Forever Changed

It was 2:00 p.m. that Saturday afternoon on March 21, 1964, when our lives were forever changed. It had been a busy week for both of us and that was a good thing. We had no time to spend on those decisions that many couples spend months or years trying to decide on for that perfect day. We had just two and a half days to get everything done for our church wedding and reception at my parent’s house.

Eva and I were both living with our parents at that point, and we had to find an apartment and buy furniture and other things to set up our home. Eva had to buy a wedding dress and it had to fit her without changes. I could list all the other tasks that had to be done and the help that others like Jo Ann and my mom provided to make our day special, but I want to focus on how that day changed our lives.

I have written about my life before that day and about events since that day. I have written about good things and tough times that were harder to write about. I suspect it is not much different in many ways from any marriage that has lasted years. Our marriage lasted 21,216 days or 58 years 1 month and 1 day before Eva passed away. As of today, March 21, 2024, I have been alive for 29,598 days, or 81 years and 12 days. Eva was a major part of my life for 72 percent of my life.

Before our marriage, I was pretty much self-centered, mostly concerned with my needs and wants. I hope others did not see me that way, but in truth, I viewed most things through the prism of how it would affect me. During our wedding service, the Pastor read these verses:

⁶But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female.
⁷For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife;
⁸And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh.
⁹What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
Mark 10:6-9 King James Version

I wish I could say that I completely understood every aspect of what that meant, but I do know that we both planned to remain married for the rest of our lives. At first, it was easy to discuss our plans, both short-term and long-term with the excitement of our new life together. It became more difficult when I had to choose not to do things that I might have done if I were not married. It took a while before it was natural for me to quickly identify things that would have a positive effect on our marriage and those that would not. When problems did occur, we both had to get into the same boat together to weather the storm. No matter the size or duration of the storm, we knew we needed God with us to help us through the storm.

It has been 60 years today since we said, “I Do” and it has been 699 days since Eva passed on to Heaven. It is possible that many of the changes in my life would have happened if I had not married Eva on that date or had married someone else. However, as I look back over those years, I see how God blessed us in powerful ways. I see how we grew closer together even during those events we would have not chosen to go through.

Eva was not a perfect person, as none of us are, but God chose the perfect wife for me and I will be forever grateful.