If you have been dating for two years or more, there are a couple things you should be confident in at this point. You've made it this far, and you probably had a friendship that started long before you started dating. You know your S.O. super well, you've had a lot of adventures together, you've talked about a lot of important and unimportant things.
If you've made it to the two year mark, here are two things you should know without a shadow of a doubt.
1. Your relationship isn't perfect (but Jesus is)
It is humbling to be loved well. It makes you want to cry because you are understood so deeply, and it makes you want to laugh because your heart is full of joy. Being loved well is like this happy medium between being too hot and too cold (a difficult to balance to achieve, I've found. Sometimes your arms are cold, but your feet are hot. It's really not easy to achieve that kind of uniformity). Being loved well is like sunshine-- full of light and warmth.
I am thankful to be understood deeply and to have joyful contentment, but sometimes my boyfriend doesn't understand me and doesn't make me laugh, and while those things are not necessarily his fault, it is then that I am reminded than even his best love isn't as good as Jesus'.
Jesus knows my heart even when I don't. He understands me even when I cannot explain it. He knows my expectations without me ever having stating them. This does not always mean that Jesus meets my expectations, but He knows and only does what is best for me.
We were reminded at a relationship conference that only through Jesus can we find eternal acceptance, security, and meaning.
2. Your relationship is significant
Your relationship is unique. Nobody else is quite like you or your significant other, so your relationship is naturally different as well. Praise God for that! I am so thankful that my relationship doesn't look like everyone else's, but also that I can observe other people's relationships and learn from them.
Your relationship isn't arbitrary. It is temporary, whether you get married to that person and spend the rest of your lives together or not. But your relationship has purpose. At this point in your relationship, you have probably seen where your relationship matters. You've had to determine what fights are worth it, what sacrifices are necessary, and what love is required.
Don't dwell on the imperfections or flaws; dwell on the fact that you get to make those changes together. Because your relationship is important: it makes a difference in your life and it should be a blessing to other people as well.
It is a good fight; don't give it up.
