This week I've got marriage on the mind. Saturday marks 50 blessed years that my grandparents have been married. During Christmas of 1963 my grandpa who was seventeen at the time proposed to my grandmother who was only fifteen and they were married July 24. My grandpa then traded a 1939 Buick Coupe for a one-acre property outside of Martensville, SK and a 12 x 24 foot “house” with no walls, no sewer, no electricity and no roof! They still live on that same property (although in a newer house that he built) these fifty years later!

Pondering their life together has brought to mind again what a blessing a healthy and loving marriage is to not only the couple but to their children and grandchildren as well. I'm pretty sure that on that day fifty years ago these two people who were by our current standards still kids were not thinking of how their choice would affect the generations that would come after them. But they have created a legacy that our family treasures.

It saddens me that often our culture does not see marriage as a lasting covenant and that people talk as if it's a “miracle” that couples reach 25 and 50-year milestones. It's not a miracle, it's a choice and at that – a daily choice.

This week my husband and I started a book called “The Love Dare” which takes a couple through a forty-day challenge to focus on their marriage or relationship. It highlights elements to successful relationships and then each day it gives you a “dare” and a journal space to discuss the day. I'm highly task oriented and so anything that gives me something to “do” and then a place to write about it gets my vote! We're finding it really fun. Today our dare was to perform and act of unexpected kindness for the other person. Dean charged my cell phone (because I never remember to and it sits dead for days!) and I totally felt loved.

So my suggestion to you this week is to look at the relationships that mean the most to you and challenge yourself to improve them and if you're interested you could also pick up the book “The Love Dare” or something similar!

Happy 50th Anniversary Henry and Helen Martens!