WRITING CONTEST - JOURNEY OF MY MARITAL LIFE/LEARN MORE ABOUT IT 👇

Hello friends, A wonderful week to you all. It is lovely identifying and being part of this community.

I would be engaging in the contest held by @hive-173434 with the topic Write Anything From Your Own Life

This is really an interesting contest considering the various challenges, moments and situations we face as we struggle to live our life.

Some of them can be joyous, while others can be disheartening.

Personally, I like to keep vivid those moments of joy. That is what keeps us going at any point in time and reminds us that there is always a light at the end of tunnel.

One of those moments happened more than 13yrs ago, when I and my wife decided to come together and cement our love for each other through marriage.

Despite being young at the moment and also our friends idea of waiting much longer before entering such permanent relationship, we still decided to take the bull by the horns.

This journey of wedlock is a one filled with memories, both sweet and bitter. Being a married man is filled with so many responsibilities, Joys and anxieties as you struggle to make ends meet. Sometimes, it is better experienced than told or heard for a more better understanding.

Now let me take us through some of the happy and challenging moments.

My marriage have been a blessing. My wife have been unique and special, only made for me like she was customized for me. Hahahhaha. But that is true. She has been very supportive, and complimenting me to the best of her ability. This I truly cherish and keeps me going all the way.

my wife before marriage

She has been very understanding and cooperative, this in turn keeps the family together. If men don't know, the joy and peace of every family is largely dependent on the woman.

My marriage have been blessed with two lovely children. Their birth brought much joy and happiness to the family. We have watched them grow from babies and moving into teenagers. It is quite an experience bringing them up for all these years. Seeing them happy and healthy is a cause for joy to me.

Two lovely kids

In my country, it is said that our average income is just $1. So making material provisions for the family is pretty difficult.

Even when you are employed, the employers always take advantage of the bad economic situation to exploit their employees. This results in a person being relieved of his work without notice and without any government aid like we see in some developed country.

I have been a victim of this several times and this have put pressure on me to provide for the family.

Fortunately, I have an understanding wife that helps me pull through the difficult times keeping my head and that of the family above water.

Another thing that have helped me so much is adopting a savings culture. It has proven to be very helpful during rainy days

This is one thing I also love about steemit, making it mandatory for people to save via their various club status. Most will not understand right now, until they start reaping it's benefits in the future.

In Africa, we operate an extended family setting. That is to say, that the extended family members are all part of the family. If care is not taken, it can also put a lot of strain in your immediate family.

I have experienced the death of loved ones from both sides of the family, my Mother in-law, brother in-law, grand parents and many others. these periods requires serious emotional and financial support. This is because, organizing such burial requires much funds to properly execute it. Sometimes when I cry or someone does when death strikes, it is not only about the loss but also of the financial burden.
This is Africa for you.

Currently I have aged parents battling with their health and old age. There is no social provision whatsoever for these ones in my place, so they are largely dependent on what their children can provide for them.

I would say that my marriage have proven to be a success over these years despite the huge challenges we have passed through. The more problems we surmount, the stronger the union becomes.

That is why, I try to remember the day this journey started every year by celebrating the anniversary in whatever little way, thanking the Almighty for his grace on me and my family.

You can see the pictures of the event that took during the most recent anniversary which took place some few months ago.

Just a day of fun with few friends.

I am grateful to the organizers of this contest for making this possible.

I invite @eliany, @goodybest, @ngoenyi @madilyn and @adylinah to participate in this contest.