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.
The
other day someone asked me how Dave and I have managed to still be so in love
after all these years. Besides the obvious, that God is the glue that holds us
together through thick and thin, the only thing I could say is that we are
without a doubt, the silliest, goofiest couple ever. If a sitcom were created
about our married life, most of it would get laughs primarily because folks
would say, “No one’s really that goofy that much of the time.” Hey – if you can’t
laugh at yourselves and each other, a couple doesn’t really stand much of a
chance, in my opinion.
Sure,
you’ve got to be quick to forgive, generous with mercy and sincere compliments,
but you’ve got to know you have permission to laugh; loud and often.
Yes,
you need to build each other up and respect each other and speak positive words
over each other; you need to pray over each other – sometimes out loud! But,
without humor, we’d miss the best parts of each other. Don’t you think?
Whether
we’re playing a board game, hiking together or simply watching television from
the comfort of our bed, Dave and I know we can laugh, spontaneously.
Not
necessarily
the kind of laughter that makes fun of each other, but rather, the kind of
laughter that makes fun with each other.
I
admit it, I’m an oddball. But, I have to think I’m not the only oddball out
there. Most of the time, the side of our marriage we show to the world around
us tempers our goofiness. Sometimes folks may only see the facet of our
relationship where I get snippy with Dave.
No
doubt, if you’ve known us long at all, you’ll see the side of life where I’m “lovingly
suggesting a better way to do things” – i.e. my way.
You
might see our serious sides.
But,
you probably won’t see even a measure of the silliness. Why? I ask myself….
Perhaps
we just don’t want folks thinking marriage is easy? Nah. Everyone knows you get
out of a marriage what you put into it. Well, in most cases. I think.
Maybe
I’m actually backwards about showing off how good we have it. So many couples
around us seem to struggle all the time. Wouldn’t putting our happiness on
display only make them feel bad about their squabbles? Nah, probably not.
Perhaps it would even be encouraging to see that two messed up humans can make
it work for their entire lifetime together, despite the mountains they have to
climb together and individually.
Maybe
it’s the (false) idea planted somewhere in the back of our heads that whispers
to us, saying that there are folks watching and waiting for us to fail? Nah,
who cares what others think? If they’re thinking we’ll drift apart or face
something marriage can’t handle, they’re wrong.
Maybe,
it’d be considered bragging? We all know how morally wrong that would be, right?
Nah, anyone who knows me knows I’ve screwed up a lot, bragging about something
God is doing in our lives doesn’t even fall into that category.
Hmmmm.
What could it be? Why would we be so modest as to hide our joy?
God
knows I’m quick to brag about the grandchildren to anyone who will listen, and
even many who could totally care less. Would declaring our happiness be
prideful?
Maybe
our happiness doesn’t need to be a horn we toot too loudly – hopefully everyone
can see through the thin veil of discretion and knows how deliriously content
we are in each other’s arms.
For
the record, no one this side of heaven could make me happier than Dave. No mere
mortal could love me better or more consistently, no matter what each day
brings.
I
love you, Babe! Forever and always, Me!
“Now unto him that is able to do
exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power
that worketh in us, unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout
all ages, world without end. Amen.” -
Ephesians 3:20-21 (KJV)
“Let all bitterness, and wrath, and
anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:
and be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as
God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.” – Ephesians 4-31-32 (KJV)
“Giving thanks always for all things
unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; submitting
yourselves one to another in the fear of God.” – Ephesians 5:20-21 (KJV)
“For this cause shall a man leave his
father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one
flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.
Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself;
and the wife see that she reverence her husband.” – Ephesians 5:31-33 (KJV)
“I thank my God upon every remembrance
of you…. Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good
work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:” – Philippians 1:3
& 6 (KJV)
