I'm often asked, "Do you ever get frustrated" or "What frustrates you the most"? Those are very sincere and honest question. I inquire of them, "Do you mean on the road or at home?" They often respond, "At home." This is always my answer, "Stuff, piles of stuff, plain and simple."
This fall marks the 45th year of living on the road an average of 10-11 months each year. This doesn't leave much time for personal sorting or chores due to office backlog and continuous responsibilities.
A couple of weeks ago I was determined to pull a box out of the attic and go through it. I blew the dust off the box, opened it up and there was a diary that I had when I was 12 years old, a sweater pin and necklace from my 11th birthday, a silk handkerchief my brother Glen gave me from Paris in1960, and many other treasured items. Amidst everything, I found bundles of letters that Larry wrote to me before we were married. I cuddled up in the chair to read them. The envelopes were water stained from a leak years ago, but the contents were still so sweet and emotional. I fell in love with Larry all over again. He wrote about the love he had for me, the countdown of days until our wedding day in October, 1965.
August 4th 1965, "Forty days and we'll be together and we'll never have to say good-bye again...I can't wait to hold you in my arms at night and never have to let go."
Those words gave me love bumps back then, but even more so today after riding the waves for 45 years of marriages up and downs. He still talks the same way. I'm greeted every morning with, "I love you so much" and I receive my good night hug of "I love you so much, honey" - I'm blessed!
All that's wonderful, but what really hit me were some statements Larry wrote:
March 65: "Pray honey, we need to know definitely that God wants us together. If we know definitely that it's God's will, then we can face anything or any storm that comes our way."
May 65: "Please pray honey for God's perfect will for our lives. I want us to be instruments of the Lord to win the lost to Christ. I want us to be in the center of God's will forever."
Aug 65: "I want us to love God with all our hearts and be totally sold out to God. I want to know that when battles arise and temptations come that we can confidently look back and know we were in God's will and in His hands."
Sept 65: "Pray honey, that with God's help we will be able to accomplish what we are supposed to do for the Lord."
When I read these few lines here and there, I was choked up with joy and thankfulness for how good God has been to us. He truly brought us together and He has been our shelter in times of storm, pain and disappointment. But again, we deeply rejoice in the deeper love we have for each other for having gone through what we have. As the line says, "You marry out of passion, but what keeps you together is compassion."