August 16, 1980, Patty and I made the public commitment to one another – “til death do we part.” It happened in the First Baptist Church of Richmond, Texas. Both of our families were present, along with many friends, most of which were the band members I had played with or were currently playing with, not in churches, but places that stayed open ‘til midnight or later. 4 1/2 months later, our lives changed directions, as we knew we needed to change our life-style and committed totally to whatever God wanted to do in us, and through us. He became our first love and to this day, He still is.
This summer, we have chosen to celebrate all that God has done since that day in August of 1980. Too many things to count for sure, but what I want to share with you all, is the number one reason why we can celebrate 40 years of marriage. It is all because of Christ Jesus our Lord and our continual decision to make Him our first love. It has become more difficult to find a marriage that has lasted until death. Why is that true and what is it that has brought such a decline in the value of wedding vows?
Before I decided to write this, I googled marriage and why so many don’t last. The statistic of 50% of marriages end in divorce has actually decreased to 37%. My conclusion about the decrease is that more and more couples have decided to live together to see if it works out. Instead of going into details of why marriages don’t last, as a couple of the main conflicts mentioned were finances and infidelity, I’d rather share with you what Patty and I believe is the #1 reason our marriage has been sustained for four decades is this – doing our best to keep GOD FIRST !
The first and greatest commandment is to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, and soul, and second to that is to love your neighbor as yourself.”
I once heard a Christian comedian say this, “If we spend our time doing the do’s, we won’t have time to do the don’t’s!”
Patty and I have not had the perfect marriage, and the truth is, I don’t think you’ll find one. All of us fail at being perfect, but the key to successful relationships is the constant desire to keep God first in all of our relationships and in all that we do.
Perhaps you are reading this and you are feeling like your marriage needs some priority adjustments. We are here to help! Your Staff at Choice wants to help you, our Choice Family, with whatever relational struggles any of you are going through. Together we are stronger as we encourage one another to be strengthened together with Christ, the One in Whom we can do all things because He gives us the strength to do so! Impacting lives for God’s glory must begin in our homes, thus our families impact other families for God’s glory, thus our children’s children and their children and their children …. To God be the glory!!!
Pastor Steve Evans
