Dear Carrie-Anne

To my loving wife and my dearest friend, Carrie-Anne:

Twenty-three years ago today, you said “yes.” I was overjoyed. And much relieved. I thought I might have really messed things up beyond repair. Thank you. We drove the little blue Nissan Hardbody to the Pampa Mall where we purchased both the wedding rings for $100. Then, after a couple of courtesy phone calls, we high-tailed it to the Amarillo airport, maxed out my brand new credit card on a couple of round trip tickets to Las Vegas, and tied the knot late that night in the basement of the Clark County Courthouse.

Happy Anniversary, Carrie-Anne. Here it is, November 25. Another chance to celebrate our love, another day just for us.

Just for us…

And Whitney, Valerie, and Carley…

And John Todd, Kami, James, and Debbie…

And the entire Sojourners Bible class…

And the four missionaries to La Paz, Bolivia…

And the missions committee and their spouses…

And the elders and their wives…

And the whole Central Church of Christ…

Did I leave anybody out?

It’s ironic, isn’t it, that we got married all by ourselves — no family, no friends, no church — yet because of my vocation and the timing of the Thanksgiving holiday, we are forced to spend almost every anniversary of that wedding with lots of people and many pressing obligations. It serves us right.

Actually, it’s quite beautiful. In fact, I might suggest it’s kinda perfect. Our families and our friends are such an important part of our marriage. These are the very people who encourage us and support us, love us and take care of us. These are the very ones who, I think it could be argued, have helped us grow together in Christ and with one another in marriage. We’re a better couple because of our friends. And the work we do with our church is work we always do together. This is our passion and our joy, our divine calling and our great blessing. A Sunday with our congregation and all the stuff that means for the preacher and his wife is really a wonderful way to celebrate our anniversary together.

I love you, darling. You make me so very happy. You make me confident and bold; you make me feel good. All the time.

Thank you for agreeing to spend the rest of your life with me. And thank you for allowing me to spend the rest of my life loving you.

Your grateful husband. Forever.

Allan