On a fall day twenty-seven years ago my life forever changed. I was a brand new employee at an insurance company. My boss was showing me around and brought me to my cubicle. Right next to my desk was an empty cubicle with a nameplate Tom White. I only saw the name and the Holy Spirit spoke clearly to my head and my heart, “You are going to marry Tom White.”
There is no way that is happening. I don’t know who this Tom is, but I am not going to marry him. There is no way my future husband is right here at my new job. Nope. Not happening. End of story.
Twenty-five years of marriage later, obviously I was wrong. God knew exactly what He was doing when He brought Tom and I together. I have no idea how twenty-five years has flown by, but it has. The days are long but the years are short.
When you’re a newlywed the world is your oyster. All things seem possible. We bought our first home, a fixer upper, and spent countless hours scraping layers of wallpaper, and ripping up shag carpet. But it was ours, and we were together, and we were happy. We got a dog and a cat before we had kids, to practice on. We shared our hopes about the future, and dreamed dreams together.
Once the first baby arrived, time seemed to accelerate. When the second baby arrived, we were in the fast lane of life. As I look back on these past twenty-five years it makes me happy. There are so many precious memories and painful ones too. The thread through our entire marriage is Jesus. It’s a scarlet string that is woven throughout our good and bad times. He has sustained us and He will continue to do so.
A lot happens over a quarter of a century in a marriage.
There has been so much laughter.
There have been some tears too.
We have had stupid petty arguments.
We have had some ugly arguments too.
We have apologized to each other.
We have put each other above our own needs.
There have been a million and one hugs and twice as many kisses.
We’ve had fun adventures.
We’ve had mountain top experiences.
The dessert years were the hardest.
Don’t get me started on the valleys.
We held on tight to Jesus and each other during the storms.
We know what real unconditional love looks like.
We’ve grieved and mourned over lost loved ones.
We have cooked countless meals.
Planned hundreds of parties.
Took dozens of camping trips.
Went on dozens of road trips.
Had some fantastic vacations.
Bought and sold several homes.
Fixed up a couple of those homes.
Had dogs and cats over the years.
Painted more rooms than I can count.
Disciplined little ones and big ones too.
Changed one million diapers.
Moved across the country on our own.
Made major career changes.
Suffered job loss.
Dealt with serious health issues in our children.
Prayed, and prayed, and prayed together.
Served at churches and ministries.
Worshiped God together.
Forgiven each other.
Given grace and mercy to each other.
Watched countless movies and cooking shows.
Planned gardens and remodels.
We still have so many dreams and hopes.
Jesus has carried us all the way through these twenty-five incredible years. I don’t have some magic formula of how to stay married and stay happily married. (Read my other posts below, where I go into more detail.) All I know is, God made marriage and it is good. We need God at the center of our marriage to succeed. I have learned a lot over these years. There have been some very hard lessons and God used my husband to teach me. Sometimes God has used me to teach Tom.
Thank you Father God for these blessed twenty-five years. I do not take them for granted. Each day with Tom has been a treasure. He is the best man I know. God gave us to each other and we need to take care of this precious gift. We try our best, but fall short at times. It is God’s grace that has brought us this far. That beautiful scarlet thread of Jesus is woven through our twenty-five year history. That thread does not end. It is eternal and will carry us through until we go home, to heaven.
Happy 25th Anniversary Tom! I love you so much. Here’s to another 25 by the grace of God.
Love you all,
Meghan
Check out my other posts on marriage.
Meghan E White 