Our Anniversary

Today, June 5th 2007, Mandy and I celebrate our three year anniversary. Perhaps I should rephrase, our anniversary is today – we are really going to celebrate it next Sunday with a theater show and dinner. Tonight we’ll open a bottle of wine and sit back and talk.

I thought I’d take a few moments and recount the last three years on my blog. To say they’ve been the best in my life would be a lie. I’ve enjoyed every minute of my marriage to Mandy, but the overall circumstances of my life have not been overly joyous. In the past three years we have left a church we both loved very much, decided to go to seminary and had to put it off for a year, dealt with Mandy’s migraines, and dealt with me working in a very unhealthy environment. So, life has not been easy. Nevertheless, I am married to the most beautiful woman on the planet and I love her with all my heart.

Life hasn’t been easy, but it has certainly been an adventure. We are still “newlywed” enough that I can remember how we have celebrated each of our anniversaries. Our first year we went to the Zoo in Syracuse, and then to dinner at Outback. Our Second year we actually booked a hotel room and did some of the touristy things out in Corning. We had a blast going to a winery, seeing the Corning Museum of Glass and the Rockwell Museum of Western Art. We also saw X-Men III and went to the Outback. This year we’ll go see The King and I at the Cider Mill Playhouse and then go to, you guessed it, the Outback.

But even more than the fun times we’ve had as we’ve celebrated our wedding, I’ve walked through life with my best friend. Mandy has supported and encouraged me through my share of struggles. I’ve had to deal with the question of if I’m supposed to be a youth pastor, and she’s been there with me. I’ve had to deal with what degree to get at seminary, and she’s been there. I’ve had to deal with working at Davis, and she’s been there. I’ve had to deal with some very unkind people in churches, and she’s been there. I’ve had to deal with being told I wasn’t supposed to be a youth pastor because I “used the Bible too much,” and she’s been there with me. Amazingly, all of this has been only since we were married. We’ve known each other for nine years this October, and she has been my best friend through a great number of painful situations. She is awesome.

This year we will begin at Gordon Conwell, and it’ll be challenging, I’m sure. We’ll have to support and encourage each other in this new endeavor. In some ways its going to be extremely different. In the past Mandy and I have always taken similar classes. In seminary we will take far fewer classes together. She will spend her time learning Akkadian, Ugaritic, and possibly German. I’ll be taking preaching (gag!) and other such courses. We’ll share some courses, and we’ll enjoy those, but it will be different.

So My Love, here’s to another year. Know that I love you with all my heart and that I can’t wait to see what adventures God thrusts upon us this year.

~ by Calvin on June 5, 2007.