Reflections on a Wedding Anniversary!

As one gets older, life has more and more memories, and probably less in the way of ambitions and aspirations. For many, the pace of life slows.

This weekend saw Wendy and me celebrating our 22nd wedding anniversary. And as we got married on the first anniversary of our first ‘date’, it was the 23rd anniversary of that occasion. A double celebration every 1st March!

We walked around part of one of our Norfolk broads, under a big blue sky and bright sunshine. Then home for champagne, steak dinner with red wine, logs on the open fire and going through our wedding photo albums.

But life is a mixture. We have each known the heartbreak of divorce, and the insecurity of living on the edge of a financial precipice. When first married, we both had financial challenges, but life was so good. Wendy had had very few holidays, so we travelled and had, in Wendy’s words, ‘adventures’. We honeymooned on safari, and later spent time exploring China, India, the Galápagos Islands, and so many places in South America. Our children became adults, married, and gave us grandchildren. 20! Our 6 daughters live in 5 different countries. More adventures.

We seek to serve the God we read of in the Bible, and who has dramatically changed both our lives. We have had hundreds of people through our home, and have had groups from many Eastern European countries staying here. We have spoken in churches in Latvia, Serbia, Mexico, Bulgaria, and many other countries. We host a church in our sitting room most Sundays. And the God who has proved a wonderful Father to us has brought us immense joy in marriage, family and friends. He also changed our financial situation, though how he does such things is something of a mystery to us.

Logs flamed, crackled and glowed in the grate as we turned the pages of our wedding album, smiling and laughing at memories. Life has been a mixture of laughter and tears, joy and grief, but of great fulfilment. We walk hand in hand into the evening of our days, having confidence that He who has enriched the past years will continue to give us joy in the days ahead.