Tuesday, June 09, 2015

25 years of hope, faith, and love


Twenty-five years ago today was Richard's and my wedding day. We were married at Long Creek United Baptist Church in Prince Edward Island. It was a beautiful late-spring morning: after about three weeks of rain, the sun beamed down on us and blessed our day.

I like this picture of the two of us just coming out of the church after the ceremony. We were so young (26, to be exact). And my glasses were so big.

Our wedding was a relatively simple affair. We had about 80 guests, and Richard and I each had just one attendant. We didn't spend a lot of money or energy on clothes, makeup, and extra frills.  (We did, however, indulge in some chocolate lobsters for table favours at the reception!)  We made sure to focus on things that were important to us -- like music, for instance. Our wedding service included many of our favourite hymns:  "We Praise Thee, O God, Our Redeemer, Creator," "Jesus, Thou Joy of Loving Hearts," "Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee," and "Servant King." The processional music was "Be Thou My Vision," and during the signing of the register the pianist played "How Great Thou Art." Richard's cousin Linda sang a song she had written, entitled "Holding On," which was based on these words from our chosen Scripture passage:

"Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess,
for He who promised is faithful.
And let us consider how we may spur one another on
toward love and good deeds."
Hebrews 10:23-24

Twenty-five years later, Richard has less hair (though not as much less as you might think!), and I wear smaller (but thicker) glasses. And we are no longer so young. We have kids. We've experienced the illnesses and deaths of some close family members in the past several years. Life can be stressful and challenging at times.

Yet I think I can speak for both of us when I say that we are happy. To me, the verses above from Hebrews contain the secret to happiness, and it's nothing original or particularly earth-shattering:  just hope, faith, and love. We took vows on our wedding day, and saying those words was an important thing to do; but I've learned that there's more to life in general -- and marriage in particular --  than saying words. When difficult times come and you can still wake up in the morning and feel hopeful about the day ahead ... when you can trust in the other person's faithfulness and know that you're there for one another no matter what ... when you sacrifice for the other person and go out of your way to serve them, and they do the same for you, out of love ... I think that's a happy marriage.  For me, the important thing about hope, faith, and love is that they're not just words to say or tasks to accomplish:  they're gifts.  And we've been blessed by those gifts.  I'm thankful for that, and I'm thankful to have been married to a great person for 25 years.

Happy anniversary, Rich -- here's to another 25 and beyond.  I love you!

16 comments:

  1. Congratulations!
    Beautifully written. I agree about your definition of a good marriage.
    May God bless you with even more faith, hope and love together, the next 25 years and beyond :)

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    1. Thank you, Tuija! I appreciate your kind words.

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  2. You both look great! Your take on faith hope and love as gifts is great, Jeannie. Gifts are to be enjoyed and cherished, and those three are among the best ever. (What could be better? I was thinking Jesus.)

    Happy anniversary to you and Richard!

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  3. What a beautiful testimony and for reminder of that scripture. I think Tim was the bulletin "hander- outer"! That was such a lovely day ! All the best to you.

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    1. Thanks, Linda - yes, Tim handled his role with aplomb. Many, many good memories from that day -- including your family's presence!

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  4. Lovely to hear Jeannie! I was there but remember so little and enjoyed hearing your story of your wedding. Our 38th anniversary is June 11th. It;s been a great ride with lots of ups and downs, love abounds and God is faithful. I have been blessed indeed to be married to Allan.

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    1. Your comment may be anonymous but you're not anonymous to me, Lois. :-) Happy anniversary to you and Allan this week, too! Hope we will see you sometime in August.

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  5. Congratulations on 25 years of marriage!

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  6. Congratulations on reaching that wonderful milestone - 25 years of marriage - and still going strong. Absolutely wonderful!

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  7. I missed this last week! Congratulations. It sounds like you have a happy marriage, jeannie. (Caused by making the choice to be happy, I'm sure.) Your wedding sounds similar to mine! I had hymns for the processional and recessional as well.

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    1. Thanks, Betsy. Yes, I do feel blessed. What hymns did you have, by the way?

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  8. What a wonderful post celebrating your significant milestone! Congratulations to you and your husband!

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    1. Thanks for coming by, Dawn, and for your good wishes!

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