#25 years!

We met on the church bus the Summer of 6th grade. My parents made me attend a youth group outing. I didn’t want to be there. Had I known I would meet my future husband there I might have signed up early! Little did I know the cute pastor’s kid would soon become one of my best friends.

I didn’t have a clue that the boy I hung out with a lot at church would soon become my boyfriend and that we would attend the same college and never break up. It surprised me that neither of us dated anyone else although we went to college encouraging each other to play the field.

But we never got around to playing the field. Instead we found a little-known, narrow stairway to the Fundamentalism File on campus and arranged to do research at the same time. I didn’t even know what the word Fundamentalism meant or what I was researching but it soon became one of my favorite places.

Best kiss everrrr!

We pulled this off when we weren’t even allowed to be sitting together on the same bench in broad daylight. Now we only did this like twice. But if that’s the worst thing we did on campus then I think we’re doing pretty good. (It’s okay BJU parents of students – they tore that building down so there is no more tiny little stairwell.)

Upon graduating undergrad and moving into our first apartment Randy’s Mom told us that our years in grad school would be some of our best years. She was so right. We made some great friends and made some great memories. Our elderly landlord accused us of (his words) “getting frisky” and breaking the bed in our furnished one bedroom apartment. That was the joke for the next two years among all our friends. It was actually just a really old bed that had a slat break but we took credit for breaking it.

I guess neither one of us realized just how fun it was going to be to just be us. It used to be “him” or “me” but now it was officially “us” and it just felt right. Sometimes we would just randomly say, “I love us!” I know that’s so mushy and kinda like “save it for your frisky bed breaking and fundamentalism file stairway”…I know, I know! But still…..we love us!

Of course life gets hard. You go through stuff. I’ve changed. Randy has changed. The I could eat your face off thoughts on our wedding day sometimes is I could rip your face off if you leave one more wet towel on the bed or leave shoes on the steps again causing me to almost break my neck. I won’t tell you which of us does what but we’re both guilty. (And no there were no shoes on steps when my Mother recently fell down them at our house. I would have felt so guilty! Now you know I’m the shoe culprit.)

Regardless of changes and ups and downs today we celebrate 25 years of committed, strong marriage.

I feel blessed. God brought us together. God has sustained us. It will be God who sustains us through the next 25 years by his grace alone. And I can’t think of anything greater and more special to celebrate outside my relationship with Jesus. He gets first place but Randy will always take second first. I love him so much.

And because this picture cracks me slap up I had to share it.