I am utterly amazed and at times even humbled as I reflect on the past twenty something years of my marriage. Philip and I have been married actually now 27 years, but twenty something just seems a bit more trendy I think! There have been times though that it already seems like forever, we certainly have been together longer than we have been a part, but God has shown Himself faithful to us on so many levels throughout these many years together.
As I look back, I wonder how we ever survived those first years...living on love can only get you so far and then reality sets in and the pressure begins with each one of us still believing that marriage was about "ME" and my needs & how our partner was suppose to meet those needs.
Then the babies came! You know, to this day there still isn't an instruction manual on how to raise children. I think once you get to this point, you just do a lot of praying that these little bundles of joy only acquire your good habits and not the bad. We no longer were focusing on the "ME" of the relationship. Our lives were filled with way to many sleepless nights, bottles & changing diapers. We also had not realized until the time quickly approached, that our philosophies and thoughts on child raising were a bit different at first, but somewhere along the line the Lord saw fit to whisper little words of wisdom for us to apply to both our own lives and that of our children.
Twenty-five years ago, we were swimming in barbies, tri-cycles, Lady and the Tramp and Cinderella, note books and pens; we dove into sports, piano, violin and voice lessons, plays and learning to drive. The years have literally floated by in a sea of remarkable memories and adventures that we, as husband and wife will always treasure.
I believe that the Lord has brought Philip and I even closer now, than we ever really were in the beginning of our life together. I don't think that I even knew what love really was way back when...isn't it funny how when you are younger; that you think you know everything? I think that this is when grace appears in your life and shows you what love really is, the kind of love that Jesus spoke of again and again in Scripture. I know that I probably still do not comprehend the full meaning of love, but I have seen glimpses of it displayed over and over again in my life by my husband. Oh how he has shown his love toward me through out the years. He is a keeper until the end of time!
I must acknowledge that if it was not for Jesus Christ being the Lord in our marriage and life, we would never have survived the difficulties of this life. It is His strength and power to move us forward, when we refuse to move on our own. It is His grace and mercy, that causes us to forgive and forget. It is His never ending love, that allows us to realize that life is way to precious to waste and that we need to seize each moment that He allows us to have, to love & live for Him and each other.
