[vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″][vc_column centered_text=”true” column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” width=”1/1″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_column_text]
It might shock you to know that I’m a millennial, and I married my high school sweetheart. For us, it was the right age to get married.
The U.S. Census Bureau reported in 2017 that, for women, the average age to get married was 27.4 years (29.5 for men). For women in 1990, the average age to get married was 24, 22 in 1980, and 20 in the 1950s.
Our Story
My husband John and I, both millennials, must have belonged in another decade. We married in 2009 at ages 22 and 23. However, even waiting until then felt almost painful to us. We met in Sunday School when I was 10 and he was 11 though we didn’t really notice each other in a romantic sense until our teen years. Now in our early 30s, we’ve been together longer than we were apart.
My parents asked us to wait until I finished college, so we set our wedding date for three weeks after my graduation. And speaking of school, we never attended the same school—which is something we credit for helping us stay together so long. Having our own academic, social, and work lives kept us from becoming codependent, and it gave us plenty to learn and talk about when we were together.
John and I really grew up together. We learned hard life lessons, grew in our relationship with Jesus, and made a lot of bad fashion choices together. He knows about all of my lows and highs, and I know his.
[/vc_column_text][nectar_btn size=”medium” open_new_tab=”true” button_style=”regular” button_color_2=”Extra-Color-1″ icon_family=”fontawesome” url=”https://courses.familylife.com/register/i-still-do/” text=”Strengthen your marriage. Take the free online course, I Still Do.” margin_top=”30″ margin_bottom=”25″ icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-heart-o”][vc_column_text]
I’m confident that being in a committed relationship so young, we avoided a lot of heartache we might have experienced otherwise in the formative high school and college years. I am so thankful that we don’t have long lists of regrets with former partners or years of loneliness in our stories.
Definitely the right age to get married
There’s no doubt in my mind that marrying young benefited us. It was how God wrote our story. Things could have turned out much differently had we chosen to “find ourselves” first, chase a career before marrying, or see what other fish were in the sea.
I realize that not everyone finds their one and only as young as we did; in fact, we are the exception, not the norm. Still, I say whenever young men and women connect with “the one,” I hope they really prioritize the relationship. I don’t want them to waste time with casual dating. That will often lead to nowhere or get them caught up in FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out). Not wanting to be “tied down” will more than likely generate baggage they’ll carry with them into marriage.
Call me old-fashioned, but I say pursue purposeful relationships. Remember that God is 100 percent trustworthy! Seek wisdom and follow His lead.
Copyright © 2018 by FamilyLife. All rights reserved.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
