebrating marriages?
We hope to use the momentum and buzz from National Marriage Week and the launch of our show to encourage couples to celebrate their marriage this week and throughout the year, not just on or around their wedding anniversaries.
Marriages are important. Your marriage is important and deserves to be celebrated. Below I’ve shared 5 reasons to celebrate your marriage more often. The reasons I’ve listed below are based on research from the Center for Marriage and Families.
- Family: Children are more likely to enjoy family stability when they are born into a married family.
- Economy: Married couples build more wealth on average than singles or cohabiting couples.
- Health: Marriage is associated with better health and lower rates of injury, illness, and disability for both men and women.
- Mental & Emotional Well-being: Children whose parents divorce have higher rates of psychological distress and mental illness.
- Crime and Domestic Violence: Marriage appears to reduce the risk that adults will be either perpetrators or victims of crime.
I’ve said before that married life is the best life, and I believe there is plenty of research that shows it’s importance. If you are married I’d love you to share one reason you have to celebrate marriage. Answer the question below and/or tweet out your excitement.
[reminder]What is one reason you celebrate your marriage?[/reminder]
Photo credit: Dimensions Photography