50 Years and Counting . . . For July 27, 2013 POSITIVE PERSPECTIVE By Ron McClung When you are young, time drags. As you grow older, it flies. I remember elementary school and high school, but then I blinked and the next thing I knew I was married, ordained to the ministry, and pastoring a church. I blinked again and more than thirty years of ministry flew by, along with ten years as a district superintendent. Now I am in year five of working at denominational headquarters. Somewhere along the way, I became a father. But I blinked, and suddenly I was a grandfather. A few more blinks and we welcomed nine grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. How did that happen to young people like Carol and me? This weekend she and I celebrate our fiftieth wedding anniversary. It doesn’t seem possible. I marvel at Carol’s patience and commitment through the years. Her father was a pastor, so she knew what she was getting into when we married. But still . . . she faithfully accompanied me to parsonages and homes in five different states. She stepped out of her comfort zone and accompanied me to places like Pakistan and India. As my friend Ken Heer said recently about him and his wife Nancy, “We were but children when we got married, but we got it right.” The truth is, my mother had to sign for me because in those days, in Indiana, the man had to be 21 to get married without parental approval. Some people ask the secret of being married for that long. After all, haven’t there ever been disagreements? Certainly. She has opinions and so do I. Sometimes it has taken us a little while to get on the same page. But undergirding everything have been constant and consistent love and respect for each other. Paul’s command to husbands to “love your wives” (Ephesians 5:25) has not been difficult to obey. And I have never doubted her love for me. Add it all up and, for us, it totals fifty wonderful years. I mentioned earlier that we blinked and the years rushed by. Speaking of blinks, there’s another coming. Paul declared that Jesus, who rose from the dead, will change us “in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet” (1 Corinthians 15:52 NIV). I’m glad I didn’t miss the earlier blinks. I don’t intend to miss this one either.
Posted on: Fri, 26 Jul 2013 13:19:19 +0000