“But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.” Jeremiah 17:7-8 (NIV)
I combed through dozens of anniversary cards two weeks ago, trying to find the card that would capture my admiration and love for my parents. My eyes caught the word “legacy” on one of the cards. After purchasing a card and a gift, I mailed my sentiments to my dad and mom in Florida.
Last week, my parents William and Mary Griffin celebrated 56 years of marriage. Yes, 56 years!!! My sister, brother, and I were very fortunate to have godly models in our lives. They were and will always be our first examples of what it means to walk out our faith. When I asked my siblings what is the one thing they admire about mom and dad, they both spoke of their commitment to Christ, which was and continue to be a part of their daily lives.
Jeremiah 17:7-8 speaks of blessings that come from putting our confidence in the Lord. These verses of Scripture describe a tree planted by water with deep roots. This tree experiences heat but still produces fruit. Like all marriage relationships, my parents have experienced joy and celebrations. They have also had their share of crisis and struggles. It is easy to be committed to a relationship when life is going well. The test comes when life’s stressors are pulling on the relationship and taxing events cause us to clash and want to divide.
As my siblings said, our parents “didn’t talk the talk, they walked the walk.” They made decisions to love when loving was hard; to be considerate of the other person when being considerate was not what they were feeling; to sacrifice for the other person without expecting anything in return. Their commitment to Christ (first) and then to each other has yielded good fruit. Fruit that my sister, brother and I benefited from and continue to benefit from. Their fruit has not only impacted us, it has also impacted their friends, our friends and our extended family.
What type of fruit is your marriage producing?
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