Twenty-five Years

As I have recently written about time seeming to sprout wings as life progresses, I discover twenty-five years has passed since my wife, Paula, and I said, “I does”. I had been dragging my feet for over a year and marriage really wasn’t on the top of my to-do list. One day she approached me with the idea and after washing my hands and combing my hair, she made me change my shirt too, we went to the courthouse where a judge pronounced us husband and wife. A lot of water has gone under, and over, the bridge since then and as a lot of men can attest to about a loving, faithful wife, without her in my life I probably wouldn’t be worth spitting on. I didn’t make it easy for her to domesticate me, she almost gave up once, but I think she’s done a pretty good job of bringing me to my senses and raising me up out of the pig slop. I don’t know if we have another twenty-five years in us, but I do pray we will share life until death do we part. We were two ships passing in the storm who just can’t navigate alone anymore.
After a few years of wedded bliss you get to know your spouse fairly well. An old story has been told about Jake who drove over to the next county to buy a bull for the farm. It cost more than expected and he was left with only one dollar. Since he needed to let his wife know she could come and get the bull with the truck and telegrams cost a dollar a word, he thought for a while then said, “Go ahead and make it just this one word – comfortable.” “How’s that going to get your point across?” asked the clerk. “Don’t worry”, said Jake. “She’s not the greatest reader. She’ll say it real slow.”
A couple was celebrating their golden wedding anniversary. Their domestic tranquility had long been the talk of the town. A local newspaper reporter was inquiring as to the secret of their long and happy marriage. “Well, it dates back to our honeymoon”, explained the man. “We visited the Grand Canyon and took a trip down to the bottom of the canyon by pack mule. We hadn’t gone too far when my wife’s mule stumbled. She quietly said, “That’s once”. We proceeded a little farther when the mule stumbled again. Once more my wife quietly said, “That’s twice”. We hadn’t gone a half a mile when the mule stumbled a third time. My wife promptly removed a revolver from her purse and shot the mule dead. I started to protest over her treatment of the mule when she looked at me and quietly said, “That’s once”’.
Bill: “Where you going on vacation?” Bob: “Yellowstone National Park.” Bill: “Don’t forget Old Faithful.” Bob: “Oh, I wouldn’t leave home without her.”
[Proverbs 18: 22] “He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the Lord.” Troubles in marriage often start when a man gets so busy earning his salt he forgets his sugar… Too many couples marry for better or worse, but not for good… When a man marries woman, they become one. The trouble starts when they try to decide which one! Remember, just because many couples “harp at each other” doesn’t mean that their marriage is made in heaven. (House to House / Heart to Heart) “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” (Proverbs 17:22) “A foolish son is a father’s ruin, and a quarrelsome wife is like a constant dripping. Houses and wealth are inherited from parents, but a prudent wife is from the Lord.” (Proverbs 19: 13-14) My wife is a gift from the Lord I do not deserve, no doubt. The Spirit has written of her and countless like her. (Proverbs 31: 10-31) Praise God!