Anniversary musings.

Today Chad and I celebrate 21 years of wedded bliss. Any married couple will tell you that even the most blissful of marriages is not always butterflies and rose petals, right? But it isn't about the destination, it's about the journey--and a journey without twists, turns, and detours is nothing but a boring highway drive. I much prefer to stand side-by-side, knowing I face whatever comes along not alone, but with the man God chose for me. Happy Anniversary, Chad. You will always be the best husby there.

People commonly say "Where did the time go?" when referring to the passing of years. I am having a bit of trouble wrapping my mind around 21 years, probably because my mind is still clinging to being 29 years old (my roots, wrinkles, knees, back, and all those parts affected by gravitational pull are significantly more realistic, but I've never been able to control my mind). But I can look around me now and tell you where the time went. The time went to building a marriage, building a family, building a life. Fours kids, three houses, two dogs, countless cars, five jobs, several schools, a few graduations, tuition payments and many, many friends later, the journey still continues and time marches on! There have been great successes, and epic failures. There has been laughter, joy, disappointment and sorrow. We have made good decisions and bad decisions. We've clung to what's important while struggling to see past the roadblocks to what lies ahead.

I would not want to go back and do it again. There are regrettable choices, but changing those would change the outcomes which shaped where we are today. I would not trade one moment of the last 21 years for a promise of smoother sailing. This is the path God guided us on, with all its pitfalls, and I rest secure that He has it all under control. I am grateful every day that, even when the steamroller of life is wreaking havoc on my wedded bliss, the man holding my hand is absolutely perfect for me. He is all that I am not, calm to my chaos, dark to my light, sun to my moon. Together, we are a team to be reckoned with, bound together by a love which grows deeper with each shared day. God knows what's going to be thrown at us, so he gave us each the perfect complement to deflect the bad and embrace the good.

My thanks to Rich Mullins for one of my favorite songs, which sums it up very well.

Doubly Good To You

If you see the sun rising gently on your fields
If the wind blows softly on your face
If the sunset lingers while cathedral bells peal
and the moon has risen to her place

You can thank the Father for the things that He has done
And thank Him for the things He's yet to do
And if you find a love that's tender, if you find someone who's true,
Thank the Lord, He's been doubly good to you

If you look in the mirror at the end of a hard day
and you know in your heart you have not lied
and If you gave love freely, if you earned an honest wage
And if you've got Jesus by your side

You can thank the Father for the things that He has done
And thank Him for the things He's yet to do
And if you find a love that's tender, if you find someone who's true,
Thank the lord, He's been doubly good to you.