Meditation: Love and Gratitude, 7 minutes

It’s been seven years and seven days. I’m not going to retell our wedding story even though it’s my favorite tale. We celebrated Tuesday night with a meal at Native in Santa Monica. In between magical bites and delicious sips, we marveled at the passage of time. Seven years married, ten years together come this September, fifteen some odd years of knowing each other existed in the world.

Time moves and love is powerful. The most reverend Michael Bruce Curry said during yesterday’s Royal Wedding:

“When love is the way, there is plenty of room, plenty of room for all of god’s children. Because when love is the way, we actually treat each other well, like we are actually family,” Rev. Michael Bruce Curry says during powerful sermon. #RoyalWedding https://t.co/OvLScRZ1ps pic.twitter.com/8RRXXo26xD

— CBS News (@CBSNews) May 19, 2018

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We are actually family like last Sunday when my immediate family and her cousins broke bread together in our house on Mother’s day. We ate and drank and talked as if everyone were blood and had known each other for years when, in fact, these two groups had never shared the same space before.

Seven years and seven days mean a lot of routines, many battles for space in the kitchen, and frustrations about chores. There are concessions and conflicts. Days of silent treatment and disappointment.

Every moment—even the ones that aren’t sunshine and soft shoulders and feet entwined and hands clasped and boisterous belly laughs—has been full of love.

“We must discover the power of love, the power, the redemptive power of love. And when we discover that we will be able to make of this old world a new world. We will be able to make men better. Love is the only way.” #MLK #RoyalWedding

— The King Center (@TheKingCenter) May 19, 2018

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Love to make men better. Love to make me better. When I remember our wedding, I like to recall my vows. I entered this partnership not by thinking of what I might gain but of what I might give. Every day I challenge myself to think about how to be more kind and compassionate to her and then by extension how do I bring that from the home to my work and my community and the world.

Seven years and seven days. May each that follows be even greater.

Better together.

And I’m grateful.