Favor Fridays with Tony™: The Favor of a Covenant That Still Stands-- Reflecting on God’s Grace on the Eve of Our 18th Wedding Anniversary

There is something powerful about standing on the eve of an anniversary.

It is not just about looking at a date on the calendar. It is about looking at a life that has been built one day, one prayer, one decision, one conversation, one sacrifice, one forgiveness and one act of love at a time. It is about recognizing that marriage is not held together by perfect people, perfect circumstances or perfect seasons. It is held together by commitment, grace, patience, faith and a God who knows how to keep what two people have placed in His hands.

On the eve of my 18th wedding anniversary with my wife, Tajuana, I find myself grateful. Not casually grateful, but deeply grateful. Grateful for love. Grateful for friendship. Grateful for covenant. Grateful for the journey. Grateful for the laughter, the lessons, the growth and even the challenges that taught us how to keep choosing each other.

Eighteen years of marriage is not a small thing. In a world where people often leave when things get hard, misunderstand when emotions get heavy, and treat commitment like it only matters when everything feels easy, to still be standing together after 18 years is favor.

Not luck. Not coincidence. Favor.

The Favor of Being Given Someone to Walk With

One of the greatest blessings God can give a person is someone to walk through life with. Not someone who only appears for the highlights, but someone who is present for the ordinary days, the difficult days, the uncertain days and the days when faith has to do more work than feelings.

Genesis 2:18 says, “And the Lord God said, ‘It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.’” That Scripture reminds us that companionship was part of God’s design from the beginning. God saw Adam surrounded by creation, responsibility and purpose, yet still identified that man was not meant to do life alone.

Marriage, when it is healthy and God-centered, is one of the ways companionship becomes covenant. It is more than romance, though romance matters. It is more than attraction, though attraction is a gift. It is more than sharing a home, bills, family, plans and responsibilities. At its heart, marriage is two people saying, “I will walk with you. I will grow with you. I will pray with you. I will face life with you.”

That kind of companionship is favor because life is too heavy to carry alone. Purpose is too important to build without support. Storms are too real to face without someone who knows your heart, your weaknesses, your dreams and your prayers.

When God gives you a spouse who walks with you, that is a blessing worth honoring.

The Favor of Love That Keeps Growing

Love at the beginning is beautiful, but love that has grown through years is something different.

Early love often comes with excitement, discovery and emotion. You are learning each other’s habits, dreams, personalities and stories. Everything feels fresh. Everything feels possible. But love after years of marriage has been tested by life. It has had to mature. It has had to deepen. It has had to learn how to survive seasons where feelings alone were not enough.

That does not make it less beautiful. It makes it richer.

1 Corinthians 13:4–7 says, “Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up… bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” That passage is often read at weddings, but many couples do not fully understand its weight until years later. Because real love is not just what is spoken in front of family and friends during a ceremony. Real love is what gets practiced when patience is required, when kindness has to be chosen, when pride has to be swallowed, when forgiveness has to be extended and when endurance becomes part of the story.

After 18 years, love is not just a feeling. It is a history.

It is shared memories. It is inside jokes. It is prayers prayed together and prayers prayed for each other. It is knowing when the other person needs encouragement, silence, laughter or support. It is remembering what you have survived and believing there is still more ahead.

Love that keeps growing is favor because it proves that what God joins together can continue to mature when both people remain willing to grow.

The Favor of Staying When Leaving Would Have Been Easier

Every marriage has seasons.

Some are joyful. Some are peaceful. Some are exciting. Some are stretching. Some require more grace than others. That is not failure; that is reality. No two people can share a life for years without encountering moments where they have to choose humility, patience and commitment over pride, frustration or emotional distance.

Staying is not always easy.

But staying, when it is rooted in love, respect, covenant and mutual willingness to grow, is powerful.

Ecclesiastes 4:9–10 says, “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion.” That Scripture speaks to the strength of partnership. It reminds us that one of the blessings of covenant is having someone there to help you rise when life knocks you down.

There have been moments in 18 years where life demanded more of us. Moments where responsibilities were heavy, emotions were real, prayers were necessary and grace had to cover what human strength could not. But that is part of what makes an anniversary meaningful. You are not just celebrating the easy days. You are honoring the fact that God kept you through the hard ones too.

The favor is not that marriage never faces pressure.

The favor is that love, faith and commitment can survive the pressure and come out with deeper roots.

The Favor of Being Known and Still Loved

There is something sacred about being known.

Not the public version. Not the polished version. Not the version people see through posts, pictures, platforms or accomplishments. Marriage reveals the everyday version. The tired version. The frustrated version. The dreaming version. The wounded version. The hopeful version. The still-becoming version.

And when someone knows you that deeply and still chooses to love you, pray for you, support you and walk with you, that is a gift.

Proverbs 18:22 says, “He who finds a wife finds a good thing, and obtains favor from the Lord.” That verse does not call a wife a burden, an accessory or an afterthought. It calls her a good thing and connects her to favor from the Lord.

On the eve of 18 years of marriage, I can say that I thank God for the favor of my wife, Tajuana. I thank God for her presence in my life. I thank God for the ways she has loved me, stood with me, challenged me, supported me and walked through seasons with me. I thank God for the gift of being known by someone who has seen me grow, struggle, dream, create, pray, hope and keep becoming.

That kind of love is not something to take lightly. It is something to honor.

The Favor of Friendship in Marriage

One of the most underrated blessings in marriage is friendship.

Romance matters. Covenant matters. Partnership matters. But friendship gives marriage warmth. Friendship gives it laughter. Friendship gives it daily connection. Friendship allows two people to enjoy each other beyond responsibilities and routines.

A strong marriage is not only built on surviving problems. It is also built on sharing joy.

Song of Solomon 3:4 says, “I found the one I love. I held him and would not let him go.” There is tenderness in that verse, but there is also intention. Love is not only found; it is held. It is protected. It is cherished.

Friendship helps you hold on.

Friendship is what allows a couple to laugh after a long day. It helps you sit together in silence and still feel connected. It makes memories out of ordinary moments. It reminds you that marriage should not only be endured; it should also be enjoyed.

After 18 years, I am grateful not only to have a wife, but to have a companion, a partner and a friend.

That is favor.

The Favor of Growing Together Without Growing Apart

One of the challenges of marriage is that people keep changing.

The person you marry at the beginning is not the exact same person you are married to years later. Life shapes people. Responsibilities shape people. Losses, victories, disappointments, dreams, aging, faith, family and purpose all shape people.

The question is not whether people will change.

The question is whether they will keep choosing to grow together.

Amos 3:3 asks, “Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?” Agreement does not mean two people are identical. It does not mean they always see everything the same way. It means they are committed to walking in the same direction with mutual respect, shared values and a willingness to keep finding each other through life’s changes.

Eighteen years of marriage means we have not only shared time; we have shared transformation. We have had to keep learning each other. Keep listening. Keep adjusting. Keep praying. Keep choosing connection in a world full of distractions.

That is one of the quiet miracles of marriage. Not just that two people fell in love.

But that two people kept growing and still found reasons to keep reaching for each other.

The Favor of Forgiveness and Grace

No marriage reaches 18 years without forgiveness.

That is not a negative statement. That is an honest one. When two imperfect people build a life together, grace becomes necessary. Forgiveness becomes necessary. Humility becomes necessary. The ability to say, “I was wrong,” “I am sorry,” “Help me understand,” and “Let’s try again,” becomes part of the foundation.

Colossians 3:13 says, “Bearing with one another, and forgiving one another… even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.” That Scripture is not just for church services and sermons. It is for kitchens, bedrooms, car rides, difficult conversations and quiet moments when pride wants to speak louder than love.

Grace does not mean ignoring problems. Forgiveness does not mean pretending something did not hurt. True grace is honest. It tells the truth, but it also makes room for healing. It acknowledges the wound, but refuses to let the wound become the whole story.

A marriage that has learned how to forgive has learned how to survive. And a marriage that has learned how to extend grace has learned how to breathe. That kind of grace is favor.

The Favor of Faith in the Marriage

Faith matters in marriage because love needs something deeper than emotion to stand on.

When two people believe God together, pray through seasons together and trust Him with what they cannot control, marriage gains an anchor. There will always be things in life that test patience, stretch finances, challenge emotions, create uncertainty or require wisdom. But when faith is present, those things do not have to have the final word.

Matthew 19:6 says, “Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.” That verse reminds us that marriage is not merely a legal arrangement or a romantic decision. It is a covenant that deserves reverence, protection and prayer.

Prayer has a way of softening hearts. Faith has a way of creating endurance. God has a way of stepping into spaces where human effort runs out. And when a marriage has survived because God kept giving strength, wisdom, patience and mercy, there is only one proper response.

Gratitude. Not pride. Not arrogance. Gratitude.

Because the favor of 18 years is not just that we stayed married. It is that God kept working in us while we stayed.

The Favor of Shared Dreams and Future Hope

An anniversary is not only about looking back. It is also about looking forward.

Eighteen years tells a story, but it does not end the story. There is still more life to live, more love to give, more prayers to pray, more dreams to pursue and more purpose to walk in together.

Jeremiah 29:11 says, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” That promise matters in marriage because every couple needs future hope. Without hope, people only survive. With hope, they build.

As Tajuana and I stand on the eve of 18 years of marriage, I thank God not only for what He has already done, but for what He is still doing. I thank Him for the story behind us and the story ahead of us. I thank Him for the dreams that remain alive, the prayers still before Him and the purpose still unfolding.

A marriage with history is beautiful. A marriage with hope is powerful. And when God is still in the middle, the next chapter can be even greater than the last.

A Declaration for Our Marriage

• I declare gratitude over the covenant God has allowed us to share. -

• I declare that our marriage will continue to grow in love, wisdom, patience, forgiveness, friendship and faith.

• I declare that we will not take each other for granted, but will honor the gift of walking through life together.

• I declare that every lesson, every season and every prayer will continue shaping us for the better.

• I declare that what God has kept for 18 years, He is still able to strengthen, bless and use for His glory.

A Prayer on the Eve of Our 18th Wedding Anniversary

Heavenly Father,

Thank You for 18 years of marriage. Thank You for the love, friendship, covenant and grace You have allowed Tajuana and me to share. Thank You for every season You carried us through, every lesson You taught us, every prayer You answered and every moment You used to help us grow.

Bless our marriage with continued love, patience, understanding, joy, peace and wisdom. Help us to keep choosing each other with intention. Help us to listen with compassion, speak with grace and walk together in faith. Strengthen what is strong, heal what needs healing and guide us into everything You still have for us. Let our marriage reflect Your love, Your faithfulness and Your favor.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

The Bigger Picture

The eve of an anniversary is a holy kind of reminder.

It reminds you that love is not just something you feel. It is something you build. It is something you protect. It is something you choose. It is something you grow into again and again.

Eighteen years of marriage is not just a number.

It is morning conversations, late-night prayers, shared responsibilities, private jokes, hard lessons, deep growth, forgiveness, commitment and love that has learned how to keep standing. It is the favor of having someone to walk with.

The favor of being known and still loved. The favor of friendship. The favor of covenant. The favor of God keeping two imperfect people together through grace.

As we prepare to celebrate 18 years of marriage, I do so with a grateful heart. Grateful for my wife. Grateful for our journey. Grateful for the prayers that covered us. Grateful for the love that has grown with us. Grateful for the God who has kept us.

And grateful that the story is still being written.

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