Salt and Pepper

Next to our wedding picture on the mantle of our fire place, we keep  some very special salt and pepper shakers. What’s so special about these? Well, they represent the over 50 year marriage of my grandparents, Wayne and Christine Knote.

There’s nothing special about the shakers really. I don’t think they are antique, or worth money, and I’m not even sure that they’re crafted that well. But the memory they ignite is inspiring.

Daniel and I haven’t been married for fifty years, but someday I hope we can say we have. We’ll celebrate 4 years of marriage on May 19th.  In some ways, I can’t believe we’ve already been married for four years.

Now, I know, we are still newlyweds and four years isn’t so long.  :-)  But, we’ve been married long enough to see some difficulties of marriage as well as experience some of the immeasurable blessings.

Sometimes, I’d like time to slow down. And, sometimes I’d like it to speed up! I look forward to celebrating 5 years, 10 years, 15 years, 20 years and on and on. I look forward to raising children and learning how to parent together.  I look forward to growing old together and encouraging young couples. I look forward to being gray and wrinkly and Daniel being bald! (Or, at least I anticipate both eventually happening!) I look forward to the silly and the serious.

And, yet, I savor this slice of time we have together now. I’m proud of the marriage we have and the true work and effort we put into making it strong. I’m proud of the growth we’ve already seen in these four years together. I’m proud of the forgiveness we’ve learned to give to each other. I pray we will get stronger in our weak areas and learn to grow closer together as Christ refines us.

As I look forward to more years together and think of the milestones we may encounter along the way, I’m inspired by those simple salt and pepper shakers.

It seems odd to me that after successfully being married for 50 years, that a salt and pepper shaker would be a fitting gift for my grandparents!! (Shouldn’t couples married 50 years or more get a gold medal or something!?) Yet, maybe that simple two-piece set represents the beauty of marriage.

My grandparents didn’t have everything in common and they didn’t perfectly split all the chores or responsibilities. Grandma preferred talking to the characters aloud on Days of Our Lives, while Grandpa would rather watch a baseball game on mute! Grandma did all the cooking and cleaning, Grandpa did all the bill paying and driving. Grandma could cook the best meal around, but Grandpa knew how to order at McDonald’s. Grandma liked to sleep in late; Grandpa got up early. Grandma got irritated when Grandpa couldn’t hear her anymore. And, Grandpa got irritated that Grandma was irritated at him for not hearing.

But, what they did have in common was stronger than any of their apparent differences. They loved the Lord, they loved each other, and they were committed to the covenant they had made. The practiced these beliefs together: they prayed, they read the Scriptures, they kissed each other goodnight.

Even so, I’m not naive enough to think that marriage is so simple or that covenant keeping is so easy. And, so I pray for grace. And strength. And unity of spirit. I pray our cloud of witnesses will hold us up and hold us accountable. I pray for the tenacity to always fight for our marriage instead of  fighting with each other.

I pray we will celebrate over fifty years of marriage and every year in between– May 19, 2058 here we come! :-)