My Own True Love

June 3, 1967...a very nervous 18 year old YOUNG lady is out of bed early and getting ready for the biggest day of her life.  She packs her bags, gets her hair done and does a million little things to pass the time until the 2:00 wedding.  At the church everything is hustle, bustle and to be perfectly honest, is sort of a blur to me now.  At 2:00 p.m. she walks down the isle on her Daddy's arm (trembling all the way.)  The I Do's are said, the reception short, and off to Gatlinburg, Tennessee for the honeymoon!

Fast forward.........................43 years later the same not-so-young lady is sitting beside a pool in St. Louis watching her grandchildren play.  WHERE DID THE TIME GO?  I don't know, but I do know that it has gone fast.

On this anniversary day I have to say that marriage has been good and I am married to the only man I have ever loved!  I have been blessed to have a man who has encouraged me to be who I am, even though it is completely opposite from him as far as personality goes!  If it had not been for him I probably would have made a fool of myself even more times than I have.  He is the quiet one who holds me back when I tend to get over-excited and out of control.  I am the one who nudges him to step out.  He has been a wonderful soul mate and my boys would be the first to tell you that they couldn't have a better Dad.

Of course we have had our ups and downs as do all couples, but thankfully the ups have far outweighed the bad.  The two children who married those many years ago are now enjoying our lives together as best friends. 

My advice to young couples today would be the same as a very wise wife and mother of seven children gave me back in the early years of my marriage:  Make sure you take time to be a couple.  Being parents is very important but sometimes we get caught up in the parenting and forget to nurture our love life and we can grow apart.  Make sure you go on dates regularly and schedule trips alone just to re-connect.  I would add from my own experience to be sure to encourage each other every day and don't sweat the small things.  The big ones are "sweaty enough!"

So I want to say to the love of my life:  Thank you sweetheart for being just what I have needed all these years.  Thanks for loving me for who I am and putting up with me in spite of that person I am!  You are among the greatest blessings I have ever been given and I love you with all my heart!

Jesus said these words regarding marriage in Matthew 19:
4"Haven't you read," he replied, "that at the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female,'[a] 5and said, 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh'[b]? 6So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.