Today Janet and I CELEBRATED our 39th wedding anniversary. Four great kids and 12 grand kids later we couldn’t be happier. God has been good.
But, we worked at our marriage. I likened it to a masterpiece of art that takes a lifetime to complete – but if we do, it is hung in the galleries of heaven.
We told our kids that the family is like a novel and we are all part of the drama. We are an exclusive club – don’t do anything stupid to get written out of the story or alienated from the club. The drama continues, the club is intact.
Yesterday I was at a grocery store buying food to make a special dinner for Janet and the woman behind the counter with a ring in her nose and tattoos up and down said her coworker, “I am NEVER getting married!”
I leaned over and said to her and her coworker, “I am here to buy ingredients for a dinner for my wife. It is our 39th anniversary and marriage is the best thing that ever happened to me!” She froze. I smiled!
We Christians need to CELEBRATE our marriages, our spouses and our families. I understand that many have been dealt a bad hand (divorce, death, adultery, etc.), but God will give each one the grace to live our lives to the fullest even with problems.
But those of us who have families — CELEBRATE and let the world see what God has designed and how beautiful it can be. The world needs to see the beauty of the family – a man and a woman for a lifetime.
It is up to YOU Dads! Be strong! Lead your family! Be examples! Show mercy and love. The best thing a dad can do for his kids is to LOVE THEIR MOTHER!
Thank you Lord for Janet and for our family and the grace that you have given in the midst of an ever increasingly evil world. Keep our kids safe and help them to pass the Faith and love of family on to the next generation, and the next, and the next … until You come again!
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Congratulations! Happy 39th anniversary to you and your beautiful wife. You have a beautiful family and growing. God Bless! 🙂
Congratulations! And what a fabulous column. Loved it! We are in our twenty third year of marriage ;0)
Happy anniversary and what a team you guys make. God blessed us and His Church as well as you. Many, many more years.
Anni nongenti triginta, et vir et mulier bene congratulor
Vivat radiis…..
TOTALLY AWESOME! Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Ray!
Congratulations!
Congratulations and God’s blessings to you, Steve and Janet! You are absolutely right about letting our Sacrament of Matrimony be an encouragement to the world. We are, after all, the sign of Christ’s love for His Church. The joy in your lives is evident to all who know you, and we were blessed to meet you on your September pilgrimage to the Holy Land this year. We too are grateful to God for our wonderful marriage of 47 years, our 5 incredible children and our 11 delightful grandchildren. We wish you many more years of being the Light of Christ together.
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