Yesterday was a great day. It was a day of celebration for me. Some might even say it was a miracle. Yesterday Judy and I celebrated 21 years of marriage!

As I think back to that very warm summer day in 1988 it doesn’t seem that long ago. But 21 years is a long time in our day when the average marriage ends in divorce between seven and eight years after it begins. Of course, 21 years doesn’t seem all that long when I see couples in our own community celebrating 60 years and more of marriage. Nonetheless, I am excited to celebrate another year of marriage with my wife, because it really is a miracle.

Some people may automatically assume that being a pastor I have an advantage over the average citizen. Allow me to enlighten you. Our marriage relationship is a miracle because we have been able to continue through many difficult situations. Like other married couples my wife and I have disagreements. Being blessed with two children only increases the opportunities for disagreement. And that’s where the miracle happens. Even in the midst of heated discussions something else exists within our relationship that keeps us together. This miracle to which I refer is identified by Jesus as he says, “So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.” (Matthew 19:6)

The love that binds a husband and wife together is not born of human will, but of divine union. Though my wife and I maintain our individual personalities we also recognize our new life united in marriage. It is not our love for each other that keeps us together, for indeed that type of love can falter and fail as evidenced by the fact that currently half of all marriages end in divorce. (That’s 50 percent! You may as well flip a coin to see if your marriage will last.) Rather, the love that keeps us together is a supernatural type of love that comes from God himself. No wonder Judy and I are celebrating 21 years — it’s a miracle of God!

The miracle of love that binds my wife and I together as one is born from the love that God showed to all of humanity when he created that first marriage in the Garden of Eden between Adam and Eve. And it continues to be seen in the love that brought Jesus to the cross of Calvary as he gave up his life to cover the sins of all humanity. It is that love which carries Judy and me through even the most difficult times. Do we have a perfect marriage? No. But we have the perfect love of God in our relationship and that means we have forgiveness that has kept us together for the past 21 years and will keep us together “’til death do us part.”

As I celebrate the miracle of God’s love in the marriage that Judy and I enjoy, my encouragement to all who are married is that you focus on that miracle of love in your relationship as well. Allow God’s love to reign supreme in your relationship so that when those difficult days come your way you are able to reach out to one another with that miracle of forgiveness and love. If you are not in a marriage relationship right now, then I encourage you to first experience true love in your relationship with Jesus. Then trust in him to guide you as you seek to find a relationship that will be joined together in the miracle of marriage. God blessed me with a marriage relationship 21 years ago. I look forward to enjoying the rest of my life with Judy in the miracle of marriage.