Day Three Hundred and One - Not Two The Same

I have watched more fairy tales more times than I can count. I have read even more than that. I have read real life accounts of true forever love. I have even watched a few couples turn their marriages into the greatest things I have ever seen. I have watched a few out of high school marriages fall apart. I have known a whole slew of people who got divorced. I know a few that have been divorced more than once. And there is some solid advice out there from those who have made it, and those who haven't. 

"Don't get married too young."

"Don't rush it, love will wait."

"Be careful of falling in love too fast, lest you fall out of it just as quickly."

"Be with someone who makes you feel free, rather than tied down."

"Be with the person who makes you laugh even when you want to cry."

"Marry your best friend."

"Make sure your family and friends approve. They know you best." 

"Make certain you both know what you want out of your marriage, because if you're working toward separate goals you're certain to fail."

"Infatuation fades, love is forever. Make sure you know which one is pulling you down the aisle."

And more than I could possible write even if I wanted to all night. And some of them are true for all people, some of them are based on statistics, others on things that they would have done differently if given the chance. There are old couples that got together when they were 17 and are more in love now than they were 60 years ago. There are couples that knew each other for a decade before they even started dating. And both are equally happy. I know couples that fight all the time and couples that fight once a decade. And both are equally happy because their personalities are vastly different. I know couples that got married two months after they started dating and are blissful and couples that had a 2 year engagement that are blissful. 

My conclusion is simply this: your love story will be unique to you and God loooooves to shake up your expectations. If you always wanted a long engagement, be prepared for a short one. If you always wanted a simple wedding, be prepared for something a little different. Whatever you expect, remember that your love story involves another human being that is completely different from you and the two of you coming together will create something completely unique that you could have never, ever imagined. 

No two love stories are the same. And not a single one is more right than another. We make our own, and sometimes they make us. Own it. Love it. Live it. It's your story. And because it is, it is the best story.