Tomorrow is our anniversary…our “sweet 16th”. Sixteen years. Wow. I can’t believe we’ve put up with each other for that long.
Nah, I’m just kidding.
When we stood at the front of that church on that very hot July day in 1993, we promised our love and faithfulness to one another “for better or for worse; for richer and poorer; in sickness and in health.” In our idealistic 20-something mindset it was easy to make those promises; much harder has been the process of living up to them over the past 16 years. Those cliche’s were for “someday”…someday much later, when we were much older…more mature, able to handle them. Right then, all we could see ahead of us were bright days filled with excitement, happiness, and fun.
But that was not the way it happened. It wasn’t long into our marriage before those vows were put to the test. And I’m grateful for the way we weathered that first storm…and the many that have come since. I’m grateful for the happy times, the times of joy and laughter that we’ve built together. Because both – the good AND the bad – have only served to strengthen our commitment and deepen our love.
I could spend all kinds of time recounting the memories of the good times and bad, the times of sickness and health, the times of plenty and want. But I won’t. Instead, I’ll make this short and sweet.
Today, I’m grateful for a song. A simple song, played on the radio at just the right time. I’m grateful for red lights and Chevy trucks and DTS parking permits and my parents’ Honda Accord. I’m grateful for Richland College and physics classes and parking lots and lab partners. I’m grateful for stubborn horses and fractured vertebrae and body casts and schools in Egypt and the U.S. Postal service. I’m grateful that God orchestrated the details of bringing us together, and in so doing wove a tapestry of beautiful moments. I’m grateful God had a plan for our lives that was bigger than either of us alone. I’m grateful that God brought both of us to a place where we knew marriage was His will.
And today, I’m grateful for the life we’ve built together over the past sixteen years. It hasn’t been perfect, to be sure, but I can definitely say it has been “sweet.”