Our 25-Year Tradition

Zach and I got married when I was a 22-year-old college student, and he was a 24-year-old evangelist and part-time student. In our first five years of marriage, we lived in four different houses, across two states, and welcomed two precious children into our lives!

I’ve always been sentimental, but I quickly realized that many of the traditions from my childhood were harder to replicate in the ever-changing rhythm of the life we were building together.
But one tradition began on our very first anniversary—and by God’s grace, it’s one we’ve kept for the past 25 years.

Each year, I’ve written a journal entry reflecting on our life together over the past twelve months. It’s written like a letter to Zach, filled with details about events, people, and moments that marked that year for our family.

I haven’t always been timely—some entries have been written a few days (or weeks!) after our anniversary—but the rhythm has remained.

I remember feeling a little nervous the first time I gave it to him. I thought he might find it silly. But Zach, the poetic one—who’s written me beautiful songs and love letters over the years—saw the heart behind it.

I’m not poetic—I’m more of a documenter—but he valued the tradition, and now we both look forward to it as part of our anniversary celebration each year.

If you’re newly married—or even if you’ve been married a while—here are a few reasons I’d encourage you to consider a simple tradition like this:

We’re so prone to look ahead—to the next thing, the next goal, the next challenge—that we often forget to pause and look back with gratitude.

But when we slow down to remember the blessings, the breakthroughs, and the mercies of the past year, it both grounds us and reminds us to be thankful.

Gratitude is a key value in our family, but we’ve learned that it must be fought for.

A great weapon is writing down blessings, victories, and merciful moments—and reading them out loud to one another.

When we hear God’s hand of goodness in specific ways—in our lives and those we love—how can we not be grateful?

The journal is full of people and places, joys and losses, milestones and memories that we might otherwise lose track of.

It’s become a reference point for us:

“Was that the year we…?”

One day, I believe our children will cherish these pages too—reading about the details of our family’s story, in our own words.

Marriage is more than a relationship—it’s a covenant. The beginning of a new family.

This journal reminds us that we’re writing a story—year by year—that’s shaping a legacy.

It challenges us to be intentional with the year ahead:

All it takes is the same journal and a pen. That’s it.

Some years have been full and chaotic, others slower paced. But because the tradition is simple, it’s never become a burden.

In fact, some of the most meaningful entries were written in the messy, imperfect years.

This year, as we celebrated our 25th anniversary, we had so much to look back on—with joy and awe.

God has been so faithful.

Whether your tradition is big or small, I hope you create—or carry on—something that strengthens your family legacy and brings your heart back to gratitude.