25 & here to thrive

As many of you know (or if you don't), my parents celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary back in March. Fun fact - my parents never actual had a wedding ceremony when they first got married so this is their first time with the whole shabang and I'm glad it turned out so great!! The months leading up to this wedding anniversary celebration have been crazy, which is why you haven't heard from me in a while. Planning a wedding is no joke y'all!! No worries though, we made it and I'm excited to share some of my favorite photos from the day!

My parents are my actual hashtag #relationshipgoals, but first let's break down what that actually means now. I often see that hashtag floating around, but what does it really mean? I feel like in today's society, it often reflects the "picture perfect" moments that are posted on social media. For example: a couple going on a cute date/vacation, someone's significant other buying their boo a nice gift or writing a super sweet post about them on social media, etc. Don't get me wrong, those things are nice and I went through a phase in my life where I thought that was my #relationshipgoals, but the more I spent time with my parents (especially since moving back home), I realized they are mine.

One of my favorite sounds in the world is hearing my parents laugh together. I don't know why, but it brings me so much joy that they are having a great time together after all these years. As someone who loves LOVE, I have taken a few relationship classes when I was in college (that's a whole post in itself LOL), but one thing I learned was that the divorce rate is about 50% now, which is so high if you think about it.... 1 in 2 marriages end. That's crazy to me, but every time I hear my parents laughing together, I thank God that my parents are still together and madly in love. 

They are my #relationshipgoals because as their child, I have seen the good, the bad, the ugly, and everything in between and that's how I know that it's a REAL relationship. It's not just the "picture perfect" moments you see on social media, but seeing two imperfect people work together to make their marriage work. I would ask my parents how they're together after all this time and still so in love, and they both tell me the same thing - keep God as the center of your marriage. 

 I mean can you imagine moving your young family to a whole different country just because you felt God telling you that is what He planned for you and your family? I can only imagine the amount of trust my parents had with each other and with the Lord. I've watched them struggle financially when we first moved to the U.S. and I've watched them thrive throughout the years as well. Most importantly, throughout the years I've watched my parents continue to put God as the center of their marriage and how they continue to serve Him. 

My parents have always served at the church and have always hosted bible studies at our house. I would watch them hurriedly make Filipino food together (pancit, lumpia and BBQ) for our church family.  I've seen them worship, pray, cry, and most importantly - choose each other every day.  Every spring, I watched as my dad spends hours digging holes for my mom's garden because he knows she loves gardening and I watched as my mom would cook my dad his favorite meals and buys him cartons of mangoes even though they are not in season (and a little more expensive than what we hoped LOL). 

Thinking about my parents' marriage brings me great joy and I am so blessed to have loving parents who not only love each other so deeply, but love and continue to pursue the Lord together.  I can't help but think of this verse when I think of my parents.

Ecclesiastes 4:9 - “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up".  

So here's to 25 years and 25 more because "what God has joined together, let no one separate". -Mark 10:9 

Sincerely,
The girl with upside down dimples