A little over 19 years ago, Franicia and I said, “I do”…actually, we said it twice and we were pronounced “man and wife” twice, but that story is for another time. 😂 Never in our wildest dreams would we have imagined that we would be blessed with 9 wonderful, precious children. I don’t think that we would’ve ever dreamed either that we would’ve moved so many times, experienced so many wonderful things, or walked through the trials that we have experienced.

I’m Going With Her

As we reflect on the last 19 years, though, we’ve been so incredibly blessed. Would I do it again? Absolutely yes -- in a heartbeat. Being married to my best friend has been the most amazing experience in my life second only to being born again. Before Franicia and I were married, I dreamed of not having to say goodbye at the end of the day and waking up to my very favorite person in the world. I knew that those things would be wonderful, but I had no idea how truly wonderful! I told Franicia the other day that, if she ever leaves me, I’m going with her. Living life with her is really a treat!

A Great Marriage Takes Work -- Hard Work

A wonderful marriage doesn’t just happen by itself, though. It takes work...hard work. I learned more about that this past month. Stay tuned for valuable lessons that we have learned and are continuing to learn. Honestly, though, Franicia is an amazing, wonderful, sweet person -- the most amazing wife I could ever imagine. I’m learning a lot of lessons, and she’s teaching me a lot of lessons. I praise God for Franicia’s patience with me. If any husbands are reading this, you probably know a bit of what I mean. We men can be pretty slow to learn and grow sometimes -- me included.

19 Years is Not a Long Time

Take it from me, though, 19 years passes so extremely quickly. If you look at the pictures of us above, you’ll see some that are from our wedding day and even a couple from months before our wedding. Franicia is even more beautiful now than she was then, but the years haven’t been quite as kind to me. 😅 But I remember when every single one of those pictures was taken, and it seems like it was only a few days ago -- literally.

Don’t Spend Your Life Waiting

Life can be difficult. And sometimes, we can be in circumstances that we’d rather not be in. It’s easy when we’re in those unpleasant times to think, “I can’t wait until this passes.” When we live like that, though, we can easily miss out on the wonderful things in life. I try to remember too that none of us are guaranteed to be alive next week. We may not even live to see tomorrow. How tragic would it be if we lived our life hardly being able to wait for what’s next and miss out on the precious moments and wonderful opportunities right now and never make it to the times that we can hardly wait for.

Do All for the Glory of God

There’s a saying that is thrown around quite a bit -- carpe diem. Seize the day. I like the idea behind that. We should make the most of every moment. I think, though, that carpe diem misses the mark a bit especially for people of faith. God commands us in 1 Corinthians 10:31

Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

Doing all to the glory of God I think goes even further than seizing the day. If we live to the glory of God, we will make the most of every moment, but our making the most of every moment will not be for selfish reasons -- it can’t be if we live for Him. We’ll love and worship Him in all that we do, and, in doing so, we’ll love our neighbor -- including our spouses and our children -- as ourselves. Doing all to the glory of God also means that we’ll be kind to people -- especially our spouses. Doing all to the glory of God means that we’ll seek Him daily and love our spouses....no matter what. May God help us to live our lives in this way! May God help me to live this way every day for His glory and for the sake of others in my life especially my precious wife, Franicia.