45th Anniversary
Forty-five years ago I married a man never imagining how deeply love can grow between two human beings. We were young. He 24 and me 21. Neither of us
knew that two years later we'd experience the start of a baby boom and have six children in eight years!
As I thought back upon the wedding I realized the date nor ceremony had absolutely nothing to do with my choices. My mother chose my dress, the venue for the ceremony and every detail of the ceremony from the soloist and song, to the flowers and every element of the reception at The Hotel Ronaoke. My sister chose the bridesmaids dresses and strongly suggested my crystal and china patterns, which were lovely.
None of that mattered to me then and it doesn't matter to me now, as I often say, "It's not of eternal value." What they didn't choose was the groom. That was a triangular decision between God, my husband and myself. I thank God for how closely He has woven us together.
While I remember the soloist, a very kind man from our church with a gorgeous voice, I do not remember the song he sang. Again, 'Not of eternal value." What is of eternal value is that what has allowed our love to grow so deeply for one another and that is the choice we each made to chose Jesus as our Lord and Savior.
Our commitment to Christ and the vow we took to remain faithful, the examples of our parents and grandparents to persevere in their marriages, and the fact we both agreed no one else would want us with six children have been huge influencers in the longevity of our marriage.
As I was reflecting on leaving my family home and traveling two blocks in a limousine alone with my sweet, sweet Daddy (who held my wedding dress up as I went to the bathroom before we left for the church and agreed to put a Tampax in his pocket in case I started my period, yes, guess I was nervous) to the church to walk me down the aisle and give me away to a 24 year old he was trusting to take care of me; the thought just came to me of God giving His Son away to come to earth knowing not everyone would choose the gift of His life for their salvation.
The choices we make in life greatly influence how and with whom we will live. God's choice to send Jesus to die for us is an eternal game changer. Thank You Lord.
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. John 3:16-17
A lot older, but a lot more in love too!
The Song
We are in big time baby sitting mode for four days for three of our grands. (Yup, happy anniversary to us). It's the middle of the night and a 7 week old is sleeping at the foot of our bed in a bassinet, so I don't want to turn on the volume and risk waking her up to select a song. Check out this link and see if you were getting married this year what song you might choose.
