MY WIFE, MY LIFE

          Yesterday my wife and I marked our 45th wedding anniversary.  We are planning to cele-brate with a meal at a nice  restaurant sometime soon (once the restrictions are loosened).  We did splurge in buying a new purple mattress, due to arrive later this month.  In all honesty,  I CAN'T IMAGINE LIFE WITHOUT JEANNIE!  Other than Jesus Christ, my Savior and Lord, my Jeannie has been the greatest gift God could have ever given to me.  I adore her immensely.  I think she's okay with me.     I don’t dare to say that she worships the ground I walk on, but occasionally she presents me with burnt offerings.        

          We first met as students at Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas.  She had transferred from Freed-Hardeman College.     A few months after we starting dating we were engaged, and then a year later we married - - after Jeannie graduated in May of 1975.  Her father officiated at our wedding and my father was my best man.  After honeymooning in the charming little town of Franklin, TN, we returned to Harding for my final year of schooling.  Following my graduation in May, we moved to Ashtabula in September of 1976 to begin work with the West Avenue congregation.  It was there that together we began the Camp Judson Youth Retreat.  In every aspect of my ministry, Jeannie has always stood with me, side by side:  4 years in Ashtabula; 16 years at Parkman Road in Warren; and now 24 years with our Cortland Church Family.  She is the epi-tome of “a true companion".  My wife is the most grateful person I know.  She is able to find good things in the worst of circumstances and she brings out the best in people.  She is a treasure and her worth is far above jewels (Prov.31:10).

          My wife is a lovely person:  God-fearing; Christ-loving; exceptionally smart; and beautiful inside and out.  She has a marvelous sense of humor; she is trustworthy; she patient and kind - - ones who know the both of us well would be quick to clarify that she is quite “long-suffering”.  Her virtues are numerous.  She is everything I ever wanted and more.  And, in case you didn't know it, SHE IS A SPIRITED LADY - - an attribute that has served me well on multiple occasions.  She is no pushover.  If you cross her, you better be prepared to face rebuke.  She will tell you like it is, most of the time in a very nice way, of course.  Once, after locking horns (my horns with her halo), I received a letter:  Dear Terry, I am writing this to you because I write better than I speak, and because you read better than you listen.  I laugh about it now, but believe me, I got the message!  I don't exactly recall what I did to rile her up, but I’m sure that I deserved her wrath. 

          It almost seems impossible to think that we have now journeyed together for 45+ years.  One of the greatest joys in life is to spend a lifetime married to your best friend.  I could not ask for a richer blessing.  In retrospect, while we haven't tasted a whole lot of the exotic in our lives, we've been privileged to savor a plethora of simple joys surrounded by extra-ordinary friends and lots of love.  We have truly cherished the days, months and years - - SO HAPPY TOGETHER.         

                                                                                      Terry Siverd / Cortland Church of Christ