News of a young couple’s engagement or wedding usually puts me in a melancholy mood.  It’s not that I don’t share their excitement.  I do.  It’s just that the newness of their relationship makes mine feel so…old.  I look back longingly at those early days when all we could see were the stars in each other’s eyes and a future stretching as far as those shining eyes could see.

So when I came across the following quote, it really spoke to me.  I share it not to in any way diminish the glory of young love.  But this is for those who have logged some marriage miles.  Those whose wedding pictures are yellowing with age.  Those whose kids laugh at their bridal fashions and hairstyles that are suspended in time.  If this describes you, then perhaps we could both use a reminder that what we posses has a timeless value and a beauty that is actually enhanced with age.

New love compared to old love is somewhat akin to the comparison of new silver with old silver. Certainly the former possesses a dazzling brilliance. But the latter’s tarnish defines the elegance and artistry of its design. The marks of old silver’s age speak to the history of its service, its significance and its value. Old silver embodies a rich storehouse of memories that gives it a luster which an immature piece of new silver, for all its inherent value and shiny surface, has not yet attained.” (Dr. Janice Shaw Crouse)

Today Chris and I celebrate 22 years of marriage.  Like a fork and a knife, I am thankful for our history of service together.  Over two decades of use may have left us a bit tarnished, but that has only deepened and more clearly defined the intricate details of God’s design.  Our storehouse of memories is filling, with room left for the ones still to be made.  And so I say…

Grow old along with me!  The best is yet to be, the last of life, for which the first was made.  Our times are in his hand who saith, ‘A whole I planned, youth shows but half; Trust God:  See all, nor be afraid!'” (Robert Browning)

Happy Anniversary to my old love!