Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad!

Folks, these are my parents. This picture is generally pretty reflective of who they are as a couple. Oh they bicker ... a lot ... but to them, that is almost as good as sweet nothings. And, today marks 36 years of such smiles and bicker-tinged sweet nothings.

Though they grew up less than a quarter of a mile apart in the same neighborhood, they didn't meet until high school. After meeting, they discovered many mutual friends and a somewhat shared family tree. Yes, that's right...they are related...on 3 of the 4 branches of their now legally shared family tree. They aren't close enough to be illegal or especially icky, but suffice it to say that their grandparents sometimes when to the same family reunions. My grandmothers and maternal grandfather grew up in the same town - one of those towns where everyone is related.

Despite the fact that my parents don't have what one would characterize as a godly marriage, I am thankful for their example. Thirty-six years is nothing to thumb one's nose at, no matter the circumstances...and the fact that they did it through the bickering and fighting and with 5 kids and an always exhausted budget is a testimony, I believe, to what God intended marriage to be. It is meant to be a covenant, a commitment, one that is not nullified by difficulties or differences.

My parents are about as different as two people can be. Dad is frugal to a fault, Mom shops as much as she breathes. Mom doesn't like to talk about things, Dad needs to talk everything through. Dad can get bogged down in details, Mom is a big picture person. Mom wants to "live today for tomorrow we may die", Dad is always thinking about how today will impact tomorrow. But it works. They have helped each other to balance out and mellow out over the years and sometimes it is truly beautiful to see just how much they still love each other...how much they need each other...how much their lives are intertwined with the other's.

I thank the Lord for the example of their commitment and for His faithfulness to our family by giving them to us.

Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad. I love y'all!