When it comes to marriages, we use the decades as milestones. We look forward to celebrating our 10-year anniversary, our 20-year anniversary, 30 years, 40 years, 50 years, 60 years, 70 years.
Herbert and Zelmyra Fisher hold the Guiness certified world record for the longest marriage of any living couple. He’s 104. She’s 102. They have been married for 85 years, and if you want to find out how they did it, you can read their answers to questions at http://twitter.com/longestmarried.
Can you imagine 85 years? That’s longer than most people even live, yet here is a couple that has been married that long.
You know what the different anniversaries are?
First anniversary is paper. I suppose that’s because at that point the best evidence of your marriage is the license itself. You keep looking at the license to make sure it’s true.
Then it goes cotton, leather, linen, wood, and so forth.
Do you know what the eighth anniversary is? Bronze.
Do you know what the 25th is? Silver.
Do you know what the 50th is? Gold.
Bronze, silver and gold.
Reminds me of the Olympics, where athletes from around the world come together hoping they will take home the bronze medal, or even better, the silver medal, or, best of all, the gold medal.
Did you hear about that athlete a few years ago who said he hoped his country won the bronze medal because they already had a silver and a gold and he wanted them to have the complete set? I think he missed the point of the medals.
Just like in the Olympics, the bronze medal of marriage is nothing to be sneezed at. A lot of marriages never make it to the 8th anniversary. Young marriages are fragile. Two people trying to figure out what it means to live with each other . . . some of them don’t make it. One out of eight never see their 5th anniversary, let alone their 8th.
By the 8th anniversary, you’ve survived that 7th year itch they talk about, so that is an important milestone.
But it is nothing compared to making it to the silver, the 25th anniversary.
And even that pales in comparison to making it to the gold, the 50th anniversary.
Most marriages are the result of a physical attraction that grows into romantic feelings, but the physical attraction and romantic feelings won’t get you the gold, the silver, or even the bronze.
What it takes is moving past the physical attraction and the romantic feelings to a commitment of love. That’s the commitment you make when you get married, when you say I do, when you say your vows.
The preacher asks you, “Do you take this man (or this woman) to be your lawfully wedded husband (or wife)?” He’s asking you about your intent. Do you know why you are here at the altar today? Is this what you meant to do?
And then he goes on to ask you about the promises, the commitments you are willing to make.
Do you promise to love, honor and cherish this person?
Do you promise to forsake all others?
Do you promise to cleave to this person?
Do you promise to be, in all things, a true and faithful spouse?
Do you promise to keep doing that, so long as you both shall live?
That commitment of love is what will get you not only the bronze, not only the silver, not only the gold, but the world record, if you can only live long enough.
