The U.S. Census reports that almost 1/3 of all American adults never get married. I’m in a rare group of American “children” – Last week my parents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary! That doesn’t happen much anymore. From deep in the mountains where the roads are black satin ribbons in and out of the hollows, God brought my mom to where she met my dad, just outside of the Nation’s capital. What a journey they’ve had in their 50 years. By reaching their golden anniversary, they pass on a rare legacy to me.
“According to the census statistics, more than half of the nation’s married couples have been together at least 15 years. About a third have marked their 25th anniversaries, and 6 percent have been married more than 50 years” (Washington Post, May 2011).
Today, fewer adults marry at all, and of those who do marry, they’re usually older when they take the plunge. Let’s face it, for two to become one as husband and wife, a real miracle has to happen. Marriage will not be without conflict, misunderstanding, and hardship. At a lot of those “crisis points,” marriages fall apart; in working with married couples, Jeff and I have found that couples face unique pressure points at years 7 and 14. God doesn’t want any of us to be stuck in loveless marriages. He wants to change our loveless marriages into miracles. The rewards of getting through the hard times are so sweet.
“But He knows the way I take; when He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold.” Job 23:10
Only 6% of all couples in the US today will get to the “50 mark.” Not many of us hang in there long enough to “come forth as gold” in marriage. If you’re in the midst of some of the squeeze of married life, are you committed to persevering?
Have you thought about what you want your relationship to be like at 50 years? In honor of my parents’ 50th, take a moment and fill in the thoughts below, in anticipation of reaching your golden anniversary!
When we have been married 50 years, I hope we’ll look back and see that
__________________________________________________. I want us to know we used our lives together to _______________________________________________________. I hope we’ll know what it’s like to _____________________________________________________ since we persevered in marriage. When we face the hardships that will come, I will look ahead to the _____________________________________________________ that we’ll experience when we reach our golden anniversary. I want our oneness to leave a legacy that is _____________________________.
Happy anniversary to my golden mom and dad! And happy anniversary, sweet readers, in anticipation of being among those who persevere long enough to know the sweetness of being “rare!”
