I Still Do

 It is hard for me to believe that Brenda and I have been married for nearly 35 years. Time flies when you are having fun. Like raising four sons and one sister in law, traveling to numerous ball games all over the state, serving churches, preaching and teaching the Bible, and enjoying date nights and date days. The eight months I had with her when we moved to the Texas Panhandle and she did not have a job are some of the greatest days in our relationship. We did everything together. She came to the church office to work on various projects. She made hospital visits with me. We planned events together. Ate every meal together. It was a wonderful time in our marriage. 

Marriage is sacred and to be held in honor. [Gen 2:24] [Heb 13:4] That is not a view everyone holds. Living together is popular in our culture. To make that sound better society classifies it as common law marriage. Even couples may refer to one another as husband and wife though they have not covenanted together in actual marriage. The statistics say living together before actually getting married does not strengthen martial bonds. It actually weakens them and people who lived together before marriage are statistically at higher risk for divorce. 

Marriage is about so much more than looks. Marriage is a covenant between a man and a woman and God. He invented marriage. While He is left out of the equation for many, marriage was His idea in the first place. Brenda and I are both products of divorced homes raised by single mothers. When our relationship got serious and we contemplated marriage, we wanted to do it right and for keeps. We spent a lot of time seeking counsel from spiritual leaders, took personality tests, and did premarital counseling. That proved a wise choice. We learned in those sessions, and from our personality tests, that I am in the 99% of the most insensitive people on the planet and Brenda is in the 99% of the most sensitive people on the planet. That has been very valuable for us to keep in mind over the years in the way we relate to each other. 

I found Brenda gorgeous as a college student. After nearly 35 years of marriage, she still takes my breath away. Whether her hair is pulled up in a pony tail cooking delicious food or she is dolled up to go somewhere, she is still beautiful to me. When we exchanged wedding vows and we both said, "I do," I am still saying today, "I still do." I would take her all over again. I would choose her over every other girl on the planet. She completes me. She is my soul mate. My help mate. My best friend. She is still the love of my life. That is how I greeted her this morning. I said to her, "Good morning love of my life." She broke out in her classic Brenda smile. 

Neither of us looks like we did when we met at Howard Payne University. I was a football jock. She was a shy business major. I had hair. She had brown hair and milk chocolate eyes. Now, my hair has fallen out on top. Her hair is not as brown as it used to be. We still love each other. Our love goes much deeper than outward appearance. It is a spiritual bond through our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the center of our relationship. He brought us together and is the bond that keeps us together. 

We have disagreed over the years. We have worked through health issues, financial struggles, raising some strong independent sons, and multiple moves serving different churches. There have been some ups and downs, but through it all we still stayed in love. I still do. I still choose her. I still want her. What God has brought together let nobody tear apart.