“He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.” (1 Thessalonians 5:24 NKJV)
50.
The Big 5-0.
5 Decades.
A Half Century.
As a bride, I had no idea. I thought people who had been married five years were already old.
I recognize how rare it is, to hit a 50th wedding anniversary. Many of my friends will never hit it although they would have wanted to. Truncated by the death of a spouse or an unfortunate divorce, many marriages end before they reach the big 5-0.
And you don’t need to remind me that one cannot be a spring chicken or even try to pass off as such after five decades hang around the waist like a rubber tire.
A report from the Census Bureau cites that only six percent of American couples make it to their 50th Anniversary. According to one poll, over 90% of Americans, when asked, thought the 50-year-mark was a great accomplishment. However, another six percent felt like spouses must have a very boring life to make it that long.
Hitting five decades of marriage deserves a bit of celebration. Perhaps less for us, the imperfect hang-on-ers, but rather to honor the grace and kindness of a Loving Father who kept us together for so long. It’s a golden privilege.
To the skeptic with the idea that life with the same mate year after year is boring, let me enlighten you. Life with the same spouse for fifty years attests to one another’s creativity, stubbornness, sizzle-ability, love, perseverance, and commitment. It makes passing decades together rich and fulfilling, and pretty much never boring.
Stick-to-it-ive-ness adds layers and layers of history, shared experiences, trust, security, tenacity and resilience.
I set out to make a list marking the 50th Anniversary… you know, something like fifty reasons I’m glad we didn’t quit. Or, fifty things I’m thankful for about my husband. Fifty ways to celebrate our marriage. Fifty reasons I would still choose him. And so on.
But none of them really captured my feelings. They don’t convey fifty years of being together when we wake up and when we go to bed. A list can’t summarize the race or the grueling plod, the fleeting time or the long arduous stretches. Lists fall short in describing exhilarating joys and remembering deep sorrows.
The truth is, we would not be celebrating these years but for Jesus in our marriage. Life tested us. Not once, not twice, not even fifty times, but innumerable times. Over and over again.
Jesus held us together.
We’ve walked miles cooling off, muttering out our issues, walking babies, cleaning messes, worrying over, and living with precious little lives to adulthood. We’ve laughed till we hurt, and hurt till we cried. The promise we made before God and others, we continue to choose fresh and new each day.
So, to commemorate the years, we’ve pledged to turn the focus on Him.
In the Old Testament, God’s people celebrated the fiftieth year, calling it the Jubilee year. They turned their attention onto God the Provider. They practiced trust, planned renewal, rested, released debts and restored relationships.
And God turned hearts His direction. “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan and to be your God.” (Leviticus 25:38 NKJV)
Jubilee was, above all, a year for honoring God and celebrating Him.
And that is what we want to do. We plan to take a bit of time to reflect on each ten years and celebrate the goodness of the Lord in every decade. We want to remember and praise Him for the waters He parted, prayers He answered, and the gift of generations.
He put many of you into our path. You’ve lifted us, walked with us in the valley of the shadow of death, laughed and cried with us. We realize He brought your help when we needed it most.
Jesus knew all along what He was doing. Every step along our path.
He saw it all. Two high school sweethearts who stood at the altar on June 6, 1974.
Decade by decade He walked alongside, nurturing, comforting, gently bringing us back to His feet.
Like we did years ago, we will promise again to love, honor, and be faithful to each other till death do us part. We will kneel like we did fifty years ago when we said, “I do,” and pledge ourselves to one another again.
Because, it’s not finished yet.
Boring? I don’t think so.
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