OUR 1,325,376,000 SECONDS OF MARITAL JOURNEY

by: Norberto Betita

I was already awake early dawn but I tried not to disturb my wife in her most sound slumber. I waited until she woke up and offered her early morning prayer before I finally hugged her tight and greeted her with more ‘I love yous’ not for a daily routine but for our 42nd wedding anniversary. While she was preparing our breakfast, I offered my personal prayer in deepest expressions of gratitude to Heavenly Father for giving me and my wife such long years of togetherness and unbounded love. I burst into tears as I thank God for all the cherished memories of enduring the many ups and downs in our marital journey. As she finished her cooking and went back to our room we held hands together and again offered our thanks to God for all that He has blessed us through the years. I again have my tears flow as I thanked Him for every single thread that He added each day to our marital bond as to help us endure the mounting challenges of our marital relationship and with the sealing promise that we will be together for this time and throughout all eternity.

On this our 42nd wedding anniversary we would have been married 15,340 days including the ten leap years, in all equivalent to 368,160 hours; 22,089,600 minutes or a total of 1,325,376,000 seconds! I thought that if perchance the last number could only be converted into pesos that should have been more than enough to buy the suggested modern 42nd wedding anniversary gift---an improved real estate---for my ever dearest wife. Yet in my mind was the wondrous thought that those every minute moments of equally most joyful and extremely challenging experiences are not worth even that much in cash as it is to us priceless. Every second of that long 42 years are of infinite worth for it is during those instances that the stones and mortars---joys and sorrows; sunshine and shadows; calm and winds; health and sufferings; goodwill and tribulations---of the family foundations that is built to endure into the eternities, were put in place. No amount or type of a gift can ever match the worth of the glow and radiance that glitter from a refined marital relationship as it passes the intensified heat of the refiner’s fire. For me and my wife, a loving hug, a tender kiss and most sincere expressions of love are precious enough to gladden and brighten our day of celebration.

In all my life, I have always considered my ever dearest wife as the best things that ever happened to me. Our children might have thought that she’s perfect as a wife, or that I am perfect as a husband that they always compare our relationship with their early marital challenges and experiences. Of course we’re not. We are a partnership of equally imperfect beings, but with a common goal. We have so many of good times as well as bad times. As it is with them in their early marriages, in our times we sometimes also build walls between us. We have troubles and misunderstandings, failures and successes, yet we tried to remain focused in our common marital objective which helped us to resolve our differences. We together submit our burdens to the ever loving Heavenly Father for help and throughout those long years He never had forsaken us. He has provided us with additional daily thread to add to our marital bond and so strengthen the knot of our relationship. These daily strengthening threads roll up and enlarge even more by loving, forgiving, repenting and understanding each other.

The echoes of the challenging and inspiring past still remain fresh and sweet in the memory, while the joy and challenges of the present create an added cupola to protect us from the remaining storms of our lives. Throughout those 42 years we learned and understand that marriage is not a journey of ease and comfort but of finding joy in the midst of unvarying trials and tribulations. We came to realize that as we center our relationship in the gospel of Jesus Christ the adversary will have no power to break the bonds of our marital union no matter how powerful and formidable his attack may be on our relationship. It is only when we allow anger and hatred; selfishness and greed; and marital infidelity to have place in our hearts that we become subjects and easy converts and enlists to the devil’s ever alluring temptations. 

As we are getting older, we look forward to be able to celebrate our golden wedding anniversary. My darling wife would say that we might not be able to reach that length of time. I assured her we would. I have faith in Divine Providence. That has been my wish from this day and onwards. I am most optimistic that our PHP50 worth of wedding reception will reach a milestone of 50 years of enduring marital love, unity, harmony and peace.

To my ever dearest and infinitely beautiful Letty, I express my deepest gratitude and heartfelt appreciation for her unbounded love that defies all barriers along the path of our 1,325,376,000 seconds of marital journey. I hope that my daily expressions of love bestow a parallel as we walk together far into the realms of eternity.

HAPPY 42ND WEDDING ANNIVERSARY TO MY EVER DEAREST LETTY!