I got married on this day, New Year’s Eve, in 1975. Doing the quick math, that adds up to 43 years together now, and I have to say that God’s hand for blessing has been heavy upon me.
Let me give you one snapshot from the early years that does not sum it all up, but which did provide something of a portent. But in order to do that properly, I have to give you a little bit of background information.
Nancy’s brown hair was long and straight, down to the waist. She had also turned a pair of her jeans into a denim skirt by taking out the inseam, and filling it all in with extra denim. For good measure, she had then embroidered on that skirt a very colorful tree growing up from the hem for about a foot or so. On top of all that, she had a white peasant blouse of the kind that were in currency back then.
It may appear that I am changing the subject, but I can assure you that I am not. One of our simple (and, of necessity, inexpensive) lunches back then consisted of a little round loaf of bread, about the size of a softball, a handful of Doritos, and some sharp cheddar cheese. And a soft drink. You would tear off a piece of the bread, place a solitary Dorito on it, and then a little slice of the cheese. Good stuff.
And another thing. From the very first, we wanted our marriage and family to be centered on the Word, and that meant reading it. We wanted to be a family of the Word, and in the Word.
So sometime in the first year or so of marriage, I came home one day for lunch. We had a very nice large oak chair with cushions that her folks had given to us, and it was inside the front door of our apartment, just on the left. When I came in, I found Nancy curled up in that chair, in the aforementioned skirt and blouse, reading her Bible, having our favorite lunch, under the headphones, listening to the Heavy Horses album by Jethro Tull.
Now I ask you. How would it be possible to be married to a woman like that and not be as blessed as I have been?