It Took 33 Years

Thirty Three. That is the number of years I have been married. Today marks our anniversary. October 12, 1974 at the age of 19, I had 9 days until I turned 20, I said yes to a life together with a women I had been dating since High School. It was the next step for us, as natural as putting one foot in front of the other when you walk. I always knew we would stay together. So thirty three isn't a surprise. How fast we got to thirty three is. Maybe that is one of the indicators of how much we love each other. When you really are having a good time you never notice time pasting by. It didn't go any faster or slower it just seems like it did.

I said our marriage was the next step, as nature as putting one foot in front of the other when you walk. However, you do have to learn to walk. So I needed to learn to be a husband, I wasn't very good at this in the beginning. Ask my wife and she tell you if I have improved since then. I had to learn to be a father, another role that was harder to learn than I first thought. All good things, things worth something, things of value, take time and effort and investment.

So what have I learned from thirty three years of marriage. Here are couple of things.

1. I really didn't know what love was when we started this journey. I realized that I barely knew the lady that I married. But I did knew she was the one for me.

2. I learned to love more the things that she does that I liked and forget quickly the things that she does that I don't like. In the end it's not the things that are important it is the "love more" and the "forget quickly" that is.

3. Married life changes because we change. If you don't roll with the change you get crushed as it passes you by.

4. Life is a roller coaster and being married is like sitting next to one person for the whole ride. Sometimes you hang on together and sometimes it's "Hands Up" and sometimes you scream. Sometimes you ask, "Why did we get on this thing?"

5. I never knew I could love a person as deeply as I do my wife, miss someone as much as I do when she is not around me, talk as much as we do when we are together, laugh as much as we do at times, enjoy someone so much for who they are, and never get tried of their company.

6. I could go one but I will end with this one things that I have learned about marriage in the past thirty three years - Marriage is about helping the other person become all the God desires for them to become and in doing this you will become all God desires for you to become.

I haven't been a perfect husband and I needed to learn many things but one thing I do know, I made the right decision and married the right person thirty three years ago. So today I will celebrate that decision knowing God put it together and I believe He is celebrating with us.

Proverbs 5:18-19 MSG . . . Enjoy the wife you married as a young man! 19 Lovely as an angel, beautiful as a rose-- don't ever quit taking delight in her body. Never take her love for granted!