Ark Valley News - Hope and hilarity

Hope and hilarity
By Chuck Terrill
Last Updated: August 24, 2017

No plans for her to retire

Forty-five years is a long time. Any man who worked a job for 45 years would certainly be ready for retirement. "Enough is enough!" he'd say and turn in his keys.

Everyone would understand. They would say, "He's earned a few years of peace and quiet. Maybe he'll have the time to go fishing."

I know a woman who has been working diligently at the same job for 45 years. Her anniversary date is Aug. 18. On Aug. 18, 45 years ago, she walked down the aisle and said, "I do," to me.

And, since that day, she has worked nonstop. I think it must be genuinely difficult to be my wife, the mother of three children, grandmother of eight and at the same time, give 10 hours every workday as a registered nurse. But, Mary, you have done it with grace and style.

I don't know how to celebrate a 45th wedding anniversary. Who knows what kind of present to buy? Any gift I think of isn't quite enough. How do you say, "Thank You" for 45 years?

I remember the days leading up to our wedding. There were a few who said, "You'll never make it. It won't last. You're both too young."

Our wedding gifts have all worn out, but our marriage has lasted. Neither of us is ready to retire from marriage. We have the satisfying realization that we have beaten the odds.

According to the supermarket tabloids, we ought to be in full midlife crises. Television personalities and other "pacesetters," when interviewed, indicate that people our age should be bored with each other and seeking new adventures.

Why would I be bored? You amaze me every day. I am going to guess that I am one of few gray-headed, diabetic, small-church preachers of Jesus, who has always had the only seductive woman he ever desired.

Of course, our 45 years of marriage didn't happen by coincidence. The secret of our success has been our commitment to God.

Antoine de Saint-Exupery's words express our commitment to each other: "Love does not consist in gazing at each other, but in looking outward in the same direction."

We have always shared the same values, and the same faith, as we've shared our love with each other.

Your being a very pretty woman hasn't hurt, either.

I now know that we are going to be married until one of us dies. The realization is a pleasant one, for there is no one else that I could wish to spend the rest of my life with. Our present lives are interesting and our future is tantalizing. Every day in our house is another day of adventure. I am looking forward to many more days with you.

"It is hard to find a good wife, because she is worth more than rubies." (Proverbs 31:10)

Chuck Terrill is pastor of Valley Center Christian Church. Reach him at chuck@vcchristian.church or at 755-1233.