This week is a hallmark in the lives of the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage and me. Forty-three years ago this week, we began a journey that has just become better with each year. That is the benefit of marrying up.

Getting married was not something I had put together. Very few men put together their wedding plans. After all, that is why we get married.

It came to me rather suddenly. I was at Bible college and one morning one of the guys in the dorm said to me, “Congratulations. I just heard the good news.”

I smiled and nodded my head thinking about my plans for the day. I had no idea what he was talking about and at the time I did not have the time to ask him what he was talking about.

Everybody I met that morning was congratulating me and telling me how happy they were for me. Soon I was beginning to wonder what in the world was going on. I did not have any test in any my classes yesterday so it could not be anything like that. I do not play the lottery so I could not have won the lottery. I could not think of anything I did yesterday that would cause all of this congratulatory remarks in my direction.

Finally, when I had about as much as I could take, I asked somebody, “What is everybody congratulating me for?”

The person that I queried looked at me, broke out in laughter and said, “Man, you got to be kidding!” Then he turned around, walking away laughing every step of the way.

I went to my class, found my seat and got situated then one of the young ladies passed by, patted me on the shoulder and said, “I am so happy for you and I think it is a wonderful thing. And I know you are going to be happy for the rest of your life.”

Well, I had had it. I looked at her and very firmly said, “What are you so happy about?”

“Your wedding,” she said laughing, “you’re getting married.”

“Oh,” I said, nodding my head. “Thank you very much.”

Then what she said dawned on me. I looked at her and said, “I’m getting what?”

“Silly boy,” she said, laughing hysterically, “it's all over campus so it must be true.”

I then had to think about this situation I was in. Everybody on the campus knew I was getting married, except me. Was I still sleeping? Was this just a dream I am having?

I began to think about the events the preceding evening, and remembered a little conversation I had with the girl I was now supposed to be getting married to. In the course of our conversation, as I remembered it at the time, she said something to the effect, “Wouldn’t it be great to get married.”

As I recalled the conversation, I nodded my head and said something to the effect, “Yea, I guess it would be.” That was the end of the conversation as far as I was concerned, but the beginning of an ongoing conversation as far as someone else was concerned.

Why is it that the groom-to-be is always the last one to know?

Then I asked one of the girls in the hallway, “When am I getting married?” At the time, I did not have the foggiest idea.

She turned away laughing and muttering to herself something to the effect that I had a really good sense of humor. Believe me, I was not laughing.

As it turned out, me and the young lady I was to be married to, were engaged to be married and, I do not want to pry into this point very much, the wedding dress already purchased.”

As it turned out, it was the best thing that ever happened to me. Looking back over life, most of the good things that have happened to me were never of my doing. I'm convinced that is the way God works. If you are doing what you want to do, you are probably not doing what God wants you to do. At least I have developed that philosophy to this point of my life.

Some things in life I am rather good at planning, a wedding not being one of them; not even close.

After all these years, I can still remember that wonderful day when the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage and I were united in holy matrimony. Our wedding was rather simple and the focus point of the wedding was the wedding vows. When I said, “I do” it clinched the deal and I was married and I have been doing it ever since.

I have said many words in my life, and written thousands and thousands of words, but the most important words that have changed my life were those words, “I do.”

The Bible has a lot to say about marriage and husbands and wives. “Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so letthe wives beto their own husbands in every thing. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christalso loved the church, and gave himself for it” (Ephesians 5:24-25).

There are some empty words that we use every day but every once in a while we say a word or two that fills our life with joy unspeakable and full of glory.