On Love and Marriage

I am stunned to announce that Michelle and I have been married for 30 years! I am stunned first by the fact that we made it this long in a world where that doesn’t seem possible and second by the fact that it has been this long. Thirdly, I am amazed that I love her more now than I ever have. It has been an adventure to say the least. Every year, Michelle and I would find out new mysteries about each other and new ways to bless each other. Three words come to mind from all of the weddings I have ever seen: Love, Honor and Cherish. These three words resound with me as I think back over these past thirty years.

I loved Michelle when we were married, but as the years have passed, I see more and more of the 1 Corinthians 13 in our love for each other. It is an unconditional love that becomes more and more unconditional. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a, “4 Love suffers long (this means patience, not that we suffer, lol.) and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never fails...” Year after year this kind of love just grows and grows.

Honor is a key concept in a marriage. We both seek to honor God with our words and actions. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says, “19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s. I seek to honor my wife in all that I do. Michelle seeks to honor me in all that she does. The end result is that I am so honored to be with the woman of my dreams while we both honor God with our choices.

The word cherish is rarely used today. After thirty years of living life together, side-by-side, one can find flaws or idiosyncrasies that could get on one’s nerves (or, so I’m told). Cherishing means to actively celebrate the things you love about each other so much that you don’t have time or desire to even see the things you may not love about each other. After thirty years, I have become an expert at cherishing my wife and all of her unique talents and abilities. Somehow, she has found a few things about me, too. After a hard day or event, it is so refreshing to come home to someone who is your biggest fan.

So, if I have any advice to someone getting married, it would be to love, honor and cherish God first and then each other. Life goes by so fast and thirty years was no exception. Michelle and I say that we have made it half way there. God may not give us thirty more years of life, but if He does, we will have thirty more years of amazing marriage. I hope this blog will give you insights into Michelle and my marriage so that many others might love, honor and cherish each other. A side note is that one of the results is a great deal of laughter. It’s almost like living in a happily ever after cartoon.

Blessings to you all,

Pastor Rob.