Friday, August 18, 2006

Five Years: A Mini Milestone

Five years ago today, after a brief courtship and engagement, Sami and I were married in a ceremony performed by my grandfather, at the small country church where we met, and where her grandmother served as the organist for over 60 years.

Five years... a lifetime and a blink. It seems like she has been a part of my life for as long as there has been a me, like I've written her in to all of my memories. It seems, as well, like I hardly know her, like I wake up each day next to a mystery.

I have no words to describe her enduring faithfulness, or her faith in me which gives me faith in myself. She saw some good in me, and claimed it, bringing it out and making it a part of me. She has given me the strength to live a life of conviction, following and trusting my heart even if it doesn't always lead us to the most obvious places.

She models for me a life of passion and a life of integrity, performing daily miracles through her work with autistic children. She has given me faith in the human race, a race which though it has produced so many horrors has also produced such a wonderful, if complicated, character.

David Byrne once wrote that a revolution can start, slowly but surely transforming the world, one person at a time, in an encounter with beauty. She is my beauty. She fuels my revolution. Without her I am an angry and directionless bundle of bitterness and resentment. But with her my life has purpose and meaning, because one such wonderful person was willing to share it.

Happy Anniversary, Sami. I don't have much, but all I have and all I am is yours.

4 comments:

Amy said...

Happy anniversary to both of you!
Amy

PV said...

Happy anniversary!:-).May many days like this to come.

Anonymous said...

Hello, Chris. I stumbled across your site as I was doing some small business research for my wife. I looked up a name of a confection company, Catherine's Belgian Chocolates, and you site came up. As I read your profile, I empathized, somewhat. While age-wise we are generations apart, my 23 year stint as a minister has resulted in a career change at age 54. I am moving into education, public education in JCPS. My profile could be categorized--a menu of opportunities--along with gourmet cooking, writing/publishing, and substitute high school teacher. Good luck in your own puruits....
A fellow traveler on the vocational path...
Mike Childress

Sandalstraps said...

Thank you, to each of you. WEe had a wonderful anniversary.