“Why is the sky blue,” asked my four-year-old son. “Why do dogs bark and cats meow?” “Why do we eat cereal for breakfast?” “Why does Grandma live far away?” “Why does Daddy have to go to work?” His questions were endless and there were times I wanted to yell, “shut up,” but I didn’t. Because I loved him.

The same is true of marriage. There are things my husband does that drives me absolutely crazy and if I dwell on them, they rub a sore spot in my soul and begin to fester and before I know it, I’m not liking him very much. Love looks over these things, as long as they aren’t self-destructive, and at some point they start to become endearing.

It used to drive me crazy, the way he ate his cereal in the morning. He’d dunk every flake over and over. Don’t try and figure out why that bothered me, it just did. I had to bury my head in the newspaper so I wouldn’t notice what he was doing. But after ignoring this behavior for a long period of time, I no longer even notice it. That’s what love is, not letting the little things bother us anymore–I’ll bet there are plenty of things I do that bug him too.