50 years

I just had a really neat experience and, it being too long for a status update or a tweet, I figured I would blog it. That makes two blogs in one day! Which means I am on a roll, right?


Anyways,

The church where I work has two members that are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary this weekend. The husband asked me to come look at something in the room where they were setting up. As I went to check some stain on the carpet, my eyes were distracted by some old photos. I saw two young people holding hands, looking very different from their current grey-haired selves.


I took a few minutes and took in how special it was.


Then I was led into another room. After inspecting said stain on the carpet, the husband showed me some even older photographs on a table, set up for everyone to see. They were pictures of his parents and her parents, each taken on their 50th wedding anniversary. One picture was even of his parents' parents at their 50th wedding anniversary. "Wow", is what I was thinking. What a legacy to leave behind for your children. The legacy of hard work, sacrifice, and never giving up on a person you love.

As I walked out and went back to my area of the church to finish working, I was brought to tears. Here I am, this young wife, barely even an adult, struggling with the thought of if my marriage will make it to 50 years or not. It is incredibly hard to stay committed to someone when things don't always go your way. Getting married at a young age has taught me so much, but it has put me through a lot also. My husband and I are both committed to staying together, but that doesn't mean there isn't the occasional painful bump.

I just was taken aback and wondered, what kind of people are we these days? Are we still the kind of people who stay committed? Are we the kind who surrender themselves and love selflessly? Can we, can I do that? Marriage is the craziest thing in the world. Telling yourself that regardless of how you feel, you will pursue another's best interest at all cost. Sometimes, it totally goes against the grain. Living for yourself is easy.

Lately I've been looking for purpose. I realized today that even when I feel like I'm a little unsure of what I will do with this life I live I can be certain of a few things.


A. I will live it with and for Jesus Christ.

B. I will strive and seek to be more like him.

C. I will do whatever it takes to see that my son can look back at those pictures and say,

yeah, dad went through a rough patch, or mom sure was crazy.. but look at how they turned out.


Maybe we are just an unfinished book; a painting that has just begun. An artist doesn't throw down his brush after a few strokes if the masterpiece hasn't come together just right. He works on it. Everything beautiful takes time to create.


The actions we make today set us up for our future and the futures of our children. Depending on what you do, you could set your self up for a fifty year anniversary, or a fifty year life sentence to prison. What kind of legacy will we leave? What pictures for our children to see?