The Next Thirty Years
By Dean Honeycutt
Mitchell County
God has been so good to me. This July Pam and will have been married 30 years. Thirty years is a long time. And the story of how God brought us together is amazing. My parents are from North and South Carolina however, I grew up in Texas. Every Summer we would visit my mom’s parents in Greenville, S.C… And my dad’s parents in Burnsville N.C… Little did I know my future wife lived in Avery County close to my grandparents.
Pam and I would not meet until years later at Mars Hill College in Mars Hill. God is a big God who can do anything. God arranged for me to dorm beside a young man who became my first friend at Mars Hill. This friend had a girlfriend whose dorm room was beside Pam’s. Certainly not a coincidence with my God. God then arranged a meeting where I met Pam and we began to date. We fell in love and four years later we are “saying I do” and beginning our lives together. The Bible teaches that marriage is God-ordained. God joins men and women together for His glory. Pam and I wanted the will of God for our lives. By trusting the Lord, God brought us together and our marriage is heavenly.
Over the past thirty years, Pam and I have gone through many trials together. A key to our marriage is we face our trials together and work together to overcome them. We have suffered loss, miscarriages, health problems, and a whole list of trials during our marriage. We have always prayed and trusted God during the good and the bad. Together we have experienced the best and the worst of each other, and God is faithful to us. We could not make it without the wonderful mercy of God in our lives.
I can not imagine my life apart from Pam. When the Lord saved me, He invited me to have fellowship with Him. Like a marriage, God wanted a relationship with me. God said I want a relationship with “Dean” and by God’s amazing grace He saved me. God took me and came into my heart and my life has never been the same. I took Pam to be my wife, I brought her into my life, and she brought me into hers’ and our lives are forever woven together. Just as threads are woven into a blanket. Our lives as a married couple are knitted together to form one glorious union.
Marriage is a commitment. It is a commitment to be the husband and father God intends for me to be. I can not be the husband and father I need to be without God. I cannot change any of the circumstances our marriage encounters, however, I can change my attitude and actions. The Lord must help me with my attitude and my actions. My attitude and actions are either going to reflect Christ for which my wife and children will be encouraged and helped, or a bad attitude and hurtful actions will cause problems in my family. The Bible says God has begun a good work in me. And part of that redeeming work is preparing me to be a godly husband and father. If my girls, who are now married found qualities in their husbands that remind them of me then I did a surprisingly respectable job. And if my boys find qualities in their wives that remind them of their mom, then Pam did a fantastic job.
A great picture of marriage is Christ’s love for the church, Jesus gave Himself for it. I am to love my wife the same way Jesus loves His Church. I do not like getting older. These thirty years have gone by fast. I trust the Lord will give us another thirty. I am confident the next thirty will be even better. We love having grandchildren, and I could keep up with her if I were younger. Lol. The better attitude on age is I do not mind getting older, God has more for me to do. And since I must age, I cannot think of anyone I want to age with more than Pam. Together Pam and I can do all things in Christ who makes us strong. Thank you, Lord, for our amazing marriage, may it reflect You and glorify your Son. Hold your wife close and love your family.
Live with “No Regrets”
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Pastor Dean Honeycutt shepherds Snow Hill Baptist Church in Bakersville, NC. He may be reached at 828-385-0213, snowhillbaptist@gmail.com, or visit their website at www.snowhillbaptist.com.
You can read more good Christian news from Dean HERE.
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