“Love in Every Grain: The Power of Choosing to Love Every Day”

A week before my wedding, after my immersion in the mikveh, I sat alone with my mother in a small café near our home. It was one of those rare moments where time seemed to stand still—just the two of us, eyes full of understanding, and hearts wide open. Then, in a surprising gesture, she took some salt and sprinkled it on the table. “This salt,” she said, “represents all the challenges you’ll face along the way. It symbolizes all the flaws, the struggles, the gaps between dreams and reality, and those moments when you’ll need to fight to keep loving—loving deeply, with your whole heart. Are you ready to take it all in?”

At 26, with bright eyes and a heart full of excitement, I answered without hesitation, “Yes.” But only over time, through the ups and downs, did I begin to understand the depth of her words. Just like those grains of salt, so too are the flaws and challenges—they might seem small at first, almost unnoticeable, but over time they can grow, accumulate, and become real hurdles in a marriage.

I came to realize that love isn’t just a grand and wonderful feeling; it’s a conscious choice, made every minute and every second. It’s a daily struggle—to stay in love, even when it’s tough, even when life around you is turbulent. That salt on the table wasn’t just the challenges of marriage; it was a reminder that true love is the result of shared effort, patience, and a belief in the power of a common goal.

Over the years, I learned that not only is it okay, but it’s also essential to seek help. A healthy marriage is built on the understanding that we don’t have to do it all alone. We’ve been in couples therapy for seven years now, and in the past two years, we’ve been blessed with an incredible therapist who believes in us, strengthens us, and walks with us every step of the way. She helps us find new tools to cope, to understand, to set boundaries, and to learn how to grow from the differences between us.

Our home is the living example for our children. They don’t learn from what we say but from what we do. Even in difficult moments, when daily life gets heavy, they see us continuing to love, to respect, and to show mutual understanding. Right there, amidst the salt and the struggles, they learn the power of true love, the importance of warmth and encouragement, even in challenging times.

Love is a living, breathing thing; it begins at home and extends outward, blooming and impacting the world around us. Every challenge we go through together is not just a lesson for us but also for our children, who come to understand that real love is something you nurture and protect.

And finally, even when the salt piles up, we learn to use it for good, to strengthen and deepen the bond. Because there’s nothing like love that conquers all. It’s simply a daily choice, minute by minute, second by second. It’s always choosing to love, even when the difficulty is present, even when life isn’t simple. Because love is what sustains us, gives us the strength to keep going, and reminds us that, in the end, every moment of love is worth it all.