46

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect this morning when I got up.  I had spent a lot of time over the weekend thinking about today… for today would have been Piper’s and my 46^th Wedding Anniversary.  But when I got up and looked from the calendar on the wall near the door to the bathroom and the collage of Piper’s pictures on the wall next to the bed, I felt… well… I felt NOTHING!  So, I slipped into my loafers, brushed my teeth, somewhat managed to get my unruly hair under some semblance of control and slumped off to the kitchen to make some coffee.

Then with my insulated mug of what turned out to be a pretty bland cup of hot java, I followed the dog into the study, sat at my desk and got my computer Bible Study program running.  From there, I just sat and stared at the opening screen of my e-Source home page.

After a few moments, I finally had the wherewithal to begin to pray and asked the Lord where in my Bible I needed to be on this very special… and yet very emotional day.  And my immediate thought was Philippians 4:19.  So, I flipped my digital King James Bible to that verse, grabbed a mechanical pencil, sighed with great relief and satisfaction and read and wrote simultaneously, “But my God shall supply all my need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”

I’m not sure if I was so happy because that particular verse had meant so much to Piper and I throughout our total of 48 years together, or because the Lord was reminding me that He was there with me to meet the need I had right then and there!  Isn’t God Good!

After that and another five or so verses, the fog I was in began to lift.  I got to thinking that I can be really THANKFUL for the wonderful, special and in many ways, unique relationship that Piper and I enjoyed together.  Through all those years we held many different positions and roles with each other.  First, we were classmates (I’m still surprised that we didn’t get thrown out of that English class because we talked so much!), then the next year we became boyfriend and girlfriend which quickly lead to becoming lifelong best friends that continued through our fiancée stage and then as husband and wife.

I’ve known many married couples through my various secular jobs as well as in the different church in which we served who were friends with each other… but not best friends.  There were also a few who weren’t friends at all!  I readily admit that with our experience, I have a difficult time understanding how any couple can get to the point of wanting a divorce.  Losing Piper to sickness is without a doubt the very worst experience that I have ever had to manage my way through… but the thought of divorcing her… and then seeing her with someone else would be much more difficult and awful… maybe an unsurmountable event for me!

But the good news, of course… Is that the very idea of divorce NEVER had any place in our thoughts, let alone in our marriage.  It was a subject that we simply NEVER entertained… why would we?

I remember attending a wedding with Piper around the time we were celebrating our 25^th Anniversary, when they asked all the couples to go to the dance floor.  Then as the song was played, they started calling out the potential years of marriage and requested the couples to sit down when they called out the current year of their marriage.  Piper and I got to stay on the floor for quite a while but finally had to retreat to the sidelines when they called out 25 years.  We were both surprised as there were numerous couples who had been married longer, with the last remaining couple celebrating 50 plus years. 

I clearly remember Piper and I talking on the way home that day, happily agreeing that someday, we would be the last couple dancing the couples dance at another wedding in the future!

I had always desired that we make at least 60 years together… but alas, even though we didn’t quite make that goal, we did get to spend 43 spectacular years of marriage together.  I often times think about how much God must love me to have given me a gal like Piper… and I would tend to think (hope) that she would say the same about the guy she married! 

What more can I say?  God really did supply all of our needs… and desires… and dreams… according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus!

Have a great new week, and as you do… keep expecting God’s best in your life… just like I did with Piper!