When you’re twenty, 50 years seems like such a long time. But the months and years have waved goodbye and the special milestone my husband Daniel and I had been reaching for finally arrived. August 11, 1974, was now August 11, 2024, and five decades were behind us as we celebrated our special wedding anniversary at the same location, day of the week, and time—3:00 p.m.—just as we had 50 years earlier.
Only one pew remained in the little chapel in northern California, and now there were some round tables with chairs scattered around in the small room. The brown paneling still stood proudly on the walls and the rock background behind the platform still had the electric light that accented the various hues of brown and beige. After 50 years, the carpet had been replaced, but we still had to open several windows on the outside wall to get some relief from the temperature indoors.
How could this be possible? Here we were, 50 years later, but missing all the family and friends who had either gone to their rest or who were still living but scattered throughout the United States. This time, however, it was just our immediate family—our children, Greg and his wife Jill, Janelle with her husband David, and their daughter Emma. This was the small group that gathered on Sunday, August 11, 2024, in the little chapel near the St. Helena Hospital in California, just down the road from Daniel’s parents’ former house.
As Greg played the part of the emcee, introducing each part of the ceremony, he also read our original vows as Daniel and I responded again with “I do,” reaffirming our love and devotion to each other. Sincerely spoken were our responses 50 years earlier to the same vows— “I do.” Of course, we couldn’t know what would transpire through those years. Very ignorant but totally in love, those vows have carried us through some hard moments but also provided us with lots of wonderful memories.
We thank the Lord for always being a part of our lives, beginning while we were dating, and on into our marriage. Did we always do things right? Of course not; but we were determined to grow our marriage and make it the best it could possibly be. God is good, and we thank Him for giving us this special gift of 50 years together and the celebration with our immediate family.
A human relationship can be compared to our relationship with God. Tough times, easy times, uncertainty, assurance, and peace can exist in both human and divine connections. As we spend time together, trust and love can grow, bringing about a connection that will stand strong over the years despite life’s struggles and unknowns. As we vow to serve the Lord, to honor and love Him, we also fall short of the ideal, even though “we still do” desire that united relationship with our Best Friend.
And, as Dan and I look back at the beginning of our lives together as a married couple, responding “I do” to the vows spoken by the minister, today we desire to honor those same vows, not just with an “I do,” but with “We still do” in our promise to be faithful—to not only each other, but also to God. As long as life shall last.