Thursday, August 9, 2012

Going All-In, Year XXXII

32 years ago today, Jen and I threw our lives in together, in front of God and everybody, in Holy Matrimony (although the tangibility of said holiness has been more in evidence at some times than others) (*sigh*).

I can say, in all honesty and sincerity, that, over 32 years of marriage, our union has come to a place I had no inkling of at the outset, a depth and richness my 24-year-old self never imagined.  I have been challenged to my very core, and had things called out of me that I hadn't known were there to be called out.  Being a husband and father has made me a man, and called me out of my youthful immaturity in all manner of ways I never saw coming at the time.  (We occasionally give a talk on Marriage at our church, and we've often made the point that our children help make us holy; many people only need two or three children in order to get holy, but we're a harder case. . .)

So, thank you, My Beloved, My Life-Mate, My Partner, My Closest Friend, The Mother of My Children, My Wife.  If the last 32 years have brought us to a place we never imagined, what will the coming years bring us?  As they say in Narnia, "Further Up and Further In!"

10 comments:

  1. Happy anniversary! 32 and counting ....

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  2. Happy Anniversary! May you enjoy an eternity more!

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  3. Skip - Thanks!

    Xavier - Thanks; last night in bed, we were discussing the possibility (desirability, even) that we might actually have 32 more. . .

    Suldog - And thank you, too, my friend. . .

    In Matt. 22, Jesus says, ". . . in the Resurrection, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage. . ." I'm just 'carnal' enough to wonder, on occasion, just how, exactly, is that better than what I've got now. . .

    ;)

    But ultimately, I can take it on faith that Heaven, whatever it is, is better than this earthly life, and that Jen and I, in the Beatific Vision, will be even more intimately united than we are now. . .

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  4. Hope you two had a special day!

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  5. a belated happy anniversary to you two. i hope it was a wonderful celebration.

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  6. Thanks, Lime. We celebrated wonderfully, indeed. . .

    ;)

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  7. I've always taken that to mean that THE LAWS concerning marriage will not be of consequence. In other words, if you made it where you needed to be, and the other of your partnership also made it, you will both enjoy the company of many in intimate things, the most important being Our Lord. Carnal desires may or may not be included. If they are not, those delights that ARE there will more than make up for it.

    Just my take, which may or may not have any truth involved :-)

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  8. Suldog - I'm mostly poking fun at myself and my own, uh, 'carnality' when I say that.

    Believe it or not, Jen and I have had many conversations over this topic. I think our consensus, as of today, is pretty much along the lines you describe. Our 'connection' to each other in earthly life cannot really be of no consequence in the life to come; we must certainly recognize each other, and take joy in the life we've shared. We've often imagined ourselves in Heaven, laughing at our own foolishness, saying, "can you believe that we wondered how THIS could possibly be better than sex?"

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