It’s been fun talking to editor Kyle about his upcoming wedding. He has regaled us with some good stories concerning their preparations (including a unique item for which he has registered at Target), and we wish him and his bride well.
(I offered him a word of advice received about 19 years ago: ‘Just keep saying ‘yes? and eventually you’ll be married?).
It’s also been good to see feature stories celebrating marriage, including one of a local couple married for 60 years. In a culture where people keep trying to change the rules, it’s encouraging to know that some are committed to doing things right.
Actually, make that more than ‘some.? Despite alarming statistics concerning divorce and deviant behavior, it’s the strong marriages that tend not to make the news (except on The Clarkston News ‘Milestones? page, of course, and we encourage more folks to submit those anniversary announcements).
It will be an odd number this coming weekend, but Nancy and I think 19 years is nothing to sneeze at.
Our story qualifies neither for a Disney fairly tale movie nor for a Court TV miniseries. It just seems to have the kind of balance that shows God knew what he doing when he ordained the institution of marriage.
There are lots of joys for us to remember, but the celebration is more than just a reflection of the touchy-feely things.
Shocked? No, ‘Love Is a Many Splendored Thing? is not always playing in the background. Marriage is work. Some people talk about the whole thing being a 50-50 proposition. It is more accurately described as a 100-100 equation, and it often requires unpaid overtime.
Without going into a lot of gory details, my career path has been such that my wife has had to make sacrifices at various steps along the way, especially in the past couple of years. Her patience with me ? and the circumstances ? are above and beyond the limit (and perhaps the understanding) of many.
Yet she has her own unique attributes and aspirations, and she has left her own imprint on the lives of people with whom she has worked and ministered.
Our bodies have changed; some of our parts are starting to wear out. Our love, however, has grown into something we would not have anticipated 19 years ago. It’s a love grounded in the concept of commitment ? a concept that seems to be increasingly foreign in our society.
A good number of people ‘get it,? however, and many of them go virtually unnoticed in today’s world. They are the ones raising good children, doing their jobs well, helping their neighbors and setting a great example by loving each other through it all.
Over the years, Nancy and I have had our share of ‘for better and for worse,? but the net result is definitely in the ‘better? column. We suspect that we have learned a reality that most married people discover sooner or later.
Marriage is cool!
Happy anniversary, sweetie!