The Secret to Forty Years of Marriage

Happy 40^th Anniversary Mom and Dad!!!

Today was my parents 40^th Wedding Anniversary.  Forty years is a long time to be married. My husband and I only have been married for 10 years and feel like that has been a long time, but let me tell you about my parents.  First of all, they are not perfect, nor are they what I would call romantic, but they have the secret to what makes a marriage last.  (Are you on the edge of your seat now. )

Faith: Both of my parents are followers of Christ, and have been for almost 30 years. This gave them a common purpose to walk toward, and lean on.

Commitment: When most people first get married they have romantic ideas about how wonderful their life is going to be like. Sometimes its like this, but most of the time its not.  My parents are committed to one another no matter what.  It is important to not that they have faced many challenges in their marriage. One such challenge was raising four girls on one income, so my mom could stay home and raise us. It was not easy, and there were many times when they both sacrificed their own needs for us.

Sense of Humor: There is no way you can be married for 40 years without a sense of humor. Both my mom and dad love to have a good time and to laugh. Life would be very dull for that amount of time with someone who didn’t have the ability to laugh at themselves.

Communication: My parents talk all of the time about everything. Though my mom does all of the budgeting, she communicates everything that she does, with him. When something funny happens, they share it with each other.  If either one is concerned about something it is something that they will talk about and pray about together.

Friendship: My parents love each other, but they are truly friends with one another. Though they can sometimes drive each other crazy, they actually like each other.

Fellowship: My parents have attended various churches over the years and have enjoyed the fellowship of many, but only a few friendships have lasted the test of time. Having good friends that you can call on for both assistance and prayer have really blessed my parents. One such couple are Paul and Jane whom my parents have known for almost 20 years now.  They are a true blessing to my parents and our family, and it a honor to call them friends.

Trust: My parents trust each other completely and without question in their relationship. This is something that they have built up over the years based on their life together.  They both understand that each of them have the other one’s best interest at heart.

You may think that my parents seem to have had the perfect marriage so far, but you would be wrong. As I stated before, early on they had financial troubles, in- law problems, the challenge of raising four children together, loss of parents (except my dad’s mother who is in her 90’s) , health problems, etc.

Wedding vows say in sickness, and in health, for richer or poorer. For the most part, my parents have endured many things in their marriage, but the thing that knits them together is their love for one another and for their family.

Now their family has expanded to include eight (almost nine grandchildren). They have been truly blessed by God as the result of their commitment to one another.

Lesson: I know that my marriage is not perfect either, but working at it and sticking with it will provide many blessings for our marriage and to our children.