A few weeks ago, my wife put a big sign on the front door, over the spring wreath, it is gold and just says Love. It is one simple word, yet, so complex at the same time. It says everything that we want to represent to the outside world, and it says everything about our relationship. My wife made the choice one day, to put that up on our front door.

I have always said before, that love is a choice. I choose to love my wife, and I choose to continue to love her everyday. I know that without her presence in my life, I would be in a very different place. Again, it is a choice. I love her despite any other flaws that others may see in her, because I see the beautiful person that she really is. Sure, there are days when I don’t like something she does, but you know, there are lots of things that I do that she doesn’t like. We talk about those dislikes with each other, and when we view them more as a dislike to the action, it makes things so much easier to talk about. I could never imagine my life with me making the choice to ever hate her. I don’t think that my heart could take that choice ever being made.

Both of us try to give this same example to our children. There are days when they really get on my nerves, and I can just really get upset with them. It is never because I do not love them, I choose to do that, it is always because of their actions. I love them dearly, and to be honest, I could not ever imagine hating them. I know that I will always have a deep love for them, and my goal is to teach them to have love in their hearts, even if they do not like someone’s actions. Not to claim I am father of the century, but I try really hard never to use the word hate around them. Hatred is something that I never want them to experience, nor do I want that to ever live in my house.

Now, we are not perfect at this love thing. Just like everyone else, we fail sometimes at that, when we start looking at others outside of our house. It is very easy not to come from a place of love sometimes, and yes, there have been times when we haven’t.  Even so, in our marriage, we strive to ensure this is something that we both agree on, love is a choice. I try to let me bride know very often that I love her more than I did yesterday, because she is an even better person today, than she was yesterday. I really do mean that. I get to see her at her better than she has ever been every day we spend together. We have some trials, and it is not always a blissful morning, but everyday, we are stronger together. We have been married four years now, and I can’t image any other life. With her and God, my life has been truly blessed. Our front door says love, because it is a choice we make in our home everyday.