This past New Year’s Eve, my wife and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary. We decided to make it a big deal and so we let our adult children throw us a party to celebrate the joyous event. They rented a nice hall, brought in our favorite live band, had the event catered, bought a wedding cake, and invited a ton of our family and friends. It was a very nice evening of fun, fellowship and dancing and a celebration of marriage and family life.
25 years of marriage is a long time
Apparently being married for 25 years is a major accomplishment these days. We had trouble finding a “25 year” topper for the cake, and during the process of purchasing the supplies for the party when mentioning that we were celebrating 25 years of marriage, people expressed their admiration and many times commented that 25 years is quite an accomplishment today.
I admit being married for 25 years is a long time, but we have filled it with 9 children, so the time has passed by very quickly. Our nine children have done great things for our marriage, they have kept me from being too focused on my own selfish desires and helped me to be less selfish, which I think is a key to a healthy marriage (and I needed a lot of help in this area). It seems like only yesterday that we were a young married couple with only one child, then every couple of years we had another one and another one and next thing you know we have been married for 25 years with no intention of ending this fruitful union.
The kids had something to celebrate also
I think our kids had just as much or more fun planning and hosting the party as we did being there. Our older children seem to be especially proud of our successful marriage. It makes sense, they have a lot invested in this family, and if our marriage was to end, they would suffer as a result. They love having a mom and dad who are committed to each other and to their family. They are proud that even though we may disagree on things from time to time, we work through those problems and still try to bring joy to our marriage and our family life. This party was a celebration not just of 25 years of perseverance in marriage, but a celebration of our family.
Why you should celebrate your anniversaries too
We hear so much bad news these days and most of us know of too many failed marriages and broken families. When we make Facebook announcements about our anniversaries or throw a big party, we are publicly sharing that it is possible to succeed in marriage and family life. You never know who may need to receive that encouragement. Even your own children need to know that achieving success in marriage and family life is something to celebrate.
Life is a journey that we don’t make alone. If we are surrounded by a bunch of failed marriages, then it is easier to give in to the temptation to give up on your own. So let your light shine and give glory to God for your success, but also be prepared to give an explanation to anyone who asks what the secret is to a happy, healthy marriage and family life.
My 18 year old Daughter made this great video for our anniversary party:
JAN
2016
About the Author:
Allen Hébert is a Senior Solutions Engineer in the Information Technology Industry. Allen and his wife Denae, have been married for over 31 years and they have been blessed with nine children. Allen enjoys swimming, driving the family RV and the great outdoors.