Marry Me

"Marry Me" - By Jason Derulo 

A hundred and five is the number that comes to my head
When I think of all the years I wanna be with you
Wake up every morning with you in my bed
That's precisely what I plan to do

And you know one of these days when I get my money right
Buy you everything and show you all the finer things in life
We'll forever be in love, so there ain't no need to rush
But one day I won't be able to ask you loud enough

[Chorus]
I'll say, "Will you marry me?"
I swear that I will mean it
I'll say, "Will you marry me?"

How many girls in the world can make me feel like this?
Baby I don't ever plan to find out
The more I look, the more I find the reasons why
You're the love of my life

You know one of these days when I get my money right
Buy you everything and show you all the finer things in life
We'll forever be in love, so there ain't no need to rush
But one day I won't be able to ask you loud enough

[Bridge]
And if I lost everything
In my heart it means nothing
'Cause I have you,
Girl, I have you
To get right down on bended knee
Nothing else would ever be better, better
That day when...

I'll say, "Will you marry me?"
I swear that I will mean it
I'll say, "Will you marry me?"

A hundred and five is the number that comes to my head
When I think of all the years I wanna be with you
Wake up every morning with you in my bed
That's precisely what I plan to do.

__________________________________________________________________

When I first heard this song, I thought it was one of the cutest songs! And then I really listened to the lyrics and realized that it wasn't as cute as I thought it would be. 

The song starts out by saying, "A hundred and five is the number that comes to my head when I think of all the years I wanna be with you." Growing up as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon), I have been taught that families are eternal. A hundred and five years is far less than the amount of time I would want to spend with my family. One thing that has always made me upset were the words, "Until death do you part" or, "As long as you both shall live." Being at my wedding, one the happiest days of my life, the last thing I would want to hear is that we can be happy and together...but only until death. 

The next line that I didn't quite agree with was, "And you know one of these days when I get my money right..." Now I'm not saying that money isn't important, because it is...but that shouldn't be the deciding factor of when you choose to get married. Is it easier knowing that you'll be more comfortable financially? Of course! But marriage isn't supposed to be easy. My Family Relations professor, Brother Michael Williams, once taught us that there is an amazing strength that comes when you start out not quite as well off because it allows you and your spouse to learn how to live without the best of the best. It puts the two of you in a vulnerable situation to either succeed or fail. Imagine starting out low, becoming more financially comfortable as your family grows, and continuing in that success as you go? Imagine the same situation but one day you find yourselves in another financial rut? This allows the the two of you to know how you lived without so much before and how you handled it. Children also benefit greatly when there are not as many finances being brought in - it forces the child to learn that there are some things that they can't have and there some instances when the child learns to be okay with this. 

Marriage is about bringing two people who love each other together and giving them the opportunity to start and create their family. Why not start it because you know it to be right and because you love each other? Not because you're struggling financially, you're worried what others will think, or even because you're scared. 

Making that amazing decision to get married and commit yourself to another is an act that should be pushing away the natural instincts and moving into the divine. 

Avec Amour, 

Elisse Cook