Another year over, another year begun. Oh, not just for the world, but for my wife and I. We celebrate our 17th anniversary today -- seventeen good years. I'm one of the rare folk, a living oxymoron, so to speak. I'm "happily married" -- actually happy that I'm married and happy with the one I married. No regrets.
We've had quite a year, this last one. My wife quit her job in July so 1) she could go to Minnesota with her father and her siblings for a one-of-a-kind family reunion -- see family she has never met, visit the origins of her father and mother, that sort of thing, and 2) to help our neighbor with her new baby due at the end of August. We moved to Arizona so my wife could work if she wanted and not work if she didn't, and God has been very good to us in that regard. So it was fine that she quit. Besides, she could enjoy an Arizona summer.
But the "help our neighbor" didn't quite work out. Shortly after our new neighbor arrived, healthy, so did her daughter and grandkids. Suddenly she wasn't helping the neighbor, but managing a troupe of little kids without controls. We housed and fed them and provided them with something new in their lives -- limits. That didn't work out too well, of course. What children want limits? So they moved to their own apartment and my wife finished out the year babysitting while their mother went school. Still, a grandmother caring for even rotten kids is a labor of love, and, while it is trying at times, she wouldn't have it any other way.
My year was interesting. I got a raise when they weren't handing out raises, got a promotion when promotions were banned, refinanced the house to pay off all the debts (credit cards, car, etc.) when financing was hard to come by, changed employers when jobs were scarce and even got a raise, the second in one year, during an economic crisis. None of this was due to my brilliance. All of it was a gift from God.
So, it seems, I am blessed in many ways. As we celebrate this new anniversary on this new year, I thank my God for all of His many blessings in my life. You know, He tends, despite the complaints of many, to be a very good God.
3 comments:
Happy anniversary!
How nice to hear of someone who is actually happily married. There are not enough of those stories. Thanks for sharing some about your personal life lately, Stan.
Yes, God is good. A very simple statement with profound depth when contemplated, believed, and lived.
Happy New Year to you. I've occasionally viewed your site, but this is my first time commenting.
I comment on some "Reformed" blogs here and there. Having worshipped with Reformed folk for nearly a decade, I am inclined to give my two cents for what it's worth from time to time.
Now, as an Orthodox catechumen, I am increasingly appreciative of the opportunity to participate in the life of the church and worship Christ in the Divine Liturgy.
Christ be with you! May you desire to please Him in all that you do and with all of your being.
I, too, am happily married. I trust that my wife tells the truth when she says she is as well. Poor woman got the raw end of the deal. We enter our twentieth year of marital ecstasy.
If my 2010 is half as blessed as your 2009 (employment-wise), it'll be a huge step up. I am hopeful.
Happy Anniversary and New Year to ya!
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