Celebrating Love, Life and Christianity

One of the big events we had recently was a triple celebration--my birthday (January 5th), my nephew Matt's christening (January 6th) and my parents' 40th wedding anniversary (January 7th).  At first, I thought of sending my parents to a getaway for their anniversary but when my brother decided to get his new baby baptized at the same time, we decided to get together for a celebration and have family and friends over. It was small and intimate, but memorable.

We had a renewal of vows ceremony for my parents following my nephew's baptism. This part, to me, was the most memorable. I wept. I couldn't hold back tears while witnessing my parents reaffirm their love and commitment to each other.  The last 40 years for them was certainly not all bliss. There too were plenty of pain and sacrifices. But my parents battled through them with their love and respect for each other, which for so many years I have witnessed and admired.

I was overwhelmed with gratitude that day, and recalling the event now makes me feel grateful again. Grateful to God for blessing my parents with 40 wonderful years. Grateful for the love that my parents have for each other--the same love we were showered with while we were growing up. I hope God will bless them with another decade, and more.

I'll be in my seventh year of marriage this year. I can say with confidence that I am blissfully and earnestly happy with my marriage, but it'll be a long, long time before we get to 40. My parents' success is a hard act to follow. I can only wish we accomplish half of it!