Thursday thoughts: Waiting on the front porch

Jill Johnson

I pray we will all remember that no matter where you are or where your journey is taking you, God is already there.”

I can hardly believe that this time next week, Wayne and I will celebrate our 48^th wedding anniversary. From being high school sweethearts, a basketball player and a cheerleader, to having three children, seven grandchildren, and 48 years of marriage.

We are both "semi-retired," meaning he works a little side job cutting grass, and I work some contract work with the Mission Board. Most of my work is done from home, so I am here most days. We both have an app on our phones that tracks where we are throughout the day called Life360. I think Wayne has a love-hate relationship with this app because I can actually see where he goes throughout the day, which might include a biscuit stop in the morning or a milkshake stop in the afternoon.

I do, however, know when he is heading home. I will go sit on the front porch swing or the rocking chair and wait for him to pull up the street and into the driveway. The other day, we were sitting on the porch after he got home, and he made a comment that he liked the fact that he sees me waiting there most days as he drives up the street.

I have thought about this and how it applies to marriage. Our retirement brought about a shift in our marriage. Most days are spent without a totally set schedule. We go to the grocery store together every Friday. We don't set an alarm in the mornings, although our internal alarms still go off quite early. We enjoy watching the hummingbirds together. We have time to sit on the front porch and wait together.

It made me think of the verse in 1 Corinthians 13:13 that says ,"And now these three remain, faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love." We have waited together through health emergencies and scares. We have walked through financial hardships at times. There have been difficult seasons with children that we have navigated through. We have waited together through ups and downs for most of our lives, but we have not waited alone.

We have a relationship that is a cord of three strands - Wayne, me, and God. God was there when we exercised our faith and took our vows 48 years ago. God was there when we stepped into the unknown of being parents. God was there when we experienced financial hardships. God was always there, and He was always faithful.

Our job was to have faith in Him while we waited. We also have had hope as we have waited and continue to walk on this journey called marriage. Hope that there will be brighter days when times were tough. Hope that our hard work and sacrifices will allow us to retire. A trust that God had a plan, and because of that, He provided us with a hope for each new day.

Now, as we sit on the porch, whether we are sitting together or waiting, we still have a love for each other and a love for God. Faith, hope, and love remain with our love for God and each other being the greatest.

Love is the ultimate survivor. It survives the adjustment of marriage, the sleepless nights with young children, the stress of teenagers and mid-life, and the physical aches and pains of just growing old. Love isn't just a feeling, it is a constant but quiet presence of staying. Love is holding hands even when they might be wrinkled. Love is overlooking mistakes. Love is being comfortable with chaos. Love is sitting in silence. Love is choosing each other over and over again. Love is a relationship held together by our Heavenly Father, who loves us both completely. Love is still waiting on the front porch.

The years might have changed our faces, but not our hearts. For all these 48 years of marriage, we have learned that what keeps us together is knowing that wherever we are and in whatever stage of life we are in, God is already there, faithfully waiting for us. He will be there for you as well, waiting with open arms, unending love, and unfailing faithfulness. I pray we will all remember that no matter where you are or where your journey is taking you, God is already there. He is waiting on the front porch with a love that never ends and never fails. I am so very thankful that after 48 years, we are still waiting on the front porch for each other too.

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Jill Johnson finds spiritual applications in her everyday experiences as a wife, mother, grandmother, and Georgian. Jill is retired from the Georgia Baptist Mission Board and is available to speak to your church's women's gatherings. Reach her at jjohnson@gabaptist.org.