This was their Life

Over four decades ago, a young teenage girl carrying the shame of her past entered a sacred union called marriage. She was unaware of what was ahead as she lived mostly in her immature and often selfish reality. She rushed through life not paying attention, tripping over her failures.

She was afraid.

Then, one day, as she sat in the darkness of her room, a voice whispered

THIS IS YOUR LIFE.

Listening to the clock tick, the darkness slowly turned to light and the rushing and hurrying of life no longer concerned her.

She saw his razor sitting by the couch, his reading glasses next to the daily bread, a rose, the symbol of their love held by hands both painfully broken. Endless nights of surrender to an unseen God and an unknown future.

THIS WAS THEIR LIFE..

The birth of their children, Intimate dinners cut short by hungry cries and dirty diapers. Messy fingerprints on walls freshly painted now, holding pictures framed with their pain and their joy.

THIS WAS THEIR LIFE!

The births of their grandchildren, Silly notes stuck on refrigerator doors reminding them of what it meant to be a child again.

THIS WAS THEIR LIFE!

So thankful are they for the passing of sacred time, allowing them a fresh start each morning and a NEW dream each evening.

THIS is our LIFE!!!

They will not spend it in regret or shame.

They will celebrate every minute!

Every dirty hand, every sticky finger and every smelly trash bag

Every laugh, every tear, every step towards forgiveness they willingly choose!

Will you choose LIFE?

Not someone else’s life, but the life God has given you with all its messy and beautiful parts.

Even amid our chaotic lives, God is there!

Giving us More of His grace, more of His mercy and More as He life giving power.

Power that gave us strength when we felt weak.

Power that breathed life back into our marriage.

Four decades ago, I said “I do” and he said “I will” and “we have”