I don't know if it is true or not, but I have heard that the Chinese have a somewhat different way of keeping track of birthdays than we do here in the USA. I'm told that they start counting ages from the time of conception, so they celebrate a birthday 9 months earlier than we would. As I said, I don't know if that is true or not, but I like the idea!

This past Friday, my wife, Melody, and I celebrated our 39th wedding anniversary. However I prefer to think of it as having been together for 40 years. You see, we were engaged for a whole year before we were actually married. Not many folks have that long of an engagement now days, but then it seems that fewer and fewer people are staying together that long.

On our actual anniversary, I had to work until five and she had to work from noon till nine that evening. I don't know if it's a sign of how long we have been together or not, but we were able to meet for her supper break at a Wal-Mart near where she works. We dropped her car off to get the oil changed and went to Subway for a quick sandwich. We didn't do anything fancy, but we did get to spend some time together and that's all that really mattered. That Saturday, we left to go do some touristy things and visit a lot of shops. In other words, we got to do what we like to do best: spend time with one another. We were gone for three days and never once turned on the radio in the car. We talked, she read Scripture aloud to me to keep us caught up with our daily bible reading, and we talked some more.

I guess that's something else it doesn't seem like many folks do anymore — talk to one another and just spend time with one another. My wife is my best friend. She always has been and I like it that way! Many years ago, Solomon wrote, "Let your wife be a fountain of blessing for you. Rejoice in the wife of your youth" (Proverbs 5:18 NLT). When was the last time you took time to "Rejoice in the wife [or husband] of your youth"? How many of us just turn on the television or radio and lose ourselves in what is broadcast?

To say that our life together has been an adventure is almost an understatement. We've raised a family together, traveled and lived in foreign lands together, survived health problems together, rejoiced together, and cried together. For forty years, the one thing our lives have never been is dull. I don't know if life is what you make of it, or if life is what life fashions in you. What I do know is that I agree with a saying I read on a sign in front of a church building awhile back that said, "The meaning of life is to live it"!

Life together has been an adventure!
The wise man of Ecclesiastes wrote, "Whatever turns up, grab it and do it. And heartily! This is your last and only chance at it ...." (Ecclesiastes 9:10 Message).

So how are you embracing life? Hopefully as a series of adventures. Life is sometime difficult, but it's always easier if you have your best friend with you. Some may think that 40 years is a long time, but for us, it's just the beginning!