Mike’s Musings ….
FIFTY YEARS
“Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the LORD.” (Prov. 18:22) “Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth.” (Prov. 5:18) These two passages and several others come to mind when I acknowledge that Nancy and I have been married for fifty years! (June 16, 1973 – June 16, 2023) It wasn’t a “goal” but a commitment to spend our lives together “till death do us part.” How thankful we are that death has not parted us, and we have every desire to continue onward together in the service of our God!
Serving God has been our life even before our wedding day. We would find a place to go to services during gospel meetings, or I’d be preaching somewhere. She endured “Spanish hot dogs” and root beer when we dated, and then converted me to McDonalds on our wedding day. We’ve been blessed with two sons and three grandchildren. We’ve been abundantly blessed by countless numbers of loving brethren in Christ, each contributing to our growth in the grace and knowledge of Christ. Fifty years have found us in numerous places, through great times and difficult times, but not one moment without God’s help and guidance (Hebrews 13:5 – 6).
We’ve known many who have reached this golden anniversary mark. When I began preaching and was asked to perform weddings, I would have the couple interview an elderly couple who had been married for fifty or more years, and glean from them the answers to one question: “How have you done it?” They were required to take notes and return them so we could discuss their findings. Now, we’re one of those couples who give advice via sharing experiences. Not so surprisingly, those young couples would always return saying, “Those old folks said it takes God to help through thick and thin.” How true!
We’ve also found that Ephesians 5:22 – 33 is written for much more than a description of Christ and His church. It is the commanded pattern of a husband’s love for his wife and vice versa. 1 Peter 3: 1 – 12 also commands the behavior of wife and husband. We’ve found that when that is followed, all is well ~ not always “smooth and easy” ~ but well, for you learn (sometimes the hard way) that God’s way is best!
I muse happily on these past fifty years, and honestly proclaim to you that I love Nancy more now than I’ve ever loved her! She is the epitome of “help meet” in every righteous way! She asked me if I’d keep her for another fifty years. Indeed, I would, but I doubt either of us will live to see another fifty. So, I muse on how wonderful it shall be to continue in love with her, in service to God and His kingdom, and to know we’ve continued doing our best to please Him. If we accomplish pleasing Him, we’ll have accomplished pleasing each other!