I Need A Vacation!

I need a vacation. I know because my wife told me so.

Now you may laugh about that, but she would know. You see, as of last Friday we celebrated our 39^th wedding anniversary. You don’t spend that many years with a person without getting to know them really well.

She has seen me at my worst and she has seen me at my best. She’s cared for me when I’ve been sick, mourned with me when my father died, and celebrated with me at the birth of our children. She’s been there through a lifetime of ministry, so she has seen me when I’ve come through the door after a contentious church committee meeting. She understands when I feel like I missed it completely in sharing God’s Word on Sunday morning.

She’s also been there to celebrate with me when the sermon went particularly well that morning and when someone has come to the front during the invitation to profess their faith in Christ. She is my soul-mate and helpmate.

As I think about this wonderful thing called marriage I am reminded that it’s also a reminder of a deeper spiritual truth. God has been there through it all. No matter what has gone on in my life, God has always been there for me. He’s seen be bent by discouragement and despair. He’s been there when my heart broke at the loss of my father. But He’s also been there at those joyous times of my life. And it began long before I even met the woman who became my wife.

On a January night fifty-four years ago I surrendered my heart to Jesus. I entered marriage not knowing that what I knew of love was just the starting point. I hadn’t arrived, but I had begun. When I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior I didn’t understand the depth of His love or the full significance of that new life.

Life my relationship with my wife, my relationship with my Lord is a growing one. I haven’t arrived as a husband and I haven’t arrived as a follower of Jesus. But I’m committed to growing in both relationships. I can’t wait to see what the next ten years holds.

Oh, and by the way. Tomorrow morning I start my vacation she’s been telling me I need. You know, she’s right. I’m looking forward to it.

 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God—God remains in him and he in God. 1 John 4:15 (HCSB) 

And the Two Shall Become One

Today we celebrated my wife's birthday. I doubt she would mind me telling her age, but I will refrain from it anyway. She had the joy of sleeping in as long as she wanted. When she finally got out of bed,, I prepared waffles for her for breakfast. (I actually do that every Saturday.) For lunch I grilled some zucchini and yellow squash and then we tried out the new hot dog steamer for the evangelistic block party trailer.

After we enjoyed short naps I thought we should also try out the snow cone machine. After all, it would not be good if the first time out the equipment on the block party trailer didn't work. Finally, I treated her to grilled steak, corn on the cob, and a baked potato.

The rest of the day? Well, we just sat around the house and enjoyed doing nothing together. It's a day like this that reminds me that God knew what He was doing when He ordained that man needed a helpmate and created woman. And the concept that the two would become one? Well, to borrow from MasterCard--Priceless!

Father, thank you for a loving wife who has become such a part of me that the two of us have truly become one.

Thirty-Five Years

Today I celebrate thirty-five years of marriage to my wife. I have said on many occasions that it seems like only yesterday that we walked down the aisle to stand before God and pledge our love and faithfulness to each other. At the same time, it seems like I have been married forever. I don’t mean that in a bad way. It’s just that it really is hard for me to remember what my life was like before we were married.

I’m counting on completing my life on earth married to Becky. She has been my soul mate and love of my life and I can’t imagine life without her. Nor, do I want to contemplate it.

When Becky and I were first married I thought I was in love with her. I found out that I had no idea what it was to be in love. Whatever it was I felt when we were first married just can’t compare to what it is I feel now.

As a pastor I often had to counsel young couples planning to get married. One of the things I was particularly concerned about what their relationship with the Lord. You see, no matter how much they thought they loved each other I was firmly convinced that they could not love each other rightly unless they had experienced the love of God through Jesus, the Christ.

That’s why I would press them on their relationship with the Lord. A believer who had experienced the love of God would expect godly love from their spouse. If they married an unbeliever their chances of experiencing that love dropped tremendously.

One of the reasons our marriage has been successful is that Becky and I have both experienced the love of God through Jesus. We both know the depths of love our Father has for us that allowed Him to give His Son for our lives. It’s that kind of love that manifests itself in our marriage. I have no doubt that the love of my life puts my needs before her own. And, my desire is that I always put her needs before mine. I’m not God, so I sometimes fail. But it’s my goal.

So, today I celebrate thirty-five years of marriage to my beautiful wife and thank my Father for sending her into my life. And, I’m thankful He send His Son to die on the cross for me.

John 3:16 (NASB)
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.