FIFTY YEARS AND COUNTING
Fifty years ago today, June 23, 1973, Linda Beal and I stood at the altar and pledged to “love, honor and cherish” one other. Through the years, it’s been a learning process. Life’s been filled with peaks and valleys; seasons of smooth sailing and rough waters. Okay, enough metaphors.
If you’ve seen the film Jesus Revolution, you basically know our story. Linda came to Christ during the Jesus Movement in 1972. We were a lot like Greg and Cathe Laurie. I was the square—a “church boy”—and Linda was a free-spirit hippie girl. She even resembled the actress who played Cathe Laurie. Early in her faith, she came to church barefooted. A friend told her “Jesus doesn’t care how you dress.” She quickly learned Jesus may not care, but some of the older sisters at church certainly did!
In some ways Linda saved my life. My faith had grown lukewarm. I was directionless. Then I met Linda, and her passion for Jesus reignited my faith. I made a decision to listen to God’s call and entered into full-time ministry. We have served God together ever since.
Marriage is one of the ways God beats the selfishness out of us. Think about it. Every cell of a male & female body is different. Our brains don’t work the same way. On top of that, opposites attract. It’s God’s “perfect storm”. It’s weird…and wonderful. Without a doubt, God’s power carried us through the years. Marriage is like a triangle, with God at the apex. The closer we move toward him, the closer we grow to one another.
Right now we’re facing the Mount Everest of challenges with Linda’s illness. Waking up in the middle of the night, my mind races to worst-case scenario. Watching her sleep, I wonder, “What would I do without her?” None of us are promised tomorrow. That’s why each day— each moment— is precious.
When we made our vows, Linda was eighteen, and I was twenty. We knew exactly what we were doing, and everything that lay before us…at least we thought we did. We knew nothing. But fifty years later, we’re more in love than we could have imagined. It’s a good thing we didn’t know what we were doing, or we might have run away. But looking back fifty years later, considering all we’ve been through, we would both do it again in a heartbeat.
UPDATE ON LINDA: Linda has lost a lot of weight, but has been eating better lately. She struggles with keeping her juices down. We’re hoping this is due to detoxing. She has an important CT scan on Wednesday that will tell us if the program is working. Please pray that her tumors are shrinking, and that her health is moving in the right direction.
Principle: Marriage is God’s “perfect storm” to beat the selfishness out of us.
Ponder:
If you’re married, how can you better serve your spouse?
If not, how can you be a better servant to those around you?
Pursue: For a deeper dive, study Ephesians 5:21-33.
Prayer: Lord, thank you for the wonderful gift of marriage. Even with all its challenges, it is the most beautiful of all relationships.