“An Exciting Experience”

My ideal Married life.
By Kartikey Khanna 9-A

When I was in Grade 9 I felt the feeling of love for the first time. The kind of love which is not for family or friends but a different kind. I met her when we were learning about Christian Love in CL. We were being taught on how to respect others who are not as fortunate as us and how to help them in every way we can. We were supposed to write a short essay and present it in front of the class. I presented mine which talked about doing charity drives, praying for the needy, etc. She presented hers also and it talked about pretty much the same things. I approached her later and asked if she really meant what she has said on the stage.  She said that she did and asked me the same question, I replied yes also. We eventually started chatting and soon became friends.

We used to come with ideas and would try our best to actually fulfill our ideas by encouraging family and friends to go with us. We started doing these regularly. We became close friends and would hang out sometimes in recess/lunch or sometimes after school. I started having feelings for her I didn’t know what to say to her about it. What if she just wanted to be friends? , what if she liked someone else? I was really confused…. Valentine’s Day was coming up and I thought this was the perfect opportunity to confess my love for her. On Valentine’s Day I bought a rose for her. I thought about giving it to her in the morning. I gave it to her as soon as she reached school and said “I really like you, much more than a friend…” she accepted the flower and said “I like you more than a friend also….” . It had started out with us having a crush on each other but in some time it had gone much further. Our love had turned into a Romantic love.  We became really close to each other and stayed loyal. We got engaged when both of us had already started working.

We talked to her parish about it because that is where the wedding was going to be since it was the bride’s parish. They said that we had to wait 6-9 months so we could get prepared for married life. We both had our initial review, face to face with the deacon. After which we had our faith readiness which is really important. The next step was the Marriage readiness, it was a great opportunity for us to reflect on our relationship and our attitudes. We had already chosen the venue of the marriage- her parish. We then prepared the liturgy through song and prayer and then proceeded to the Wedding rehearsal. We had the rite which had several procedures and then did the Cultural Adaptations. The last thing we did was the giving of respect to the Holy Mother after the Lord’s Prayer. It has been 5 years for our marriage. We have 2 kids, one boy, and one girl. We went through a lot of struggles together in the beginning. We struggled financially, health-wise and emotionally. All these experiences really tested our faith but we stuck together and believed that all would be well. One quote from the bible which really helped us stay together was “Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate” – Mark 10:9. Another quote that helped us keep my love strong for her was “A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies” Proverbs 31:10. We are now a happy family which deals with problems together and as one. 

Being married is not only about the joys but it is about both, the ups and the downs. No matter what kind of situation you are going through, you should always stick together because two will always be stronger than one.

Reflection- This project made me realize that real love is hard to come by. Real love should be cherished and kept safe from anything that might harm it. We should thank God for all relationships that he has helped stay strong and we should ask him for the gift of happy and long-lasting relationships in the future. We should be faithful and committed when we are in relationships and resist all temptations that may cause that sacred bond to break. Marriage is a sacred thing in all races and cultures and it should be kept sacred.