35 Years of Covenant Love: A Prophetic Reflection on Marriage, Intimacy, and God’s Faithfulness
My wonderful hubby and I celebrate 35 years of marriage next week on June 30. When I think back to the early days of our relationship, I remember how transparent he was. What you saw was what you got with Leon. There were no masks, no surprises. His honesty was one of the first things I fell in love with. I could see his strengths, and I accepted his weaknesses.
Besides his honesty, I greatly admired that he loved Jesus with everything he was and had a heart for worshipping Him. That has never changed except to grow in a very sweet and mature way. I love how he has parented our children by honoring me and loving me, and them, throughout all these years. (That is really the greatest legacy you can leave to your children.)
Marriage is a tree that continually builds upon itself and changes. Love—real love—matures over time. It grows from emotion to action, from passion to perseverance. At the beginning of our marriage, Leon and I experienced a significant amount of growth because we had an unusually high number of differences when we were first starting out.
We came from two different cultures, from two different continents. He grew up in the United States, while I grew up in Ecuador. We each had different assumptions of what marriage looked like. For example, I had certain “husband ideas” based on what was common in my culture. Leon didn’t always help me in the ways I expected, but he had a wonderful servant’s heart, even if it didn’t look the way I thought it would.
With time, communication, and a lot of grace for one another, we found our balance. I’ve watched him grow into a partner who not only loves deeply but listens, learns, and leads with godly strength.
I have seen Leon step fully into his identity as a man of integrity, generosity, and kingdom purpose. One of the most beautiful things I didn’t foresee at the beginning of our marriage was how much Leon would support and champion the calling God placed on both of us to minister to singles and couples through Becoming the One. His support has made me love him more. Not just because of what he does, but because of who he is—a man who listens to God’s voice and follows it.
Leon isn’t the only one who matured in our marriage, of course. In the beginning, I loved Leon with a big, committed, godly love—a love rooted in agape, in covenant. I truly believed I couldn’t love him more. But time has a way of revealing new dimensions of love. Youthful passion matured into profound partnership and a love that endures, forgives, perseveres, and manifests through action.
I’ve learned that to love is also to forgive. We’ve had our conflicts and struggles—external and internal—but we’ve grown stronger through every challenge because of God’s help. Our love, and our faith, has been tested and refined.
Today, 35 years in, I can say with confidence that my love for Leon is deeper, purer, and more joyful than ever.
One Way God Surprised Us
One of the greatest surprises—and blessings—of our marriage was discovering that our union wasn’t just about us. It was also about others. God called us into ministry to build, teach, and equip others in covenant love. We didn’t see that coming when we first said, “I do.” But 35 years later, we are walking in it, hand in hand, our hearts aligned as we watch God move powerfully through our testimony and the message He’s given us to steward.
What a joy it is to see singles and couples transformed! To witness marriages healed, and to declare over and over again that God is a God of covenant, and He still writes beautiful love stories.
Looking Forward with Joy
As we celebrate our anniversary, I find myself dreaming about the future—not just for Leon and me but for our children, our grandchildren, and the spiritual children God continues to bring into our lives.
I look forward to growing old with Leon, to holding hands in our nineties, still serving, still laughing, still making love, still learning more about the heart of God through each other. And I look forward to seeing the fruit of this ministry multiply and spread, long after we are gone.
Above all, I long to see a world where marriages are centered in Christ, where the purity and beauty of intimacy are restored, and where love is defined not by feelings but by faithfulness, forgiveness, and divine purpose. I know all of this is possible. I can feel its approach in my spirit.
What Is God Saying About Marriage Right Now?
Lately as I’ve been praying, reflecting, and journaling with the Lord, one message keeps burning deeply in my spirit: the call to purity in marriage and the sacredness of sexual intimacy.
In a world that increasingly devalues what God holds sacred, I believe He is asking His people—especially parents, pastors, and spiritual leaders—to rise up and reestablish the truth of His Word concerning the marriage covenant. I can feel a divine urgency to teach the next generation why sex was created for marriage alone and how this gift, when honored and protected, becomes one of the greatest sources of joy, unity, and spiritual power within a marriage.
Sex has spiritual power. What an interesting concept. (Leon would love reading this. Haha!)
I sense the Holy Spirit pointing to Proverbs 5, especially verses 15–19:
My son, share your love with your wife alone. Drink from her well of pleasure and from no other. Why would you have sex with a stranger or with anyone other than her? Reserve this pleasure for you and her alone and do not share it with another. Your sex life will be blessed as you take joy and pleasure in the wife of your youth... Be continually delighted and ravished with her love! (TPT)
That isn’t just poetic language—it’s prophetic truth. God designed sexual intimacy not as something shameful, or to be rushed, but as holy, pleasurable, and exclusive within the covenant of marriage. When a couple preserves their intimacy for marriage, not only do they honor God, but they also secure a powerful layer of spiritual protection over their union, their children, and their legacy.
Even after 35 years, Leon and I are still marveling at this truth.
Our Prayers for You
If you are married or dating, delight in your person. Pray together. Forgive often. Never stop growing, and never forget that marriage is not just about two people—it’s about the One who brought you together. He has a wonderful, desirable purpose for your marriage.
If you are single, guard your heart. Wait. Trust. God’s design is worth it. You will not regret waiting for the person He has for you.
Finally, parents, leaders, believers—let’s rise up to teach and model God’s standard for marriage. Not out of judgment, but out of love, because His way brings blessing, it brings protection, and it leads to joy.
May your fountain be blessed. May you always rejoice in the person God gave you. And may your love story glorify Him every step of the way.
And, Leon, I want to tell you that I thank God for Jesus and His covenant with us individually and as a couple for these last 35 years of a blessed marriage. We have together learned to laugh harder, cry out louder for our Lord’s help, and love each other more profoundly and in very meaningful actions. I treasure and love you more today than the day I married you. And I look forward to many more years of great surprises, adventures, and God’s grace, until death do us part.
Want to read more of Salomé and Leon’s love story?
Let’s celebrate love! 💍 Don’t miss Becoming the One—on sale now on Amazon for $13.99.