Today is our 47th anniversary! Last year I wrote the following devotional and wish to share it with you again. This evening we will go to dinner because next week we will be taking a short trip with my brother, his wife and some friends to celebrate anniversaries. Anniversaries, a time of remembrance and a time to draw close.

NEW SLIPPERS AND STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE
January 27th is our anniversary. We have made it a practice to take a short trip and/or do something special together to celebrate that day. In 2008 we planned to attend a family wedding and so we stayed home to attend. However, we had made previous arrangements to go away for a few days in April to celebrate with three other couples in our family.

Jim and I very seldom buy each other anniversary gifts. Once, we dressed to the nines and went out in a snow storm. We drove about 15 miles to this wonderful old house that had became a restaurant of renown. The Mon Desir! Most who tasted their delicious fare would say it was an elegant night out. The snow storm was so bad that it was difficult to see the road. Some corners were hard to maneuver, but we arrived safely because Jim knew the way. That evening Jim gave me an inexpensive emerald neckless with earrings to match. It was the thought, not the cost that mattered! I know I gave him something but all I can remember is setting near a window watching the snow fall and looking at Him. A very romantic evening!

Since we didn’t plan to do anything special on this date, we went to Wal-Mart to get me a pair of slippers. The ones I had been wearing fell apart! As we looked for me, we decided Jim should get a new pair too. We left the store with our slippers and went to a BBQ joint that had just recently reopened so that Jim could have a steak. Of course I really knew why we went there. You guessed it! They serve strawberry shortcake all year round. It’s big enough for us to share. Jim looks lovingly at me across the table and says; "What did you do on your 46th anniversary? And then answers his own question with; "Why we bought new slippers and had strawberry shortcake". As we left Red’s, the snow was falling so hard and fast that during the short time we were in the restaurant our car disappeared under a blanket of snow. Seemed like dajevu! We were originally married in Southern California, who knew we would be always celebrating with snow.

How blessed we are! It matters not if we go away and stay in a grand hotel or just go shopping and to a local eatery. Jim and I love to be together! We are not necessarily like a pair of comfortable old shoes but close to it. Jim always makes me feel special! I pray that I make him feel special! Feeling the touch of his hand and knowing that there is nothing I can do or can say that could make it any better than this, is a blessing from God!

God says; "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and all these things shall be added unto you". These things that God talks about are in Matthew 6:25-34. What we should eat, wear, sleep, even our health. When a marriage has God as its Lord and master all things are possible.
When things get tight, we manage. When we are troubled, there is a light just up ahead. When we are apart, we feel naked. When we take care of the things that are important to God, He takes care of the things that are important to us.

I often wonder how the world survives without the Lord and His kingdom. Most of the time they seem more prosperous than us. But are they? He is our comforter and guide. James 4:14 is a curious verse. It says; "Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away". It is good to make plans for tomorrow. It is good to have savings put away. It is good to find pleasure in the moment. The best of all is eternity with Him and it encompasses all of our tomorrow’s. Without Him there is no peace and no direction!

Because of Him, we celebrated happily, in a snowstorm with new slippers and strawberry short cake. Because of Him we can find pleasure just being together and doing simple things that draw us to God and to each other. How wonderful is that! By Jane Ann Crenshaw 1/29/08