Solid As A Rock

 

To me, forty-eight years of marriage to the same man is worth celebrating. So is the man himself! We celebrated our first wedding anniversary at a laundromat in Jacksonville, North Carolina somewhere near Camp Geiger. Humble beginnings and happy hearts can take you a long way, but God has promised to take us all the way. (It’s easier when you’re cooperating with Him.)

Other anniversaries have been more costly, but love can’t be measured by the price tag on the celebration. We were just as happy at that laundromat as we were in the Caribbean.

There have been plenty of bumpy spots along the way, most of them were me tripping uphill. But we’ve come through the thick and the thin, his long military career, his almost as long police career, many moves and ups and downs with children and grandchildren, all glory to God and the patience He’s continuously pouring into my husband, Dave.

There are small things and great things to celebrate about my man. The main things are that he loves Jesus  first and he loves me second. His selfless acts of kindness and thoughtfulness should win him the husband of the year award every single year. Above is a picture of two stones that mean nothing to anyone else, but I’ll cherish them. This is the type of thing that makes my heart giggle, it feels like Dave is tickling my heart from the inside out when he does things like this. And he does them all the time!

While driving this past summer on journeys far and wide, Dave is the main driver; I’m the navigator. He’s always my dependable driver. With GPS on my phone, it’s pretty easy to be the navigator now. Back in the day, when paper maps were all the rage and impossible to refold, I got us lost plenty of times. We’re not fast while walking, hiking or driving, but we get there. We call ourselves the Ground Coverings, because – well, we’re covering ground.

Cruising down the road, I admire most everything along the way. Oooo – look at that tree! Oh, look at those flowers! And plenty of questions that neither Dave nor I know the answers to. Fortunately, our phones are smarter than we are, so we direct our questions to some magical voice in our phones that seems to know most everything.

While driving somewhere between northeast Tennessee and northeast Ohio, I was admiring the cliffs towering to either side of us, rising up into the brilliant sunshine. In my ramblings, I mentioned that it would be cool to feel the rock they’re made of (I’m a tactile kinda gal) and within seconds, Dave slowed down and pulled over – just so I could jump out of the car and feel the cliffside. That’s where I snatched up these stones. These are what those cliffs are made of. I imagine it’s some type of slate. But they sit here on my desk to remind me that on occasion, Dave may get on my nerves (as all spouses do), but he loves me like no one else can. Yep – God put that love for me in his heart. I have no doubt that we’ll be together till death do us part. 

(The flowering tree pods came from an impromptu roadside stop, as well.)

Happy Anniversary, Babe! I love you forever and always.