The Big 3-0
Our anniversary is tomorrow. That means that 30 years ago, Polly Lee walked down the aisle of Conway’s First Methodist Church, and hit the dang jackpot. Won the title. Started living the dream. Muhaha.
At that altar three decades ago we promised God, each other, and the people who witnessed it that we would stay faithfully married to each other until one of us was dead. We’ve kept that promise … although she’d probably tell you there have been times when killing me looked like a very attractive option. A smart man keeps his own life insurance policy modest, just to take away incentive.
She married me knowing that good doctors warned – because of my previous cancer and treatment – we couldn’t have kids. What followed were six beautiful healthy children, and three perfect grandchildren. She’s stuck with me through a move halfway across the country, study at three graduate schools, some reeeeeally lean times (money … not my gut), heart disease, uncountable trips to hundreds of ball fields, and four churches. She enthusiastically supported my move away from a stable church to come lead one that didn’t exist yet. Being a pastor’s wife is harder than anybody knows, but she has done it with grace and excellence.
She was nicer and better looking than me 30 years ago, and she has since increased the margin for both. She has mastered the art of knowing when to let me vent, and when to tell me to grow up and/or shut up. My waist size is a little bigger now. My hairline a little higher. My eyesight worse. But I can see well enough to know who got the better end of this marriage deal.
Note to single guys: Marry a woman of character. Marry somebody you want your daughters to be like. Marry somebody who gets her values and her ideas about marriage from the Bible. If her looks are hotter than a crackpipe in a pepper patch, that’s a plus. And thank God Polly’s are. But remember this: If God is the smartest guy in the universe, and He looks on the inside and not just the outside, maybe we should take our cue from Him.
I’m taking the girl of my dreams on a surprise trip. I told her it’s coming, but she doesn’t know where. Tomorrow’s the anniversary, and the trip starts after supper. For the next 4 days, if you need me … call somebody else. :-) I’ll be back for church on Sunday.
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