In September, my husband, Ty, and I celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary.

And while five years is long enough to make memories seem distant, I can remember our day like it just happened.

It was hot. In fact, our wedding date was the hottest day on record. A scorching 101 degrees for our outdoor, sunset ceremony. The groomsmen – dressed in black tuxedos – sought relief with a few cold beers, and as soon as the ceremony ended my bridesmaids found a pair of kitchen shears and restyled their floor-length gowns to a much cooler knee-length dress.

I didn’t mind any of it. I was marrying my best friend, and that was worth celebrating. Ty joined in with the band, singing and playing guitar. We danced and sang all night, until our wedding party forced me into the limousine and waved us off.

When Ty and I exchanged vows that day, I felt that I understood the enormity of what I was promising to him. I joined my life to his in all sincerity. To live together in holy marriage. To love, comfort and honor one another. To keep each other in sickness and health. A solemn vow to be faithful until we are parted by death.

Looking back now, we were somewhat naïve. All of those things sound easy enough given that life goes as planned. That the boat is never rocked and each day ends exactly as you expected.

In the big picture of life, five years is a drop in the bucket. But five years is also a milestone. Life is measured in increments of five. Job interviewers often ask, “Where do you see yourself in five years?” Five years is a time to assess our wins and our losses; an opportunity to consider our progress and the areas in which we seem stuck; a time to recharge and motivate ourselves for the next stretch of life.

A lot can change in five years, and marriage is no different.

I knew Ty well when we married, but the past several years my love and appreciation for him has blossomed.

I think back to when our daughter Tilly was born, just over three years ago. I was a first-time mom, scared to make a mistake and get something wrong. Ty would wake up with me for middle-of the-night feedings.

He would sit on the floor in front on the glider where I sat feeding Tilly, his head bobbing and eyes heavy with sleep. There was not much he could do to help, but he sat there for me.

And any time our children have woken in the middle of the night not feeling well, Ty has been quick to scoop them up, rest them on his chest and comfort them throughout the night.

As a father, he’s not just a figurehead in our house. He rolls up his sleeves to change diapers, wash dishes and fold laundry. He does little things that speak volumes of his love for our family.

But the most telling moments in our marriage have come in the times that felt impossible. This past year, marked with loss and heartache, has forever shaped and changed our marriage.

When my dad unexpectedly passed away in February, my husband dropped everything and rushed to my side. In the days that followed, he calmed me when my anxiety would rise and I couldn’t get my body to stop shaking.

At night, I wouldn’t want to fall asleep because I knew when I woke up in the morning the overwhelming sting of grief would be there to greet me. Ty would hold me each night until my breathing would become slow, rhythmic and steady and my body would settle into sleep. He did this for months.

When I would speak about what had happened and the tremendous loss I felt, he would stop and listen even though I was likely repeating things I’d said so many times before. He made it OK for me to grieve openly with him.

And on top of all the things he did for me during that time, he kept life as normal as possible for our children. He dropped off and picked up at daycare. He tended to dinner, bath and bed times. He carried the weight and responsibility for me when I couldn’t.

There is a quote hanging in our bedroom that serves as a constant reminder of our purpose in the vows we exchanged five years ago. I continue to learn that a productive, healthy marriage is nothing less than supernatural. I believe that Ty and I have found peace in this past year because we know we don’t walk through it alone. In this quote from Tertullian, we are told that God grants peace to marriages who walk side-by-side through all areas of life – good and bad.

There is no anticipating what the next five years may have in store for our family and our marriage, but I hope to continue to walk through this life handin-hand with the exceptional man that God hand-picked and placed in my life.

FiFth Power. A perfect marriage is nothing less than supernatural.

Stephanie Jordan is a local journalist, marketer and blogger.

Her blog can be found at www.stephanienetherton.blogspot.

com, and she can be contacted at stephanienetjordan@gmail.com.