Special Day!

I am so amazed and humbled at the well wishes and words of congratulations we have received from friends and family today for this, our 56th wedding anniversary!  I guess I'm just so used to having anniversaries that it seemed it would be an ordinary day, but as I dwelt on it, I realized it is very special, indeed!  That is a lot of years!  Yet at the same time, it seems to have flown by, with all the memories of a lifetime compressed into a time capsule that I open now and then, pulling one up to reflect upon and long for.

The staff at Red Lobster where we ate seemed impressed with our long marriage, gathering around our table to give us an anniversary card signed by each one.   The card was printed with the date, 6/20/2014, on the front under an artistic design with Happy Anniversary in pretty script in the center.  Inside were the signatures and greetings, over two entwined hearts, with the words, We hope you have many more to come!

Our waitress, who my inquiring husband found out was from a country town not far from us, told us she had been married only one year, but hoped to someday celebrate her 80th anniversary! After our meal of lobster, cheese biscuits, shrimp and vegetables, plus key-lime cheesecake, I returned from the ladies' room to find Howard engaged in conversation with three college-age servers. One had lived in Alaska as a child and regaled us with tales of northern lights, curious bears, and an aggressive moose.

In our early marriage, it was our custom to go to a nice restaurant to have lobster for anniversary meals, but it had been years since I had eaten the treat.  To my surprise, it didn't taste the same as I remembered.  I thought of a story I read once by Elizabeth Sherrill.  She and her husband were celebrating their 50th anniversary in France where they had married and were retracing their travels there.  Somehow the quaint restaurant that they chose had lost its charm as remembered by a starry-eyed bride; she couldn't speak French to the waiter as formerly, since her French had gotten rusty; and the food wasn't what she remembered.

Finally she wondered if there was anything good about the season in which she now found herself.  Suddenly the waiter brought in a beautiful, feathery acacia plant, covered in blossoms.  "Did you grow that in a greenhouse?" she asked, knowing it was winter out, to which he answered, "No. Acacia blooms in all seasons."  She felt this was a message from God to her to remind her that there is good  in every season, and she determined to be open to what God had for her.

I will be 75 in a week.   I'm eagerly looking forward to what God has planned for this season!