Until Death Do Us Part

It still amazes me all that Ray and I have gone through.

It really didn't hit me until the other day, as I was talking to our pastor he mentioned something to me that really struck a cord.

"I don't know if you know this, Michelle, but most couples don't survive what the two of you are going through."

It seemed so odd to me that all that we have gone through together are seen by some as justifiable reasons to divorce. So many couples would have walked away from facing the reality of having a spouse with multiple disabilities and a premature baby who's own disabilities were yet unknown.

Too many couples grow distant after the death of a child. They start blaming each other and finally come to a point where they see each other as nothing more then strangers.

And with the pressures of CPS and investigations it would be easy for a lot of couples to turn against each other and say things that are false just to make the odds better for themselves.

Add to all of this the everyday pressures and stress of life, and yes, I could see how some couples would just throw in the towel and walk away. But Ray and I are not just 'some couple'.

We are 'one', united in complete love and respect for each other. Ray is more then just my lover and best friend, and it wouldn't be accurate to call him my soul mate. Instead, he is half my soul. He is the one God created just for me as I am the one that God created just for him.

On our wedding day, before witnesses, we made a promise to one another to stay together for richer or poorer, through good times and bad, through sickness and in health, 'till death do us part. We made a promise before our family and friends, and most importantly, before God. And just like any promise, life will test you to see just how sincere you are and if you are strong enough to keep your word. (Although I must admit I would rather have the 'richer', 'good times' and 'health' right now then continue to be tested with the other sides of our promise.)

I can honestly say that not once throughout all that we have gone through have I ever though of leaving Ray. That was never and will never be an option. Come hell or high water, he is stuck with me, and I with him.

I like to hope that there is some good coming out of our struggles. That maybe there is another couple out there who is about to face a real struggle that has the potential to destroy their marriage and seeing us might help them cling to one another rather then walk away.

Let me not be misunderstood here. Being married and sharing my life with another person has not been easy. But anything worth fighting for never is. So, what God has brought together, let no one, (CPS, investigators, temptations, struggles, even death of a child), tear apart.