“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Phil 4:6-7.

This was one of the readings I personally chose for our wedding mass back in 2015. Three years and a baby girl later, this verse is still one of may favorites, and it’s my source of inspiration for our marriage and our little family.

Family life ain’t always easy and comfy and posh and Instagram-worthy. Truth is the real pictures of family life are most of the time messy, disorderly, inconvenient and exhausting. As much as we’d like to make it picture perfect, it’s not all the time that our own strategies succeed. Our strengths and good intentions sometimes fail to be enough so we end up being tired, frustrated, angry or burned out.

But despite all that, there’s something about marriage and family life that are worth living for. It’s a gift worth cherishing, a calling worth living up to, and a rarity in this world worth preserving. And only God’s peace can make us realize that when the photos aren’t so pretty.