"Diamond Ring" is a song that I wrote for my wife a couple of years ago. We were going through a few hard times all at once. We had some medical issues, some financial woes, spiritual struggles. Every issue that troubled us seemed so big, and it was just really weighing us down. Yet, as we struggled in the mess together, I found myself loving my wife more and more. The circumstance was bleak, my emotions were shot, my spirit was tired. I did not "feel" like being a loving husband, but I found myself growing in love.

When I first met my wife it was all about physical attraction. She caught my eye right away. If you were to ask me in those early days of romance what marriage looked like I probably would have painted a picture of breakfast in bed each morning, bouquets of roses delivered out of the blue, lots of... you know, and an all around happiness. The reality is, we spend more time cleaning the house and changing diapers than we do... you know. Breakfast in bed? We're lucky if we even eat breakfast. Roses? Not unless I want to go in debt.

Yet, our love is stronger, deeper, more mature. It is an amazing thing.

Perhaps half of our country's marriages end in divorce because they think that the long-standing, mature love is suppossed to look like the bright and shiny young love. When the luster dies, so does their "love."

The diamond ring may not shine as bright, it may have some dings and scratches on it, but the love is more brilliant than it ever has been before.

When the luster of that diamond fades, you may find it strange - more beautiful.