10 Best Decisions of our Married Life..,. #1 Seek God's Direction

As I posted yesterday to share some memories of our wedding day 46 years ago, I remembered something I composed some years ago to be part of a document for a niece as she got married in June 2004.  I promised to post those 10 decisions on this blog.

The Top Ten Decisions Guiding Our Married Life

By Uncle John and Aunt Linda Worden

Dear Niece and future Nephew,

Uncle John and I have collaborated on this “Top Ten” list so I am addressing both of you as I share these decisions we have made and followed throughout the nearly thirty-eight years of our married life.  We share these thoughts with you not to seek to impress you or others with our wisdom and brilliance but because we truly feel they contain some nuggets of nurture which you may want to consider incorporating into your married life.  It has been a very joyful process to ponder the path our life has taken and to realize that we have benefited from some of the conscious and unconscious decisions we made as our life together began so long ago.  If there is anything here that is useful to you, we are humbly honored.  We have found that marriage has been a very wonderful experience for us.  We are better people because of the commitment we have to each other.  We have matured and mellowed as our lives have blended.  We share these ten decisions not to imply life is and has been perfect.  In fact, there are decisions we wish could be part of this list but because we have failed, they cannot be.  But for this gift, we are sharing our strengths; not many of our weaknesses.  We just want you to know that some of these things take years to get hammered into habits so don’t require of yourselves immediate maturity.  But starting out with a plan to incorporate your list of firm decisions will limit the potential for regret in the future.  May your love for each other be strengthened each day of your lives together and may you have many years to enjoy your “oneness”.  And if there’s anyway that we could give you some support, feel free to call at any time.

Love,

Uncle John and Aunt Linda

1. We will seek God’s direction in all aspects of our life.

Isaiah 47:17 This is what the Lord says - your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go.”  Both Uncle John (age 12) and I (age 6), became Christians at an early age.  We had already been living our lives as we felt God wanted us to so it was only natural that we would continue in our married life to seek God’s direction for us and our family. 

Matthew 6:33 “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”  This verse is telling us that when we seek to follow God’s commands, the result will be that our needs will be supplied - food, water and clothing.  We have been married for nearly 38 years and we have absolutely no regrets for having followed this decision throughout our lives.  We have abundantly experienced the promises given in these scriptures.  God’s faithfulness has brought us great joy.

Added Note in August, 2012:

What examples share times of seeking God's direction?

1. Job changes and subsequent moves:

• 1st job for JCW - Badger High School Speech Teacher, Lake Geneva, WI - 2 years
• 1st position for LLW - finish undergrad degree at UW-Whitewater, WI - 2 years
• 2nd job - JCW - Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, commute from Racine, WI - 4 yrs
• 2nd job - LLW - School Librarian, Racine Public Schools (Elem. & Jr. High) - 4 years
• 3rd job - JCW - Pastor, Loomis Evangelical Free Church, Loomis, NE - 3 years
• 3rd job - LLW - Homemaker, Mother (3 children-23yrs+), Pastor's wife, Loomis, 3 yrs
• 4th job - JCW - Pastor, 1st Evangelical Free Church, Brooklyn, NY, 4 years
• 4th job - LLW - Pastor's wife, Women's Bible Study Leader, Brooklyn, NY - 4 years
• 5th job - JCW - Pastor, Kettle Maraine Ev. Free Church, Delafield, WI - 14 months
• 5th job - LLW - Pastor's wife, KMEFC, Delafield, WI - 14 months
• 6th job - JCW - Substitute teacher, Hartland, WI - 4 months
• 6th job - LLW - Substitute teacher, Hartland, WI - 4 months
• 7th job - JCW - Director of Family Camp and Adult Ministries, Timber-lee Christian Ctr, East Troy, WI, - 4 years
• 7th job - LLW - Family and Family Camp support, Timber-lee Christian Ctr, East Troy
• 8th job - JCW - Foundation Administrator, Foundations for Laity Renewal, Kerrville, TX - nearly 28 years and retirement unknown...
• 8th job - LLW - 6th grade Language Arts Teacher, Kerrville, TX - 8 years
• 9th job - LLW - Hostess at Laity Lodge, Foundations for Laity Renewal, Kerrville, TX - at least 10 years so far...
• 10 job - LLW - professional Grandmother - Richmond, VA & Detroit, MI - 14 yrs so far.

If you follow these locations, you'll note a few cross country moves.  Each came about in a unique way but each was prayerfully considered and pursued when each of us had a sense of God's peace about the change.  At least one of those job changes was not our choice.  That story would fill a book perhaps but for us is a clear example of how God provided for our needs and provided, in time, the very best spot for each of us to use the gifts he has given us in order to provide for our family and serve Him. 

We now are seeking God's direction to know when John should retire as well as to know how to navigate whatever our future holds related to his diagnosis of Parkinson's Disease.

We will continue to trust the God who has led us so far.