Go Beyond

My wife Cheryl and I are celebrating our 33rd wedding anniversary today. I feel even more fortunate today than I did on the day Cheryl and I exchanged our wedding vows. As much as I loved Cheryl on that special day, I love her even more today — so much more that our wedding day seems like the day I loved her the least by comparison. I am thankful that our love for one another has steadily grown over the years.

When I found Cheryl I found a good thing. Like the man who found a pearl of great price and sold all that he had in order to posses it, I too recognized the surpassing value of what I had found in Cheryl when I was a young man. She has enriched my life and I still treasure my days and my moments with her. Neither the years nor the changes they have brought have diminished our love for one another.

When I asked Cheryl out for the first time, I wanted for us to have a memorable first date. Because I was a boxing enthusiast in those days, I purchased ringside tickets to the Golden Gloves Championship fights in Corpus Christi, Texas. When I told Cheryl what I had planned for our first date, she was happy to go. We had a great time watching young boxers duke it out in the ring.

While we were still dating, Cheryl and I agreed that we would never allow the sun to go down on our anger and that when we married we would never turn our bedroom into a boxing ring. We also agreed that if things ever got bad we would never pummel one another with the threat of “divorce.” These commitments may not seem like the most profound things in the world, but they have helped us to build a strong and healthy marriage.

Our honeymoon was a 2,100 mile road trip that included a few days of snow skiing in New Mexico. When we arrived in Lubbock, the Texas Highway Department had just closed the highway to New Mexico because of a bad snow storm. In the mood for a great adventure, we headed down the highway anyway, trying to follow the tracks left in the snow by the last 18-wheeler to go through before the road closed. Thankfully we made it through, but not without a few scary moments along the way.

Not unlike our honeymoon trek through the snow, we have experienced some scary moments along our journey — everything from lean financial times to deaths in our extended families to the challenges of parenting three kids. At times we have struggled to see the way ahead, but God has always brought us safely through to where we needed to go. We are thankful that we have not had to travel alone but with the assurance that God is with us every step of the way.

So, today I am once again thankful for Cheryl and for her faithfulness to our marriage and to God’s work. She has personally sacrificed much over the years while I have led teams to serve around the world or to engage in our own community. She has never complained about the long hours I often have to work or the amount of time I spend out of the country. Cheryl will tell you it is because she too felt God’s call on her life to be a pastor’s wife and counted the cost before we walked down the aisle.

I love you, Cheryl. And, I count it my biggest blessing to journey through life with you by my side. Happy Anniversary.