August 14, 2019

August 14, 1965, is the pivot date around which all of life revolves for Carol and me.  Every significant event before and since is connected with that date.  Both of us are quick to point out our heritage of Godly parents, early-in-life trust in Jesus as Savior, abundance of opportunities to learn and grow and certainly many supportive friends.

But our marriage brought everything past into a new focus and set us on a course that changed our life forever.  It was no longer “I” and “me” but rather “we” and “us.”  “My” turned into “our” and while we have maintained our identity as individuals, the world knows us as “Carol and Bill” as it should be.

We both know that I was in love with Carol long before she thought any more of me than just a nice guy.  I had no confidence that I could ever even ask her for a date, but in God’s providence, He put us in the same workplace where we became good friends.  We agree that the best preparation for marriage is to become good friends.

In many ways, we are as different as two people could be.  We learned how to make our differences work to bring creativity to our relationship.  We committed to honesty and determined never to let a disagreement linger without resolve.  We love our children and extended family but have kept our first priority our love for each other.  While Carol respects my leadership, we make decisions together.

God knew far better than me the kind of wife I would need to patiently allow my rough edges to mellow and to support the kind of schedule our life in ministry requires.  I can only hope that Carol feels a portion of the gratefulness that overwhelms me on this special day of celebration of our wedding anniversary.  I love you, Carol.

-Pastor Bill Ehmann

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