WEDDING ANNIVERSARY #28

 

Imagine you are out on a grassy hillside, gathered with family and friends. You hear laughing and see the children out playing beside a crystal clear stream that runs alongside. You’re enjoying the picnic lunch you packed. The fried chicken, coleslaw, potato salad and baked beans are so good – and taste better still since you are in such a relaxing atmosphere. Everyone is having a great time at this group outing. Then you hear a voice calling out, “It’s time for the 3-legged race! Everyone interested in participating come to the starting line!”

You look around. Obviously you cannot walk to the starting line without a partner! You need someone you can trust to walk at the same pace you do – one who will not want to set their own pace and walk faster than you, or who will not be able to keep up and cause you both to fall! You need just the right person for this race. Who will you choose?

Have you ever thought of marriage as a 3-legged race? Well, I have – several times during my over quarter of a century marriage! Our marriage is not perfect – no marriage is perfect. Sometimes though, when we walk together I imagine my right leg and his left leg in a burlap sack. I imagine that we would win that 3-legged race because you see, we have played some beautiful music together down through the years. We understand rhythm, timing and syncopation as well as rest, sharp, flat and natural signs. We read each other like a music book.

I have depended on that man’s lead for a long time. He sets the tone in our home, and I like it that way. It’s my job to be a helpmate to him. God ordained the man to be head of the household and that’s fine with me. But when I race with him, one leg is tied to his. We have to walk quickly, but with a sense of rhythm, or we will both fall. If you fall too many times, you lose the race. It’s a delicate ability to run this race and it takes years of practice.

I’m here to tell you, young people just starting out: Hang in there – it’s worth it! Longevity doesn’t happen because two people are perfect for each other. Sometimes it happens in spite of the fact that two people are not perfect for each other! You will have rough patches, but if you have a high-quality rope and you have set the pace at which you will run, you will win the race.

Where can you find a high-quality rope? I’m so glad you asked!

Make GOD the center your marriage. Enjoy family devotions together. Pray together. Have the same goals for your future. Set your sights on what God sees as good. If you don’t know what God wants you to do next, ask Him. If God is in the center of your relationship with your spouse, your rope will be strong and you will not fray it as you run the race. Once in a while you may begin running out of sync and stumble, but God is there, the rope is heavy and strong. Get back up and keep racing together.

Then some days you crawl to the finish line like the mattress mascot! LOL!!!

I met one woman in Georgia who has been married to her husband for over 60 years.  After being asked for her best relationship advice, she paused and then said, “Don’t be afraid to be the one who loves the most.”  – Nate Bagley

Today is our 28th wedding anniversary. With God’s help, our rope will stay strong and we will make it to the finish line. ❤

A COMMENTARY FROM THE HEART

This morning I’m sitting here drinking coffee and thinking about the past. I’m thinking about the old friends I have and the new ones I’ve made. My mind was rambling through events of the past and I began thinking about the surprise gift my husband gave me for our 20th wedding anniversary.

Awe!!!

He made arrangements with the folks at Silver Dollar City to schedule a time at their little chapel so we could have our vows renewed. Of course I knew we were going to SDC but had absolutely no idea we were going to the chapel. It was so beautiful, in that down-home country way! The parson was quite a character and wow the lady who played the little spinet piano was amazing! It was quite a ceremony! We stood there with three other couples to renew our marriage vows.

It’s a good idea to renew vows once in a while. By renewal, we are reminded of commitment and the things that are really important in life. When we renew vows, we have a priceless opportunity to step up and show true integrity in our moral fiber. It’s our chance to walk the proverbial walk and not just spout off with a lot of phony talk.

Love is a symbol of eternity. It wipes out all sense of time, destroying all memory of a beginning and all fear of an end. The vows we make to our spouse mean something special.

But what about those promises, or vows, we make to God? Shouldn’t they mean even more? I think so, however; it is not my job to tell you how to keep your vows any more than it is your job to tell me how to keep mine.

Just remember, there’s a right way and a wrong way to do everything and the wrong way is to keep trying to make everybody else do it the right way. – M*A*S*H, Colonel Potter

I’ll leave you with a gentle reminder. Pray and read your Bible every day. ❤