Today, my husband and I are celebrating our 8th wedding anniversary. And for that, I am grateful.
Ever heard the term the “7 Year Itch”? It is a common marriage term referring to the statistic that the average marrige in America lasts 7 years. It appears that something happens around the 7th year of marriage that prompts couples to divorce. And a statistic I probably don’t need to tell you is that 50% of first marriages are ending in divorce.
I’ve always said that Dave and I are a couple out to beat the odds. We come from divorced parents. We lived together before we were married. We have a 10 year age difference…let’s just say if surveyed on predictors of divorce, we’d be able to check a lot of boxes.
And making it past 7 years is another example of us beating the odds.
From the seven days in Genesis to the seven scrolls in Revelation, seven is a number that is associated with heavenly things. Seven has long held significance to God’s people and many Jewish customs & festivals cycle around the number 7. Do our relationships also cycle around the number 7? Is there something built into us by God’s design?
For those that don’t know, there was a time that Dave and I were on the brink of divorce. It was just shy of our 3rd wedding anniversary…and exactly 7 years from when our relationship started.
The number seven is the divine number of completion. Perhaps some things are meant to end at seven years.
But not our marriages themselves.
How about putting an end to selfish living? To harbored resentments? To unshared expectations? To living parallel lives? To settling for boring, stagnant marriages? To not holding sacred the one truly sacred thing most of us ever do in our lives?!!!
Do you know what the symbolic meaning of the number eight is? New beginnings.
When one cycle ends, another begins.
And for that, I am grateful.
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