Celebrating Milestones in Your Marriage

Marriage is a sacred covenant instituted by God, joining a man and woman together in a lifelong union. As Christians, we believe that marriage reflects Christ’s love for the church and that God uses marriage to sanctify us and draw us closer to Him. While the wedding day marks the joyous beginning of this journey, the true beauty and meaning of marriage is found in the lifetime of love, commitment and growth that follows.One powerful way Christian couples can honor God and strengthen their bond is by intentionally celebrating the milestones and anniversaries in their marriage. Just as the Israelites set up memorial stones to remember God’s faithfulness to them, taking time to rejoice in God’s goodness to us as husband and wife helps keep our focus on Him as the center and foundation of our relationship.

Why Celebrate Milestones

Celebrating anniversaries and milestones in marriage is important for several reasons:

1. It recognizes God’s faithfulness and provision in sustaining your marriage through the years. Each year together is a testimony of His grace.
2. It creates opportunities to reminisce on your journey together, both the joys and the challenges you’ve overcome with God’s help. Remembering key moments and lessons learned cultivates gratitude.
3. It reaffirms your love and commitment to one another. Celebrating an anniversary is a way of saying “I still choose you” and honoring your wedding vows.
4. It sets an example for your children, church community and the world of what a Christ-centered marriage looks like. In a culture that often devalues marriage, openly rejoicing in your union points others to God’s design.
5. It prompts you to dream together about the future. Milestones provide a chance to pray, set new goals and rekindle your sense of shared purpose as a couple.

Creative Ways to Celebrate

There are countless meaningful ways to celebrate the milestones in your Christian marriage. The key is being intentional to acknowledge them. Some ideas include:

• Take a trip together, even just for a weekend, to step away from daily life and focus on one another. Reflect on what God has done and enjoy His creation.
• Give a special gift that symbolizes your love and the significance of the milestone. Perhaps a piece of jewelry, a framed wedding photo or a Bible with a personalized inscription.
• Write letters to each other sharing what you appreciate about them and how you’ve seen God work in and through them over the years. Words of affirmation are powerful.
• Recreate a favorite memory, like your first date, wedding day or honeymoon. Engage your senses to evoke nostalgia and rekindle romance.
• Host a celebration with family and friends. Invite your community to rejoice with you and share how they’ve seen God’s faithfulness in your marriage.
• Dream together about the next 5, 10 or 25 years. Set new goals, choose a Scripture to pray over your marriage and commit your future to the Lord.
• Renew your wedding vows, either privately or before loved ones. Reaffirm your commitment to God and each other.

The most important thing is simply taking the time to pause and thank God for His goodness at each milestone. Even if it’s just lighting a candle, praying together and expressing your love and appreciation for one another, small acts of celebration can have a big impact.

Milestones to Celebrate

While anniversaries are the most obvious milestones to celebrate in a Christian marriage, there are many others that are equally worth acknowledging. Some key ones include:

• The birth or adoption of a child. This is a sacred trust and a profound way God grows you as a couple.
• A renewed commitment to Christ as individuals or as a couple. Spiritual breakthroughs and markers of growth in faith, like baptism, are always reason to rejoice.
• Overcoming a major challenge or trial together with God’s help. Celebrating God’s deliverance reminds you of His faithfulness for future struggles.
• Launching children into adulthood or new seasons like marriage. Entrusting them to God’s care is both painful and beautiful.
• Ministry or service milestones, like leading a Bible study together for a certain length of time. God uses your marriage to bless others.
• Completing a marriage enrichment program or study together. Investing in your relationship honors God and protects your union.
• Retirement or career changes that impact your life together. Leaning on God in times of transition strengthens your bond.

The point is to cultivate a lifestyle of celebration, noticing and giving thanks for God’s fingerprints in your marriage story at every stage. Rejoice in both the big and small things He does.

A Biblical Foundation

Scripture is full of examples of remembering and celebrating God’s goodness. In the Old Testament, feasts, festivals and memorials were an important part of Israel’s rhythm of worship, gratitude and community life. After miraculously crossing the Jordan River into the Promised Land, God instructed Joshua to have the Israelites take twelve stones from the riverbed to set up as a memorial, saying “In the future when your descendants ask their parents, ‘What do these stones mean?’ tell them, ‘Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’ For the Lord your God dried up the Jordan before you until you had crossed over…He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God.” (Joshua 4:21-24) In the New Testament, Jesus Himself instituted the practice of communion, giving thanks for the bread and cup and instructing His disciples to partake of it regularly “in remembrance” of Him (Luke 22:19-20). Paul also urged the early church to encourage one another and glorify God together, writing “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18) These biblical principles of remembrance, gratitude and celebration provide a model for how we can approach milestones in marriage. By taking time to reflect on God’s faithfulness in our relationship, give Him thanks and praise, and share our joy with others, we make our anniversary celebrations acts of worship that honor Him.

The Eternal Significance

Ultimately, a Christian marriage is meant to be a living picture of the gospel – the sacrificial, covenant love between Christ and His church. By cherishing and celebrating each milestone, we proclaim to a watching world that lasting love is possible through God’s power and grace. Every anniversary is also a foretaste of the ultimate marriage celebration to come – the wedding supper of the Lamb described in Revelation 19:6-9, when Christ will be united forever with His bride, the church. On that glorious day, all of heaven will rejoice, singing “Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. “So as you celebrate each milestone in your marriage, let it fill you with hope, knowing that your earthly union is but a shadow of the perfect, unending love that awaits you in eternity. Let each anniversary remind you that the best is yet to come! Take time to rejoice in all God has done, is doing and will do in and through your marriage for His glory. Your celebration honors Him.