The sun is back in Fort Worth after it’s brief absence. It’s Texas Independence Day and it’s my fifth wedding anniversary today. All is well in the world.
I was looking back at the last five years and feeling truly awed by God’s grace. Who would have thought someone like me would be blessed with the marriage I have today? I feel so undeserving sometimes. I’m reminded of the Kevin Fowler song, “I’m a Hard Man to Love”. I’m under no illusions here. I can be difficult at times, but Margaret makes me a better man. Sometimes I think she drew the short straw…
Many of you know the story of the brief courtship prior to our marriage. We dated for a scant ninety-one days before we said “I do”. There are some of you who know, and participated in, the even shorter engagement so I won’t bore you with all the details. Because so many friends came out of the woodwork saying, “What can I do and what do you need?”, our friends did in eight short days what many couples take a year to pull off: an absolutely beautiful and amazing wedding.
We were older when we got married (although I must admit to receiving “senior discounts” long before Margaret). We were fortunate enough to be in that place where we knew who we were, what we wanted, and what we didn’t. Time and experience often affords that knowledge, although not always. What I truly credit it with is our relationship with the God of our understanding.
One of my sons asked me a while back, “What do you and Margaret have in common? You seem so different”. In many ways he’s right. I remembered a line from a song, “She likes The Beatles, I like the Stones”. Our musical tastes aren’t the only things we differ on. She comes from a deeply conservative, military family background. I’m somewhere to the left of Karl Marx. She likes mild food. Mine needs to be hot and spicy. The list goes on and on…
What we’ve both know is that all of those differences are just fluff. We connected in a much deeper, spiritual way because we share to same core values and because we never try to be something we’re not. We love each other just the way we are: warts and all. Those core values, our faith in God, love, patience, selflessness, honor, integrity, commitment, honesty, forgiveness, humility, and thankfulness (all which she’s so much better at than I): those are the root of our connection. They’re what gives us a firm foundation for an incredible relationship.
I’ve been honored with performing several marriage ceremonies over the last few years. I always like to share Ecclessiates 4: 9-12 where the writer says how good it is to have a partner and being bound together by a strand of three cords, not just two. That third cord, God, binds it all together. That’s how it’s worked for us the last five years. That, and I guess we got married quick enough to keep from falling out of love. She still takes my breath away when she walks into the room…
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