40 Years of Faithfulness

My parents celebrate 40 years of marriage today. What faithfulness! What commitment! Praise be to God! In honor of this occasion, here are 40 gifts that my parents' marriage has given to me:

1. Teaching me about Jesus
2. The practice of scripture recitation
3. Demonstrating the importance of Bible reading
4. Frequently incorporation of prayer
5. A valuation of missions work
6. Appreciation of home-cooked meals (Yes, even Dad's breakfast special of refrigerator biscuits, bacon, egg, and cheese counts because he made it at home!)
7. Provision of a stable home life, something a lot of children rarely have these days.
8. Two caregivers when I was sick
9. The benefits of two protectors
10. A real-life definition of a biblical marriage
11. A balance of male and female input in my life
12. Showing me what a godly husband should be
13. Giving me an example of a godly wife
14. Providing not one, but two prayer warriors
15. Showing me two different cultures
16. Modeling what it looks like to grow together over the years
17. Vetted marriage resources
18. The sharing of personal marriage advice
19. Words of wisdom
20. Gentle rebuke and correction
21. Laughter
22. Love
23. The conviction divorce was not an option in a godly marriage
24. Never discussing divorce in front of me
25. Persistance
26. A strong work ethic
27. A stubborn will to succeed (those sometimes it does bite me)
28. Love of the outdoors
29. Timeless music
30. Hymn playing and singing
31. Thriftiness
32. A desire to do things myself when and where I can
33. Siblings
34. A routine of churchgoing
35. The tradition of Saturday morning pancakes
36. Many great family recipes
37. Great books
38. Creativity
39. Play
40. Enjoyment of family games (Skip-Bo, Othello, Rook, Monopoly, etc.)

Thank you, Mom and Dad for your commitment to Jesus, and to each other. Happy anniversary!