36 Years of Being One
Posted on August 14, 2007
Filed Under Personal |
“‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ This mystery is profound…” Ephesians 5:31-32
Growing up, I never had a love for history. All of that has drastically changed now, but when I started college, I groaned when my advisor penciled in “American History” as one of my required courses. I started out with a major in electrical engineering, and I loved math and physics and the sciences. But American History? Getting through this class was going to be a drag.
I didn’t know that it would change my life forever.
As I plodded into class on the first day, wondering how I was going to stay awake, I was stunned by what I saw. Sitting in the first row was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen in my life. My interest in history class had just dramatically improved!
I immediately began to plan how I was going to impress this young lady enough to get to meet her. She was sitting in the front row which meant she was bright and obviously interested in history. I decided I would learn the material, raise my hand and answer as many questions as possible. That would get her attention.
It did. She thought I was a “hoodlum”.
Well, I eventually got the opportunity to meet her and prove that I wasn’t a “hood”, as she called it. (At least, I hope I did!) Our relationship “improved” through those first two years of college and then, having transferred to separate universities, it survived the next two. I finally got the nerve to ask her dad for permission and, on an Easter weekend in Kansas City, I nervously popped “the question.” To my great delight, she said “yes.”
We were married on August 14, thirty-six years ago today.
My new bride had just graduated with a degree in elementary education and had gotten a third-grade teaching position in a small town within driving distance to the university where I was in graduate school, studying artificial intelligence. So, following a very short and very cheap honeymoon, we moved into a tiny trailer in St. Mary’s, Kansas. It was all we could afford. I got a job throwing newspapers to help buy food and put an occasional dollar’s worth of gas in my old Volkswagen bug which I kept running on junkyard tires.
But, looking back on it, we lived like a king and queen.
And now, thirty-six years later, so much has transpired, but she is still beautiful and still the most wonderful person I know. She is the great, great grand-daughter of a Cherokee Chief and has royal blood that makes her a fierce competitor in all that is good. She is a Proverbs 31 woman whose children rise to call her blessed and her husband praises her.
The Scripture says that this union, this oneness, that God has designed for a man and a woman, is a profound mystery. I agree. I don’t understand it completely and I am convinced that women are mysterious creatures beyond a man’s full understanding, but I believe it is one of the greatest gifts that God has given to mankind.
I can’t imagine my life without her.
I can’t imagine what things would be like if my advisor hadn’t penciled in “American History”…despite my foolish objections.
The Lord is good, all the time.
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16 Responses to “36 Years of Being One”
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Dr. Del Tackett is president of the Focus on the Family Institute and Senior Vice President to Focus on the Family. He is also the architect and chief spokesperson for Focus on the Family's The Truth Project--a nationwide initiative designed to bring the Christian worldview to the body of Christ.
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Del-
I was pleasantly surprised when I saw your website today! My husband and I are also celebrating our anniversary today! (Although we’re only on year #8….) May you and your wife have a wonderful day.
Blessings,
Jen Davis
Congratulations!
Our anniversary is today, too. Ditto the praise for my wife… Oh, mine is number 31. She never said she though I was a “hoodlum.” I’ll have to ask her.
Del - congratulations on 36 years of your lives together. My anniversary is in April and we celebrated 32 years this year. I truly do not know what I would do without her - a Christian helpmate is truly a gift from God. Thank you for your thots here and your teaching in the Truth Project. Our Project study group continually comments on how much they appreciate your teaching as well. Thanks for sharing it.
Rick Perry
Dr. Del and Mrs. Del-
May God bless you with 36 more! Congratulations!
Debbie Smith
Cottonwood, AZ
We celebrated our 20th on August 8th. I never ceased to be amazed by the Lord’s goodness and blessings to us. God is good, all the time. Blessings to you and your dear wife.
Happy belated anniversary to you and your wife! Its nice to see that after 36 years that you still “rejoice in the wife of your youth.”
Thank you for encouraging those of us who have a hard time imagining making it to 36!
God bless you both… and thank you for the wonderful story. It’s an encouragement to the younger ones of us among your audience.
As a side note, I’m praying for the Institute a good deal, and for all of you as the new class comes in relatively soon. (And I miss all of you!)
God bless.
What a beautiful story!!! God truely does write our love stories!!
My home fellowship is currently going through The Truth Project. It has been a blessing to learn from all that God has put into you. So, thank you!
Del - It is with role-models like you and your wife that us young married couples will be encouraged to persevere. Thank you for loving your wife and our Lord enough to set that example for Jennifer and me. We so look forward to meeting you in January at King’s Baptist.
Dear Del
Thanks for sharing your love story. It so reminds me of the scriptures that tell us that His ways are so much higher than ours and how his plan for us is so perfect in spite of our feeble efforts to do it our way.
We will celebrate our 44th the 23rd of this month and I look back and see so many situations and circumstances that were orchestrated by a loving and benevolent God.
Praise Him
Don Moore
Del - congratulations! My wife and I celebrate our 33rd Anniversary next Friday (Aug 24). It’s been a rough ride (mostly because of my stupidity and selfishness); however, I think both of us would not change a thing. We love each other more today than ever, and our love continues to grow as we seek Christ’s plan for our lives. Thanks for The Truth Project - I’ve shown it in our church twice and once at work, and several groups have sprung from these.
My early years in college were a lot like yours. My wife (of 38 years on Sept 7th) and I lived in a little trailer and I threw newspapers to make ends meet.
Thank you for The Truth Project. We attended the Sacramento conference and taught three classes this summer. It was well received and I’m praying for exponential growth in the churches in Vancouver.
May the blessings that you’ve poured out on others be multiplied to you and yours.
Congratulations! Your comment about the Cherokee chief piqued my interest as my family is related to the great Cherokee chief, Chief Sequoia.
Dr. Tackett:
Meeting the person that would become my life/soul mate was in a completely different setting, but nonetheless, just as awesome. That was 30 years ago, and I still marvel at how God brought us together. All because of a prayer to the then unknown God of creation. Nothing about our meeting should have taken place, but God knew better. Because she was instrumental in my conversion to Christianity, it has been an incredible ride down the road of life. We will celebrate our 29th year of marriage in December, but each day is a celebration. I find, in talking to others with Blessed Unions, that this mystery is as unique as our fingerprints. Each one so different that it is not a repeat of any other union and will not be repeated again. May the mystery continue. May God continue to bless you and your bride and I extend that prayer to all of those who have recognized God’s great blessing.