By Rev. Lisa Abb
Today, as I write this, is Tuesday, May 30th. I’m told that is my anniversary. It’s not a secret I cannot remember if my anniversary is on the 30th or 31st. And to add insult to injury, it is my mother-in-law’s birthday too. So, I can’t remember that either. And if you are keeping score, I can’t remember Hank’s real birthday either. I’m just not good with dates. I don’t even know how old I am.
All that being said, I was caught off guard today by the fact that it is our 30th anniversary. Since I’m somewhere in my mid 50’s, that means I have spent more of my life with Hank than without. T-H-I-R-T-Y years. Whoa. There are few things I’ve done in my life that have sustained thirty years.
I am amazed that we have been married for thirty years. We have run the gamut of stages of marriage. We’ve had good times and bad, lean times and bountiful, boring times and chaos. There have been days we didn’t like each other very much and days we couldn’t have survived without each other.
Like most blessings, I don’t stop often enough to think about what a gift our marriage is. Do you know that I haven’t gotten my own gas for my car in 20 years? Hank takes care of that. And he takes care of a million other things for me. And in all fairness, I take care of about a million and one things for him.
If I’m honest, I have doubted and wondered sometimes if God was right when he brought us together. We have so many differences between us. Thirty years has revealed how often I need the balance those differences bring. Hank has taught me and shown me the reality of 1 Peter 4:8 that says, “Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.” Boy oh boy, does it ever.
Married, widowed, or single, we all have relationships that have lasted for decades! And they have lasted because of the work done to keep loving each other earnestly. We have had to forgive a great deal from others. And we have required much forgiveness in return. But love covers those sins like a warm blanket on a cold night. Think about those who have been in your life for years and years. That doesn’t happen by accident. It happens because we find people who we risk loving in the way that God loves us. It doesn’t always come without difficulty or pain, but it does endure, it continues to grow, and it provides comfort in the darkest times.
Celebrate your longtime relationships and thank God for bringing these folks into your life. Thank God specifically for how each person has made you a better person. And praise the eternal God who created us for relationship. Peace.
First Congregational Community Church 
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