The Love Nest

Today is my parents’ 54th wedding anniversary! I honor them and pray my marriage will follow the longevity theirs has. How I thank the Lord for a happy home to grow up in; a home where I knew my parents loved eachother, and where divorce was never considered an option. Every marriage has its trials and struggles, and I know my parents’ marriage is no different, but they were committed to eachother and to the vow they made on their wedding day.

I remember when their home became the empty nest. All in one weekend my twin sister got married, and I moved to South Carolina to work in a Christian school. For the first couple of days after our departures my mom tells of being sad, and then she looked around her and said, “Hey, you know, this is kind of nice!” She didn’t have the responsibilities she’d had, she had more free time and also time with our dad. Her advice to us over the years has been to enjoy each stage of life. She’s always found something special about that particular time that she could revel in. My parents have made many special memories taking day trips, having special meals prepared and served by the fire or out in their sunroom, enjoying doing little things together – yard work, quilting (Dad does the engineer work, Mom sews!), or taking a drive.

There’s something to be said for just learning to enjoy the journey of marriage; enjoying each day together. When someone recently commented to my husband about our upcoming “empty nest” another man piped up and said, “My wife and I chose to call it “The Love Nest.” Hmmmm, sounds pretty good! You know how it gets that way? A couple has to feather that nest all through the years. While their children are growing up they have to make deposits into the marriage by spending time together, talking, sharing, dreaming, and then one day you wake up and it’s nesting time!

Whether you’ve been married two years or fifty-four, keep feathering that love nest. Make it so comfortable that you and your spouse will treasure every minute together!