Fifty years ago, today,

I married my high-school sweetheart, who was by then, my college sweetheart, and today, she’s my senior sweetheart.  I was twenty; she was almost twenty.  Neither of us knew who we were.  But we were in love, and we have stayed in love, for fifty years, plus the two and a half years we dated.  We have many common interests, and over the years, we have developed many separate interests.  Early in our marriage, Jesus moved into our lives and captured our attention, and has been the centerpiece in our marriage, the glue that has held it together over these many years, enabling us to forebear with one another, enjoy one another, enjoy common areas of interest, and different areas of interest.

Jesus has formed a foundation in our lives that has enabled us to grow in self-awareness and self-acceptance, and perhaps the biggest difference this has made, is our understanding and embracing our newly-discovered introversion.   We always thought we were extraverts, and all our lives up until ten years ago, we lived like extraverts.   Today, we are reclusive compared to the old days, but we’ve never been so happy, knowing who we are, how He’s made us — our limitations, our likes, our dislikes.  And enjoying ourselves and one another.   We love our lives, just as they are, and we love each other, just as we are.   This is amazing, and a fruit of the work of Jesus, who is in the business of growing people to enjoy Him, others, self, circumstances.   We feel utterly unworthy of any credit for this amazing grace, and are grateful beyond words.

–DaveLovesJan