Call Us The Connelly’s: The First Year

My husband and I have been married a year, so basically that makes us marriage experts at this point.

HAHA just kidding. But seriously though, where did the time go? It feels like just yesterday I was anxiously waiting to walk down the aisle in front of our closest family and friends, to vow to be his forever before our incredible God.

I never in a million years thought that I would marry a man like Evan and I certainly never considered that I deserved him. Truthfully, I still struggle with accepting that God perfectly designed this man just for me. To be the best husband I could have ever imagined, perfectly complimenting me like a puzzle piece in only the way God could have planned. His strengths to compliment my weaknesses, and mine to compliment his. 

In our first year we have spent quite a big chunk of our time just adjusting to what it’s like to be married. In a sense, I definitely feel we’ve adjusted, but in another, I feel like we have so much to learn. It’s a good thing that marriage lasts forever because it’s probably going to take us that long to get it perfect. I couldn’t see myself going backwards and not being married to Evan.

So what have we learned in our first year of marriage? We’ve learned that the honeymoon phase is different for everyone. For us, the honeymoon phase only lasted a couple weeks after we got back from our actual honeymoon. Shortly after we got back we discovered that marriage was different from dating, and engagement, in so many ways.

Entering into married life we discovered that we weren’t always going to be on the same page. That conflict was going to happen, and that how we handled that conflict would drastically affect the outcome. I will say though, fighting with your husband is worlds better than fighting with your boyfriend because no matter how bad the argument gets, you’re still married, and there’s a major sense of security in that.

This past year, Evan has stood by me during rocky times. He has cared for me as trauma of my past resurfaced early on in our marriage. He has loved me when I was experiencing extreme self doubt. Evan has encouraged me during my period of overwhelming anxiety. And, he has supported me as we have tackled the number of health issues that have surfaced since we got married.

God first, spouse second, home next, and then the rest.Click To Tweet

We have developed friendships, and discovered the importance of having friends of faith to challenge us, grow us, and hold us accountable not just to each other, but more importantly to God. We’ve learned that we work better together, that time together is important, and that our priorities need to stay God first, spouse second, home next, and then the rest. Each time we have strayed from that, we have quickly felt the effects and have had to reset.

It’s crazy to think that the kids who got married a year ago, who thought they could never love each other more than they did that day, are now two halves a whole, falling deeper and deeper into love each day. That here we are in Niagara Falls, Canada celebrating one year of marriage and the love we share is indescribable. Can’t wait to see what the second year of marriage has to offer!