50 Years of Faithfulness

Dear Mom and Dad,

For years we discussed as a family where we would gather to celebrate your 50th Anniversary. The rocky Oregon coast (possibly your favorite place on earth)? The Colorado Rockies (where you celebrated both your Honeymoon and Silver Anniversary)? Detailed plans were made and remade, but closed borders and cancelled flights would eventually wipe all of them out.

Sigh.

So here we are in Peru, serving the poor and sharing the Word, and there you are in Oklahoma, continuing to use your unique God-given talents to serve in dozens of ways. As I think about these things, I am reminded of another major life event that my family missed. 

Grandma Mabel passed away in July of 2009, when Gabriel and I (along with my brother Zach) were on an extended mission trip to Bulgaria, and Deysi and the girls were at home in northwest China. I remember kneeling to pray with my three year old son on a sidewalk in Sofia, Bulgaria, telling him that his Great Grandma had gone to be with Jesus.

Those unique circumstances didn’t allow for us to return home for Grandma’s funeral, and we were truly sad about that. But from a different perspective there was also something fitting in that we were found serving the Lord in ANSWER to her countless prayers to God for us.

In a similar way, although we wanted so badly to be with you on this special day, unforeseen circumstances keep us thousands of miles away. But I’m going to turn the tables a bit and put some of the blame for our absence back on you:

There’s no telling where we might be (where I would be?) if NOT for the 50 year foundation of your commitment to Christ and to each other, and your loving care for our family over the years.

In other words, in an alternative scenario, one without Christ at its center, we might indeed be living “closer to home” during this season, but still be thousands of miles apart relationally and spiritually. That would be the true tragedy.

I’m sure you can relate to the Apostle John’s words in 3rd John verse 4: 

“I have no greater joy than to hear my children are walking in the truth.”

So in spite of the distance between us today, we are so incredibly grateful that your love and commitment as a couple before God, which now spans five decades, has overcome every obstacle along the way, and that your legacy is not merely a number on top of a cake or printed on a card, but rather 50 years of faithfulness stamped into the hearts of your children and grandchildren, some of whom happen to be located (for a season) halfway around the world.

We love and miss you so much! 

Happy 50th Anniversary!

This picture was taken earlier this week at a surprise anniversary party hosted by friends from church in Oklahoma