Those of you who know me know that I love a good celebration. And that I like to prolong the celebration, as in turning a birthday into a birthday week. This week is one of those weeks.
Saturday will mark another milestone in the journey of my life. 51 years ago - June 10, 1972 - I said "I do". For the past (almost) 51 years, my life has been shared with the man of my dreams. And what a life it has been!
We began our married life in a little house in the "Avenues" of West Columbia, SC. (If you're from Cayce/West Columbia, that will mean something to you. Otherwise, probably not!) When I say it was a "little" house, that's exactly what I mean. It was a very small house, about 900 square feet. We have since lived in apartments that were larger than that house!
We had some expectations when we married. We expected to live out our days in West Columbia. Or maybe we might move to Cayce! Certainly we expected to live out our days in the Midlands of South Carolina. We expected that we would someday move to a larger house. We expected that we would have children. I'm sure that back then we had other expectations as well.
In many ways, life has far exceeded our expectations, even our wildest dreams. Over the years we have moved far beyond the boundaries of Cayce/West Columbia. Far beyond South Carolina. To Colorado and to Connecticut. To Minnesota and to Florida. (How’s talk for climate extremes!). We lived in the mountains of North Carolina, and now we find ourselves back in our home state.
We have traveled to places we once only read about or dreamed of visiting. All across these United States. Thanks to our road trip in 2015, we have now both been in all 50 states at least once. We've visited such far away places as Tokyo and Paris. Sydney and Cairo. Edinburgh and Jerusalem. And numerous other spots in between. What an amazing journey we have had together!
I've said many times before that every journey has hills and valleys, smooth roads and potholes. Sometimes the scenery is beautiful. Sometimes not so much. Sometimes the road is straight. Sometimes there are curves. Bends in the road. It's all part of the journey. And we've experienced some of all of it!
Even so, there's joy in the journey. Joy because we're right where our LORD wants us to be. Joy because we're taking the journey together.
As we have been for almost 51 years. Through thick and thin. In good times and in not-so-great. Through it all. Together.
These last few years have certainly put the "for better, for worse; in sickness and in health" to the test! My stroke was definitely not on our bucket list! Even through all that, there is joy in our journey.
We began our married life in a little house in the "Avenues" of West Columbia, SC. (If you're from Cayce/West Columbia, that will mean something to you. Otherwise, probably not!) When I say it was a "little" house, that's exactly what I mean. It was a very small house, about 900 square feet. We have since lived in apartments that were larger than that house!
We had some expectations when we married. We expected to live out our days in West Columbia. Or maybe we might move to Cayce! Certainly we expected to live out our days in the Midlands of South Carolina. We expected that we would someday move to a larger house. We expected that we would have children. I'm sure that back then we had other expectations as well.
In many ways, life has far exceeded our expectations, even our wildest dreams. Over the years we have moved far beyond the boundaries of Cayce/West Columbia. Far beyond South Carolina. To Colorado and to Connecticut. To Minnesota and to Florida. (How’s talk for climate extremes!). We lived in the mountains of North Carolina, and now we find ourselves back in our home state.
We have traveled to places we once only read about or dreamed of visiting. All across these United States. Thanks to our road trip in 2015, we have now both been in all 50 states at least once. We've visited such far away places as Tokyo and Paris. Sydney and Cairo. Edinburgh and Jerusalem. And numerous other spots in between. What an amazing journey we have had together!
I've said many times before that every journey has hills and valleys, smooth roads and potholes. Sometimes the scenery is beautiful. Sometimes not so much. Sometimes the road is straight. Sometimes there are curves. Bends in the road. It's all part of the journey. And we've experienced some of all of it!
Even so, there's joy in the journey. Joy because we're right where our LORD wants us to be. Joy because we're taking the journey together.
As we have been for almost 51 years. Through thick and thin. In good times and in not-so-great. Through it all. Together.
These last few years have certainly put the "for better, for worse; in sickness and in health" to the test! My stroke was definitely not on our bucket list! Even through all that, there is joy in our journey.
And I wouldn't want to take this journey with anyone else!
“I am my beloved’s and my beloved’s is mine.” (Song of Solomon 6:3)
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