Ride the River

Therefore what God has joined together let no man separate.  Mark 10:9

When it comes to marriage and the choice of a life partner, those of us who have been married to the same person over two thirds of our life have a whole lot of thoughts on the topic!  I’ve heard marriage compared to many things such as a roller coaster ride, a long walk through unknown territory, a joy ride, a struggle, a nightmare, heaven, hell, or just day by day survival.  Recently, however, I was reading a book which I think describes marriage in images to which I can relate.  The book uses a river as an example.

The comparison uses the struggles of Texas rangers during the time in history when they were defending the Alamo.  The  rangers rode in pairs because there weren’t enough of them to ride in larger groups.  The Rio Grande River was a wild and dangerous place at this time, and the choice of your partner mattered because it could determine whether you lived or died.  Out of that experience, Rangers began to use the phrase:  El es muy bueno para cabalgar el rio.  It means He’ll do to ride the river with.  

When I think of marriage, this visual image makes it real to me.  When you ride the river, you encounter rapids, rocks, danger, smooth water, rough water, sad times, happy times, celebrations, mourning, loss, gain, love, despair, anger, good times, bad times, loneliness, and most any other emotion that can come to mind.  If you have someone that will ride the river  with you to share the responsibilities, the dangers, the excitement, then you are most fortunate.

It takes a team to maneuver the river of life, and I consider myself most fortunate to have married a great rider of the river.  During our forty seven years together, Randy and I have ridden a lot of rivers, and they have run the emotional track from overwhelming joy to unspeakable sadness. Each and every one has been a gift from God, and I treasure all the memories. Years ago Randy promised me two things;  you will never be rich, but you will never be bored!  So far that’s exactly right!

Marriage requires work, and being the Minister’s family puts a little extra pressure to always be on your best behavior, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything!  I have loved every minute! (well almost)

On the occasion of our forty seven years together, I’ll just say thank you, Randy, for riding the river with me.  It has been and continues to be a great ride!  I love you!

He’ll do to ride the river with, but he’ll also be the one I’d trust with my life.

The inspiration is from Thunder and Rain by Charles Martin.