Happy Anniversary!

Earlier this week I was watching a re-run of a TV series from the early 2000’s that I just re-discovered on our new cable service.  During the episode, two of the characters in the show were getting married.  As the camera came in for a closeup when they were stating their vows to each other, I began to tear up and get very emotional. 

Today would have been Piper’s and my 44^th Wedding Anniversary and needless to say, earlier in the week, it didn’t take a lot to get the tears flowing!  I can remember that moment in our own wedding ceremony like it was yesterday.  Looking into her bright shining and loving brown eyes while we committed our lives to each other at a little after 1:00PM at the First Baptist Church in Santa Rosa, California on that warm afternoon in July of 1975.

They were the same loving eyes that I looked deeply into some 43 years later just a little while before she took her last breath on this earth.  I was intensely touched by strong emotions on the couch during that moving scene this week.  I recalled the unquestionable commitment and great importance that our vows meant to Piper and I.  In blunt terms, that we deeply understood how we sealed the deal and signed a contract that day that we would never break… “In sickness and in health… unto death do we part.”

I was talking with my cousin last night and she was asking if I was able to dig out some of my favorite framed pictures of Piper that were mistakenly placed deep in the bowels of our storage locker when my daughter and I went searching there yesterday.  I had to reply in the negative but also assured her that I still have plenty of pictures of Piper around the apartment.

During the conversation, my cousin asked if Piper ever got annoyed with all the picture taking I did of her over the years.  I had to reply that I believe it was just a part of our relationship that initiated with the photo projects I did beginning with my first photography class in high school.  I never remember her complaining about it and think that she actually enjoyed it as I tended to gush all over her when I posed her for the pictures.  Most of the shots were taken at holiday events or when we would be out alone for the day or on our short two-night escapes to the local coast that we tried to take a couple of times a year.

And as I’ve mentioned before, she was very confident in her own skin, was extremely comfortable and relaxed with my camera pointed at her and most likely was pleased with the attention she received from the guy who was head over heels for her for almost half a century!  That camera in my hand seemed to become another extension of my love for her while her perfect pose and sweet smile was hers to me… It also didn’t hurt that as a professional photographer I was very aware of the importance of quickly snapping the pictures and to keep things moving so that my subject wouldn’t get bored or lose their patience during the photo session.

This morning while enjoying the coolness of the morning breeze on my balcony, I read from Ephesians 1:3 where Paul declared, “Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! (for) Through Christ, God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing that heaven has to offer.” (God's Word ©)  Well, I had to utter a proclamation of praise when I read that and afterwards said to the dog who was sticking his nose through the balcony railing while looking at a neighbor walking their dog below us, “I can sure agree with that Fiver, as God surely gave to me every spiritual and physical blessing when He gave me Piper!”

Then I continued reading in my red leather Bible down to Ephesians 1:10 where it states that our Father God “planned to bring all of history to its goal in Christ…:” (God’s Word ©)  and I again turned to the dog with a happy tear forming in my eye and quietly said that “Piper has reached her goal on this earth… and mine is still to be reached.”

My personal experiences with my God cause me to know that His best is yet to come for me… as well as for each of you who read this post today.  My heart is broken at the passing of God’s greatest blessing in my life.  She is the one who almost single-handedly helped me to become the person I am today and I have nothing but extreme love and thanksgiving for her.  But I also rightly realize that I had a major influence in who she became during her lifetime as well. 

That thought got me to wondering if my life has helped to make other people I’ve known better.  Do my words and actions encourage people or tear them down?  And lastly, if my life has and continues to inspire others.  When it comes to my memories of my loving wife, I can only answer a resounding “YES” as far as her positive influence in the lives of those she touched.

As a lasting legacy of our marriage, I especially today want to honor her by also being a positive influence on those my life has and will continue to touch.  HOW ABOUT YOU?  How would you answer those three questions above?

Have a wonderful weekend, and as you do, say with me... “I am expecting my life to continue to make a positive influence on those I come into contact with on a daily basis!”

Happy Anniversary Honey and may your days in heaven overflow with the joy, goodness and peace that you brought with you everywhere you went during your 65 years on this earth!