Marry the Person: Grief Edition

I’ve read countless “Marry the Person Who…” articles. All have held truth. All have held beauty. However, after enduring the loss of my mother, grief made my list much different than the ones I’ve read. 

Grief taught me important components of relationships and love. Grief revealed new aspects of my husband’s love and support that I never knew I needed, but became so grateful to possess. Items that I never had on any dating wishlist. Items that aren’t romantic or glamorous, but important and necessary. 

Grief taught me to…

Marry the person that becomes your lifeline when you’ve just lost yours.

Marry the person that doesn’t just take your breath away, but reminds you to breathe.

Marry the person that acknowledges your grief, your pain, and your sorrow, with grace and love and compassion.

Marry the person that picks you up off the floor, again and again, wiping your tears and working to erase your ache.

Marry the person that accepts your brokenness, your emptiness, and your journey to heal. 

Marry the person that understands the unpredictability of loss and the complicated mind of the grieving.

Marry the person that holds you up when you feel like failing, who carries you when you can no longer walk, and who encourages you to keep stepping.

Marry the person that can look at your parents on their deathbed and thank them for creating you, the love of their life.

Marry the person that can look at your parents on their deathbed and promise to protect you, keep you safe, and love you fiercely, all the days of their life.

Marry the person that acknowledges the important life lost, while also reminding you to keep living. 

Most of all, marry the person who will pick up your broken pieces and hold them carefully until the day you’re ready to take them back and build something beautiful from the heartbreak and brokenness. 

xox, Chels