The Year of Our 40th

How can the years go by so quickly? We'll be celebrating our 40th wedding anniversary later this year ... August 14, 1971, was our wedding day. And now, 40 years later, we are taking time to remember ...

This last fall I started something I have been wanting to do for quite a few years ... that is, scrapbooking the time of our meeting, of God leading us together. I took things from my diary from 40 years ago (I wish I had written down much more than the few sketchy things I found ... so important to keep detailed journals), from photos, and memories ... and it has been so good to remember.

I have already completed scrapbooking how we met, our time of dating, then how God led us back together after a breakup, and our engagement on Christmas Eve 1970. The many pages of our wedding pictures are almost completed, as well. The perfect time for me to be continuing to work on this ... the year we will be celebrating our 40th. And in celebration of these years, I hope to post some of the scrapbook pages here in this blog place in the coming weeks/months. 

And I will start out this new year of my weekly post thanking God for His gifts, with thanks for His loving, precious gift to me of my sweet husband ... 

My heart is filled with thanks for:

 ~ the gift of being able to live life with my best friend ...

~ the joy it is to share the same heart passions with my husband, being of one heart and mind as we love and serve ...

~ how we love to talk about everything together ...

~ being able to be in full-time ministry together ... 39 years in all this year.

~ how God led us together so clearly; we never doubt or question it, even in times of conflict.

~ the joy of receiving God's gifts of 4 daughters and 2 sons ... and now 4 sons-in-law, and 9 sweet grandchildren.

~ going through some hard trials together, and staying together in the midst of them, supporting each other, holding onto each other, praying together, hanging on in faith and hope together.

~ allowing us to have more years together, when the terrible accident in 2002 almost took my husband's life ... I struggled in deepest tears, to be willing to release him if that were God's plan, and through my tears, saw God restore him for more years together, for His purposes.

~ his patience with me, and love for me, always encouraging me to be all that God created me for.

~ making it possible for me to be where I love to be all these years ... wife and companion, stay-at-home mom, home manager, partner in whatever ministry He has for us.

~ blessing us with some of the most wonderful years of our lives as we share our "empty nest" home ... I loved our houseful of children and never wanted those years to end, but did not know that God had this very special treat ahead.

~ the dreams we have of celebrating our 40th later this year ... a road trip of 10-14 days, headed for Quebec City, a city with European flavor and romance.

~ the indescribable gift of Love ... and Marriage.

"We love 

because He first loved us."

(I John 4:19)

(and the main text used in our wedding service)

(One Thousand Gifts #152-165)