In a few days I turn 40, and I’ve been doing some math that’s honestly blowing my mind.
Holly and I met when I was 17. We’ve now been together—dating, engaged, married—for exactly 23 years. Which means I’ve officially spent more of my life with her than without her.
But here’s the crazy part: it doesn’t feel like we’ve “spent” those years at all. It feels like we’ve gained them. Like somehow, being together has multiplied our life instead of dividing it.
Solomon writes in Proverbs 18:22: “He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord.” I used to think this verse was just about finding someone nice to marry. But after two decades together, I’m starting to understand what God actually meant.
Holly isn’t just a “good thing” I found. She’s been God’s favor toward me—His tangible blessing, His way of showing me what His love looks like in skin and bones.
She’s been my companion through every season. The guy who graduated from bible college had big dreams but no clue. Holly believed in those dreams when they were still just ideas scribbled on napkins. The man who became a husband was terrified he’d mess it all up and he wouldn’t be enough. Holly chose to see potential instead of just problems.
She’s been my partner in every adventure. We’ve moved across the country together, built a successful company and left that company with radical steps of faith, started a ministry from nothing, navigated the chaos of raising three kids, and somehow managed to like each other more at the end of each day than we did at the beginning.
Marriage isn’t meant to be two people losing themselves in each other. It’s two people finding more of themselves because of each other.
I’m more myself with Holly than I’ve ever been alone. She doesn’t complete me—she reveals me. She doesn’t fix my weaknesses—she strengthens my strengths. She doesn’t make me whole—she helps me discover the wholeness God already placed in me.
This is the favor of the Lord: When God gives you a spouse, He’s not just giving you companionship. He’s giving you a living, breathing reminder of His goodness toward you.
As I look back on 20 years and ahead to whatever comes next, one thing is crystal clear: Life with Holly isn’t just better than life alone would have been. It’s more. More joy, more growth, more adventure, more of who God created me to be.
How has your spouse been God’s favor toward you? Not just in the big moments, but in the daily choice to walk through life together?
Take a moment to tell them. Because when you truly see your spouse as God’s gift to you, everything changes.
Grateful for the gift of my best friend,
Mike Worley
P.S. What would change in your marriage if you woke up tomorrow truly believing your spouse was God’s favor toward you?
