Every marriage has its ups and downs, and Victoria Osteen, wife of Pastor Joel Osteen of Lakewood Church, shares that the two of them have had their fair share of both joys and trials in their relationship.
But Victoria says they have weathered the storms because they're accepting of each other's imperfections, and strive to be better together.
"Joel and I have been married nearly 30 years. When I think about all that has happened over the years, I am truly amazed," she shares on their blog. "Joel and I have a wonderful relationship. He is such a great husband, and he tells me that I am a great wife. As good as Joel is, our marriage wasn't built on Joel being perfect. It wasn't built on me being perfect. It wasn't built on us agreeing on everything."
Victoria says they don't wake up each morning thinking that their partner has to do everything right before earning each other's love. Rather, they wake up each day with a ready heart to love one another no matter what happens.
"In order to have a great marriage, we had to make some decisions early on. We had to learn to adapt to one another. We had to be willing to change. Most importantly, we had to make the choice daily to build our home on unconditional love," she says.
If she wasn't certain her husband would love her from one day to the next, Victoria says her confidence in their marriage would have taken a nosedive.
In the same way, Victoria is asking Christians what they will do if they are uncertain about God's unconditional love. "How can we have confidence if we don't fully embrace His love for us?" she asks. "Scripture tells us that nothing can separate us from God's love. This is true. However, if we don't receive His love, we won't experience the benefit of His love. We won't be able to walk in His confidence and strength."
She encourages people not to let wrong thoughts separate them from all God has to offer them. Victoria hopes people will let God's love sink down in their hearts and use it as their foundation of strength so they can "build all of your relationships on a foundation that lasts."
