I just came back from visiting Ecuador, my home country. Coming home to Ecuador is like seeing a best friend after a long absence. The memories and feelings rise up in your heart the moment you see each other. It's like you were never apart. When I first got married, I knew that part of my job was to love my husband with all my heart and to even die to some of  my own desires. One of the sacrifices I made was to move to the USA. At first, Leon and I considered living in Ecuador. As a loving husband, Leon tried to find a job in Ecuador, but as we prayed and asked God, I knew in my heart that God wanted us in the USA. This was not easy for me. Leaving family, friends, my church, Ecuadorian food, language, and culture would be a sacrifice, but I did it for love.

Marriage is full of sacrifices like this. For love, we must think of our spouse first. The compromises might include spending less time with friends, taking on new responsibilities or chores, watching a romance instead of an action adventure or vice versa, feeding the baby at 2am, or moving to another country or state. Some sacrifices seem easy at the beginning of a relationship and others are harder, but the closer a couple becomes, the more sacrifices there are to make.

When I returned home from visiting my family in Ecuador, I realized that my parents were getting much older, and that I would love to be with them a lot more. I also realized how much I missed the many moments and memories that I didn't have because I was far from them.  It  makes me think even more about the big sacrifices that marriage implies. I am committed to my loving husband and to be with him because that is my priority. I have my husband’s understanding and unconditional love. I will try to visit more often and talk to my parents even more. Nevertheless, I still miss them and am grateful that I was with them even if it was for a short time. My heart was in a way torn when I left.

I think of the words from John 15:3, when I face a hard choice in marriage. “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends”. Although most of us won't be called to literally give up our lives for our spouses, we are called to think of our spouses’ needs before our own. Making sacrifices is an important part of growing mature in a marriage relationship.