“Hold On to What You’ve Got!”

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While our children were growing up, we spent a lot of time in the car. It took us twenty-one years, but we finally made it to 48 states–and we drove to every one of them. Our children and I got quite used to Ray’s admonition when he was about to put on the brakes or make a wide turn: “Hold on to what you’ve got!”

That admonition is good advice for other situations and in other parts of life, too. It’s especially true of marriage. Many husbands and wives need a reminder to: “Hold on to what you’ve got!”

Perhaps we are too influenced by the fairy tales we learned when we were children. I don’t personally know anyone who has lived happily ever after all the time. A long marriage involves trying and waiting and disagreeing and collaborating in between the happily ever after parts.

In the car, our children had to hold on to crayons and books and toys and stuffed animals and travel bingo cards. In a marriage, we hold on to love and memories and companionship–and our children. Whatever you do, don’t bail out! Be sure you hold on to what you got!

When you’ve been married as long as we have, you will have spent a lot of time trying and waiting and disagreeing and collaborating. You will also know for sure that the trying and waiting were worth it, that most of the things about which you disagreed were really not as important as you thought they were, and that when you collaborate, you come up with something better than either of you could have come up with alone.

When you have been married as long as we have, you will be thankful for the love, the memories, the companionship, the children–and, by God’s grace, the grandchildren, too. Every child deserves for their parents to hold on to what they have.

Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly
beyond all that we ask or think,
according to the power that works within us,
to Him be the glory in the church
and in Christ Jesus to all generations
forever and ever. Amen.
Ephesians 3:20-21

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