A Reflection on Love, Goals, and the Beauty of the Journey

What My Anniversary Taught Me About Life

This week, my husband and I celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary. It was a beautiful moment of joy and reflection. As I looked back, I realized how many versions of us we've been through. Different hairstyles. New workout routines. Shifting ideas of what “fun” looks like.

But through all those phases, I was never counting down to year one, or year two. I wasn’t trying to get somewhere. I was simply in it—present for every small laugh, every deep conversation, and every ordinary moment that somehow became extraordinary.

It made me think: how often do we approach goals differently? We look at the end—whether it's a promotion, a race, or a milestone—and we want to fast-forward to it. We train, push, and measure progress, but sometimes forget to actually live the process.

Right now, I’m training to run 10 miles. I have a plan. I’m following it. But I’ve noticed something—when I run on the treadmill, I keep checking the time, counting down the distance, wondering when it’ll be over. When I run outside, though, I’m there. I notice the rhythm of my breath, the feel of the wind, the colors of the trees. I'm present with each step.

And that presence—that joy in the journey—is what my marriage has taught me.

So here’s the thought I’m carrying into this week:
What if I approached all my goals the way I approach my marriage?
Not as something to race through, but as something to live inside.

Because the joy isn’t just at the finish line.
It’s in every messy, beautiful, ordinary step along the way.