A Look Back Through Our Marriage
Wow! Today Deb and I just celebrated our thirty-fourth wedding anniversary, going out to a local restaurant where we have spend several of those anniversary celebrations throughout our marriage, some in good times, some in difficult times, but thirty-four years is quite an accomplishment for all we have been through.
Thinking of the theme of these blogs and this web site, I realized that passions that make up the five fold have been a part of our marriage experience too!
The excitement of birthing our marriage came thirty-four years ago with a wedding and honeymoon to Washington, D.C. for five days. We have celebrated several births through our marriage: three special children, each birth has a special place in our memory.
The pastoral or shepherding passion came through parenting our children, walking through and working out their everyday lives, trying to direct them toward a personal relationship with Jesus Christ in their own lives. We have also parented/shepherd several groups of “young’ns” spiritually over the years too! I guess that parenting/pastoral/shepherding role has been imbedded in all of us!
The teacher mode sprung forth in me as I took on studying for a Master’s Degree in Biblical Studies, which I finished and received. Several years of taking correspondence courses, and two years of studying, researching, and writing a thesis were the price for this accomplishment. This could not have been done without Deb’s constant encouragement to me through the project.
Prophetically, Deb went to a School for Prophets back in the seventies, and our thirst for the written word, the Bible, to become the Rhema Word, the living word, was activated when we received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, and has been developing and nurturing ever since as we continue to build our marriage relationship around our personal relationships with Jesus together.
Apostolically, seeing the big picture has been difficult because hindsight gives you that view much more readily than foresight called faith, but throughout our marriage, Jesus has been the cornerstone, and faith has been the ingredient that has allowed us to move forward.
Thirty-four years, and counting! God has been faithful. We have sought Jesus as the center of our marriage through all these years. Jesus has provided, healed, delivered, sustained, maintained, and come through whenever we needed Him in our marriage. Often I have declared “God Moments” when we could not continue on without God’s intervention. He always has heard my cries, and has always answered, maybe not the way I would have wanted Him to, but He has! Wow! 34 years and counting.....