17 years ago today Lindsay and I got married. Those, as they say, were the days.

Those Were the Days

When people say “those were the days” they usually mean that times were better in the past because of this or that. Sometimes they just mean those days were good days. For us, those really were good days.  

Back then Lindsay agreed to marry me with a fair amount of uncertainty. Where would we live? Couldn’t say. Would we have kids? No promises there. If we did what would they be like? ! How hard would being a pastor’s wife be? To quote Coldplay, “Nobody said it was easy, but no one ever said it would be this hard.” Would we be millionaires? Firm no on that one.  

Lindsay is a remarkable woman in many respects. We lived in a one bedroom apartment in a senior living complex in Santa Clarita. We used a card table for everything, and we had to save up for two Ikea Billy bookcases to hold my library. Did I mention Lindsay was still a college student and playing soccer on scholarship and working part time at the Coffee Kiosk?

She was always positive, always worked hard to find solutions to our complex schedule. She always made it a priority to be involved in ministry together. She was a living example of content faith every day.  

These Are the Days

“…so that the proven character of your faith more valuable than gold which, though perishable, is refined by fire may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”                -1 Peter 1:7

Those were the days. But the phrase that fits for today is “these are the days.” By it I mean that these days are better than those first days were. Without 17 years of changes and challenges, I wouldn’t have been able to see the proven character of Lindsay’s faith so clearly. Hear me out on this:

In the past 17 years God has moved us from California to Texas to Florida to New Jersey. He has blessed us with ample provision, one dog, and four small humans. We have faced significant challenges, and yet we have experienced tremendous blessings from God. 

Lindsay still amazes me. In all those ups and downs, her faith and character have been shown to be of the highest quality. She works hard taking care of the kids, and especially as we transitioned to home schooling. She ministers faithfully to the women in our church body. She worked hard to put me through seminary. She keeps up with our families and friends. She’s always looking for ways to serve others and meet needs. She graciously encouraged me to use my Fridays as a study day so I could pursue another degree.  

You can imagine our house can be “moderately active.” Although I’m sure she doesn’t feel like it, she shows remarkable patience with our littles. She still finds time to invest in our families and friends. She now leads our homeschool community, requiring her to use many precious hours after the kids are in bed to plan and get stuff done. In all of this, she seeks to do it in a way that honors Jesus.  

Proven character. 17 years later I can tell you without hesitation that’s Lindsay.  

These are the days. Happy anniversary babe. I love you.