The Sands of Time

I have always been facinated with hourglasses. If I had my way there would be one in every room of my house replacing the bright digital displays and noisy ticking clocks. In my heart I believe that it would make me more mindful of how quickly time passes.

Speaking of time, as difficult as it is for us to believe, my husband and I are celebrating 25 years of marriage this year. It hardly seems possible that we have known each other 25 years and 5 months. Yes, we had a very short engagement, but that's an amazing story for another day.

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. - Hilary Cooper

I love the above sentiment. So much so that yesterday, while shopping, we bought a frame with the very same words etched in it to display our wedding picture along with one taken on our anniversary. The years have really flown by. There have been moments that have taken our breath away.

• Our wedding
• Niagra Falls
• The purchase of our first home
• A trip to Hawaii
• The birth of our son
• Our ordination ceremony
• Performing our first wedding
• Our son's high school graduation
• Graduating from college (again)
• Seeing a double rainbow
• Watching the moon all night over the Pacific Ocean
• Looking out over the Grand Canyon

The list is far from being all inclusive. In fact it's not even close. For as many times as our breath has been taken away for the good at least twice as many times it has been taken away by the bad. Why? Because life is a mixture of joy and sorrow when we are truthful.

On the day that we made our wedding vows we promised ourselves to each other  "for better or worse" and "in sickness or in health" "for richer or poorer" until death do us part. Many people don't use traditional vows these days. Some don't make commitments in marriage at all. We did...and we are sticking to them. I just so happen to feel as though my husband got the better end of the deal. He would probably say the same about me.

 I wish that I could say that each moment of our lives has been breath-taking. Many have but some have been just plain miserable. Others have been mundane. Yet like sand through the hourglass time passes quickly and there is little we can do to change it. We can manage it but we can't stop it from slipping away any more than we can travel back in time or relive events. There are no "do overs" when it comes to time.

“We can never turn back the pages of time, though we may wish to relive a happy moment, or say good-bye just one last time, we never can, because the sands of time continue to fall, and we can't turn the hourglass over.” Unknown

If and how we cherish the remaining moments is up to us. Each one is priceless and a gift from God. Trust it to be true from two people who have both had brushes with death yet lived to see other days. In some way all the days have combined to make a wonderful life for us. We've laughed together, cried together, watched lives begin & end together. And hopefully, as two who have become one, we've learned from our experiences and see things a bit clearer.

“The more sand that has escaped from the hourglass of our life, the clearer we should see through it.” Niccolo Machiavelli

Most of all we've come to understand the importance of this moment in time. We have not been promised tomorrow but we have today. It is a gift from God to be treasured and spent wisely.

 "Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That's why it's called the present."

Bill Keane

“Yesterday is a canceled check. Tomorrow is a promissory note. Today is ready cash—spend it wisely.” Unknown

On our anniversary we decided to start all over again. We are beginning the countdown to our next 25 years of celebration. The wonderful vows below, in addition to those we already exchanged, are how we plan to handle the "sands of time." We can't flip the hourglass back over once the sand empties out but we do plan to make the most of every moment---in the meantime!

Today is the beginning of a dream.

A day where two souls are woven together.

Cherish every moment that life offers.

And celebrate every small pleasure.

Express your love at every chance

And allow it to unfold gracefully.

Show your devotion and dedicate your lives

to the enrichment of each other.

Strive always for honesty and integrity.

Build upon your marriage daily.

Seek to understand each other.

But above all this......

Draw upon the love you feel today

and forever etch it in your hearts.

During our recent anniversary trip I etched this in the sand of a Pacific beach. It was purposely written far from the shoreline so that it would not be washed away by the ocean for quite some time. In my physical condition it took a lot of effort but was worth it. He's that special to me.

Thank you God for answering my prayers with such a wonderful husband and giving us 25 wonderful years together. Thank you Greg for being the man of God you were created to be through thick and thin. God amazes me...and so do you. Our future is as certain as the promises of God. Forever and always throughout time I'll be yours and you'll be mine.

"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." I Cor 13:13