We Married for the Journey
The vows for the journey.
The journey. When we said “I do,” we didn’t know what was ahead of us, but this we knew: God was already there. We married, not just for fun and for love. We married, committed for the journey, when we said I do.
Our journeys are different, and when vows are said for better or for worse, none of us knows what is in our future. Dave and I only knew we would walk the journey, together, all the way Home.
We didn’t know what we’d face when we said “I do”, but we meant it. We still do. While we didn’t know the journey, we committed to keep those vows when we said “I do.” Truth be told, we still don’t know the rest of the journey, but we keep saying I do.
The journey
The Halloween night we made a fast trip to the ER as I hemorrhaged with our second baby, He was already there. When our fourth was born with an Apgar of 4, we knew He was with us, still.
When we moved 150 miles and our living expenses went up and income went down, we tightened our belts and lived out those vows “for richer or for poorer.” During those years, we were poor – but rich in love and in faith.
When we wrestled with raising our half dozen and stormed the gates of Heaven in tears asking for wisdom, He was there. When we made mistakes, we received forgiveness from our kids and from Him. Our greatest goal with our kids was for them to find their own relationship with Jesus and build their own faith. There is no greater joy as parents than to know that your children walk in truth!
Then we buried our parents, became orphans, and lost siblings and extended family. We felt His presence in those difficult parts of the journey.
When we became foster parents, loved on kids and told them goodbye, the journey continued – and we love those kids, still. When our kids took wings and traveled the world, we prayed them out of our nest and prayed them home, He was there.
The aftermath of years’ past church tensions still surface at times, but His presence is real. When charges were filed against Dave (and later dropped in court), He was already there.
In difficult times when relationships drifted and conflicts ensued, we faced crises we’d never expected. Yet, in this journey, He was there. We’re still affected by some of those dissipated relationships, yet God is already here.
Shattered heels and out of work for six months with loss of income, broken ribs from a motorcycle mishap, a sliced hand, heart attack, and surgeries for cancer have all been part of our journey. None were predicted, but each was a part of life and an opportunity to bear witness to the vows we made nearly 41 years ago.
Every day, we still say I do
When we said, “I do,” we married for the journey. We didn’t marry for the highs; we could not avoid the lows. We never married for only the better, because we knew they would also be the worse.
In the best of times and in the worst of times, we keep saying I do, because we do. The journey continues. In our journey, each day we say I do. For better, for worse; for richer, for poorer; in sickness and in health; as long as we both live. We are walking each other Home.
Photo credit: wedding photo taken December 1984.
