One of the couples in our spring marriage group was dating. There was no clear commitment. But they were motivated to show up every week and jumped into the topic of the day.  Over the season we talked about our lives, and unwound around the stress of jobs and school and teething babies. And laughed. There was a bunch of that. 

Each meeting included appreciations of each other and in that way my affection for them grew. Hearing about the kindnesses they gave one another was as lovely as the flowering trees that opened up in the time between when we began and finished. 

Our last evening was a chance to bring sentimental objects. Physical reminders of special days spent together. A picture of them in an early snowfall. Love letters sent across the ocean. Clues for a scavenger hunt in cheesy rhyme. A pearl necklace. 

The couple that had been dating stepped across a threshold. They are engaged. Her ring sparkles like her smile when she looks at him. It was precious to hear their story on an almost deserted beach. Two people clapped. 

“It worked!” He said, referring to this group. 

“Staying married will be the sign that it worked,” she said.