Ten things I wish I’d known in my first year of marriage

As he celebrates 43 years of marriage with his wife, Killy, J. John reflects on the lessons he wishes he’d known as a newlywed. Drawing on insights from his new devotional, Marriage Works: 40-Day Devotional to Strengthen Your Relationship (Philo Trust), he shares ten simple but life-changing principles for building a marriage that lasts.

This year Killy and I celebrate forty-three years of marriage. That’s over four decades of love, laughter, learning, forgiveness, friendship, prayer and occasionally trying to remember why we walked into a room.

When we got married I thought I knew quite a lot. I didn’t! Like most newlyweds, I arrived at marriage carrying two suitcases. One contained my belongings. The other contained my expectations. The first suitcase was reasonably small. The second was enormous.

If I could sit down with my younger self during that first year of marriage, here are ten things I would tell him.