50 is a GREAT Number!

50 is a great number. To us, it’s even greater because that’s how many years we’ve been married. Yes! We finally made it! This week we’re celebrating our 50th wedding anniversary. We figure, why not take the whole week to celebrate such a great number of years to be married?

It’s hard for us to even comprehend this. We were snuggling together the other night and I said to Steve, “Can you believe it? When we married 50 years ago did it ever cross your mind that one day, we would be celebrating 50 years of marriage?” It hadn’t occurred to him, and it hadn’t to me either. We just marched blindly into marriage.

They say, “Love is blind” … right? But they also say, “Marriage is the real eye-opener.” And it is! We never imagined all it would take to get us here. We have traveled through so many ups and so many downs, and ins and outs. And looking back it has been a wild ride. WOW!

But we have had to make a lot of changes (mostly within each of us) over the years. There has been a lot of give and take and prayer. There has been lots of talking, listening to, and obeying God to help us to get here. Many, many times God has had to hold a mirror up to each of us to show us how selfish we are and how much we need to work together to be partners. If not, our marriage relationship would never have a chance of succeeding.

50 Years Later…

We totally agree with Mark Gungor on this when he wrote:

“All marriages start off very selfishly. When a couple begins dating, it is generally all about each person’s own interests. ‘I like what you do for me. I like the way you make me feel. When I’m with you I’m happy. You make me feel validated.’ At the beginning, marriage really is the ultimate in narcissistic expression. The reason you are getting married is because of what he/she does for you. And it’s the same for the other person. It’s all about me, me, me!

“But then you get these two me, me, me people together and something has to give. Marriages where couples are able to make the transition from selfish, me-centered thinking, the ones where the husband and wife realize that they can’t get everything they want, are the ones that make it. The marriages where couples can’t do that…and many people don’t…are the ones that fall apart.” (From the article, “Choose to Lose”)

And that is so, so true. We’ve had to make a lot of attitude and lifestyle changes over the years to make our marriage a good one. (And we keep making changes because life is not stagnant; and we are still each flawed human beings.) But we can tell you that it is worth it all! 50 years is a big deal! It’s a great number.

50 Years to Celebrate

So, while we’re celebrating, we’re taking a break and sharing links to past anniversary Marriage Insights that contain many tips. This way we can play; and you still have marriage tips to help you to celebrate your love.

So, here goes. Enjoy! (And we will too!)

• Our Anniversary Marriage Celebration

• Anniversary Celebrations: Honor Your Love Beyond the Wedding

And:

• Anniversary Staycation: Another Way to Celebrate Love

Our love is with you as together, we make our marriages the best they can be!

Cindy and Steve Wright

Please Note:

In honor of our 50th wedding anniversary, we’re asking if you would prayerfully consider making a 50-dollar (or more) donation to Marriage Missions. The ministry is a bit behind in what we need to support it. Your gift will impact marriages all over the world. When you give, we want to say thank you by sending you a link to receive a free download of our e-book, 7 Essentials to Grow Your Marriage to greatness!

In advance, Cindy and I are so grateful for your generous donation by CLICKING HERE.

Thank you again for all you do to keep our ministry moving forward. We literally couldn’t do this week after week without you.

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