The Wedding Chancers

Tomorrow my wife, Mary, and I, celebrate our 23rd wedding anniversary. Lord, I can't believe how fast time has gone by. It feels like I just graduated from Gibbs high school yesterday, and college is just a blur in my mind. We have weathered a lot of storms over the past 23 years. Deaths of family members, job losses, health issues, car accidents, personal issues, child bearing, and the list goes on and on.

It is hard to believe that the woman that I married, fell in love and took a chance with a guy that thought shoving straws and Krystal french fries up his nose was impressive. Back then my best pick up line was, "hey, watch this!" That was usually the precursor to some type of wild or gross act on my part. We've came a long way baby!

I've not always been the best husband in the world. There was a point in my life that I put my own selfish desires ahead of what was best for my wife and family, and I come very close to losing them. It is only by the grace of God that we made it through that period. It was a hard lesson learned and one that I never want to experience again. Let me pause right here to say, if you are going through a difficult time in your marriage, you need to remember that it takes two people to make a relationship work. You must be willing to compromise and sometimes that means giving up something that you believe to be important. Trust me, whatever you are putting before your spouse or family, is not worth it. Also, if you do not have a personal relationship with Christ, I urge you to pick up a Bible or attend a Christian church and find out what God can do in your life. He is a miracle worker and He can absolutely work a miracle in your marriage and in your life. Okay, I've preached enough already.

One thing that always depresses me is the fact that we have not ever really been able to get each other much for our anniversary, usually just a card. Sometimes we will get something small but never anything expensive. Raising a family of five on a single income can be a daunting task. If my wife wasn't so good with the budget, I guess we would be doomed. I'm one of those people that don't place any value in money. If I have a dollar in my pocket I'll drive myself crazy trying to spend it. My dad would always say that it was "burning a hole in my pocket." But, my wife has a good head on her shoulders and she makes sure that we are able to buy groceries and pay our bills. Thank God for her! I would like to go out and drop a ton of money on something nice for her though...maybe one of these days.

So, for all of the folks out there that think a marriage can't last. Just take a look at this imperfect country boy and know that miracles happen all of the time! Happy anniversary Woman, I love you!