Yesterday, Janet and I celebrated our 51st wedding anniversary. It was a special day for the two of us, but in all honesty, we didn’t really DO anything special. It is enough to just be together. I guess that is just one of the many blessings that Janet and I have. We have known each other for about 65 years now and share an incredible history together. We grew up in the same neighborhood, had similar friends, our parents were best friends, we attend the same church and elementary school.
I even cut their grass as one of my lawn jobs when I was old enough to start earning money. I bought Janet’s engagement ring, designed by jewelers who were great friends of my grandfather, with money I had saved working for Janet’s father, and others, who depended on me to keep their yards looking great.
All this goes to say that our lives have been intertwined as far back as we can remember. My Dad even played chess with Janet’s grandfather when I was a young boy and I remember watching the games! We realize how fortunate we are to have shared such rich lives together.
We moved from Chicago to Carmel, IN 42 years ago when the kids were small. We built a business here, watched our children achieve their own successes in school and now have the thrill to see them all mid-career making their own marks in the world. Not only that – Kristin, Jill and Andrew all live less than ten minutes from us – and our four grandchildren as well. We are a tight knit family and there aren’t too many families today who can make that claim. We are blessed beyond measure. God is good!
The last year has brought an entirely new dimension to our marriage and our lives. We have been blessed to have been, for the most part, healthy with the exception of Janet’s rheumatoid arthritis and some rather ordinary things that I deal with – high blood pressure, elevated blood sugar and a cholesterol issue. I guess we have had a few broken bones and surgeries as well. Until last year, that is.
Last summer, we were caught off guard when Janet suffered a stroke on the evening of July 20th, approximately one month before our 50th anniversary. It was a scary time for us. Janet was rushed to the hospital and tests revealed that she had suffered five previous strokes since April 1st of last year. It was a very uncertain time – and we clung to our faith through the entire ordeal.
Miraculously, Janet regained her speech, did not suffer any paralysis or weakness – and we started the process of adjusting to new norms in our lives. There were physical therapy appointments after Janet twisted her ankle post stroke. And all kinds of MRI’s and CT scans, as well as too many doctor appointments to count. We learned even more about sharing and taking care of one another. Six years ago, I ruptured my right quad tendon and Janet was there for me every step of the way. We declined any sort of live in help and got through it together. Now it was my turn to be the caregiver – the stakes were even higher. My injury hadn’t been life threatening. But the doctors reminded us more than once that Janet was very fortunate to have survived. Most people don’t…
I don’t think that we even considered how last year would change us. We are more in love than ever. And we are even more considerate of what either of us needs to be at our best. We still have our house, engage in Bible studies, I still work a bit although I am partially retired and Janet’s friends give her a hand, if necessary, when they all go out to breakfast together. We are blessed to have wonderful friends who are there for us at every turn. In fact, we are a living example of “two becoming one” according to Scripture.
And while we have never been caught up in the grand celebrations that accompany life milestones, we have attained an even higher degree of compassion and caring than ever before. It is a real joy to take care of one another. For our 50th anniversary last year, we ate pizza on the fine china that we received as a wedding gift. It had never been used before that. And last night, we had Chicago dog night for our 51st.
All this goes to say that our life priorities have crystallized even more. The greatest gift we received was the appreciation of our children that we model a loving, Godly life that has been an inspiration to them. Who could ask for anything more!
So while we worried for a time that we wouldn’t celebrate 50 years of marriage, here we are at 51 and counting. Our verse for tonight comes from the Psalms – in fact, it is a psalm of David. He tells us, in Psalm 103:1-6, “Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits— who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”
My encouragement this evening is that God has a divine plan specifically designed for each of us. And I guarantee that it is a grander plan than any of us can possibly imagine. My prayer is that we can trust God that whatever comes our way is of divine origin and God is in the middle of it. Janet and I have seen this first hand throughout our entire lives and especially during her recovery the past year. We are grateful to God for granting our family the joy of staying together. Have a great day in the Lord, grace and peace…