In August of 2014, we got married and started a fun tradition of taking a picture in front of our “V” tree located at our wedding site. We take a picture in front of our tree 4 times a year, one for each new season. We thought it would be a fun way to watch us age and watch our family grow. With this year being our 10 year anniversary, we celebrated 40 seasons of marriage. These 40 pictures captured how different each season in marriage/life can look. Within a few years, a storm came through and knocked over half of our “V” tree. Two years later another storm came through and knocked the rest of our tree over. At that time, the golf course was no longer a golf course and the weeds and course were so unkept. It went from being a beautiful, well maintained golf course to an unkept field of overgrown weeds. We started with a tree that looked so strong and healthy and within a matter of years it was gone. I found a very fitting quote by Gary Chapman and shared it below.

“Marriages are always moving from one season to another. Sometimes we find ourselves in winter — discouraged, detached, and dissatisfied; other times we experience springtime, with its openness, hope and anticipation. On still other occasions we bask in the warmth of summer — comfortable, relaxed, enjoying life. And then comes fall with its uncertainty, negligence, and apprehension. The cycle repeats itself many times through the life of a marriage, just as the seasons repeat themselves in nature.”

Taking these pictures is always a fun highlight of each season and yet, it still takes a lot of effort. With 4 kids, it’s tough to get everyone looking in one direction, let alone, smiling. Then there were a few times we had to climb over and under a fence just to get to our tree due to local construction. We couldn’t let a fence hinder us from taking our seasonal pictures! We were fortunate the police officer was very understanding about the importance of our pictures as well!

If you’re going through a hard marriage or hard season, you’re not alone. We struggle too. It takes a lot of work to balance & maintain all of the important things in life when it seems like there’s just not enough time. No matter where you are in life, keep holding on, don’t give up, keep moving, keep persevering and keep overcoming. I like to remind myself in the harder seasons, the bigger the storm, the bigger the rainbow.

Here’s to braving all of life’s storms and overcoming all the hard stuff as we continue to grow up and grow old together!


Song: “Growing up & Growing Old” Matthew West
@MatthewWest - Don’t stop writing music!! You and your music are such a beautiful gift to this world!