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According to a marriage researcher quoted in Time Magazine this week, “The perfect age to get married if you don’t want to get divorced is 45-49.” Chantelle and I are 47 and 48 so this would be great! However, we are celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary this year. So, perhaps there is more to getting married and staying married than studying statistical analyses on the Internet.
Falling in love is easy. Staying in love takes courage, lots of hard work, forgiveness, forgiveness, forgiveness, and God’s grace. Perhaps the six most important words for marriage are the following: “I am sorry.” “I forgive you.” Nothing more. Nothing less makes for a “Love for a Lifetime.”
I hope you will join Chantelle and me as we share the joy and pain of being in this season of marriage where we are 18 months away from an “empty nest.” It is different than when we had little one’s taking us in every direction. Now it is more like long stretches of peace and calm with intense moments of sheer terror and panic with updates from a University seven hours away or car troubles with a sixteen year old across town.
Oddly, in this season, our children leave, our parents will die, our careers peak and decline, our health and stamina become more challenging to manage, and we are years from grandchildren. Yet, we now possess a strong sweet steadiness to our rhythm. We own a past of conquered challenges that make us stronger and create in us a greater resolve to face whatever the rest of life brings. The best is that we face it together. We have a lot to learn.
But by now, we also have a lot to share. We hope you will join us on the journey this weekend for “Love for a Lifetime.”