My wife and I just celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary. To surprise her, I had a pastor friend come to my church to officiate. I bought silver rings for us to exchange, and I even had a bouquet made for her to carry. I opened the worship service with Scripture and prayer and then launched into my intro before I went to her pew and, on bended knee, proposed. Then the Rev. John Farthing, pastor at Greenbrier (AR) UMC, offered the homily celebrating the great gifts that come from the Lord and our response to these gifts. I've always thought very highly of Dr. Farthing even if he and I are on opposite ends of the political and - to an extent - theological spectrum but I have to say that as often as I have enjoyed his classes (he teaches at Course of Study), this tremendous man really outdid himself. Then he turned on the CD player to "Pachebel's Canon" and summoned us to come forward. After service my little congregation offered us a cash gift from a collection they had taken up during the week, and I whisked my bride away for a weekend in Eureka Springs AR.
While we were driving, I asked my wife about her thoughts and reflections on 25 years. I have to say that as grateful as I am that this wonderful woman didn't kick me out years ago when my drinking was at its worst, I had never really considered how much we've grown over the years together. I also had not really considered how much a part of our "trouble" years were guided by her faith. Though I suppose I know deep down, I never realized how much pain I caused her with my binge drinking. St Paul had it right: I have truly been sanctified by this woman's vision, courage, strength, and faith.
Dr. Farthing wrote the vows that he would ask us to exchange, and I have to say that I could not have done better myself. It is amazing what a difference 25 years can make in what these vows really mean when we stand before the Lord God and a congregation of believers to declare our allegiance to one another for the remainder of our days on this earth. I am quite sure that we don't think enough about what these vows mean when we say them in our youth. It's sort of like the Lord's Prayer; we can recite from memory but few can actually break the Prayer down and expound on the richness of its meaning.
It is not enough to say that I love this woman who said "yes". It is not even enough to say that my level of respect for her is too profound for words. I also admire her beyond words, and even this does not seem to do justice to what I feel for her. All I can say for sure is that the Lord was watching out for me when He put this woman into my life. Maybe I would have grown out of my carelessness sooner or later, but a lesser woman would have put me out long ago. Now it is that I cannot imagine my life without her.
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