My parents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary last week.
Mom insisted we not throw a big party in their honor so instead we celebrated at a quaint but lovely restuarant not too far from home. As our meal ended we asked mom and dad to recount their wedding day for us – what a hoot!
My dad, a young football coach at the time, had just received a job offer which meant a move from their home state of Kentucky to Tennessee. He called up my mom and asked if she wanted to marry him and begin life together there. A week later, in one of the biggest snow storms in Kentucky history, Carol Pierce and Don Riley became husband and wife. There was no flashy ceremony, flowers or ring; the ceremony took place on a Thursday evening in their pastor’s office with only my grandfather and an aunt standing in as witnesses. My mom had purchased both rings – two gold bands which cost $9 a piece since my dad was busy setting up their new home 500 miles away. My grandfather caused my mom to be 2 hours tardy to her simple ceremony, coming home late with her newly tailored powder blue suit. And mom cried the entire ceremony. Apparently, she cried all the way from Kentucky to Tennessee later that night, too.
My shell shocked dad kept asking “Are you sure you want to do this?”
“Yes, I’m sure”, she replied through her tears.
50 years later they laughed till they cried (especially my mom!) as they recounted their wedding day.
But a wedding doesn’t make a life. Choices do.
For 50 years they have chosen to love. To forgive. To compliment. To hug and kiss. To dance together in the middle of the kitchen. To laugh. To fight but make up. To stick with it. To praise. To care for. To be loyal. To be faithful. To keep their promise.
On a chilly night in January 1960 two people who had little more than each other and their faith in Christ, held hands, faced one another and said:
I take you…
for better or for worse
for richer or for poorer
in sickness and in health
forsaking all others
as long as we both shall live.
And they did……
