“Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.”
Of course, God knew, even “from the foundation of the world,” that Beth and I would meet, and marry, and raise a family.
Next June 1 will be our 25th wedding anniversary, and we look to that date as a goal to get through these next months, which promise to be extremely difficult, at best. Then, if she can make it two years past the transplant, there is a very good chance that she will have been completely cured.
Longer term, we are hoping to dance at our daughters’ weddings, because they will no doubt turn around and look for her, for us together.
Marriage is an amazing thing. When you have children, especially small children, there are ties and bonds that run far deeper than just the legal contract or the vows you take before God and each other. I know what it means when it says, “the two become one flesh”.
The very substance of our lives — the children, their accomplishments, their future accomplishments. These are all things that only the two of us can share in the same way. When there is a first grandchild (none so far), she and I will feel exactly the same thing. It is one substance that we share. One reality, and there is no other person who can understand it in quite the same way.
