Celebrating 30 Years of Love

I was 19, and he was almost 23. We hadn’t even known each other a year. We met in the middle of January, were engaged in May and married at the beginning of November in 1987. We couldn’t wait to spend the rest of our lives together. We were in love.

Life was an exciting adventure in the beginning. However, we quickly found out that there were a lot of things we didn’t know about each other. In fact, we discovered that we were pretty different and really didn’t have much in common. We even learned that the person who we married wasn’t perfect.

We didn’t truly understand when we first got married, what it really means to have Jesus at the center of our individual lives and at the center of our marriage. Because of this, we struggled and fought for a long time. The only reason that we have made it through 30 years of marriage is that we have stayed committed to God and to each other.

As we grew closer to God over the years, we also grew closer to each other. God taught us to love each other with the same love that Jesus loves us with, and that has made all the difference. The love of Jesus is a love that isn’t dependent on whether or not the recipient is lovable or worthy. It is a selfless love that comes from obedience to God’s commands. Some of Jesus’ last words to his disciples before dying on the cross were, “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:12-13). We are to love with the love of Christ regardless of the other person’s behavior. Learning this truth has made a huge difference.

Over the past 30 years, we have experienced many happy times, but there have also been some times of differences & struggles. I am thankful not only for the good times but also for the bad because it was the difficult times that brought us closer together and taught us what true love is.

Today I am thankful for a husband who has stayed committed to me through my good, my bad & my ugly. I love Sam even more than I did 30 years ago when I thought my love for him was complete but didn’t truly understand the depth of love that is possible through Jesus. I am also thankful for a God, who taught us that “love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails” (1 Corinthians 13:4-8).

God has blessed us over the years in ways far greater than we could ever have asked or imagined. We have been blessed with good career and ministry opportunities and four of the most amazing children in the world. He has always blessed us with more than we need and far more than we deserve. Our greatest blessing of all is Jesus and his unconditional love.