Legacy

Roman & Hattie Jarmolowicz

Today is Great-Grandma Hattie Jarmolowicz's 100th birthday. It's a birthday she never got a chance to celebrate with us since she passed away on Ayla's birthday this year. She lived a good long life and equally left an incredible legacy: a legacy of 10 children, 24 grandchildren, 33 great-grandchildren and 4 great-great grandchildren. But she left an even greater legacy in caring for everyone before herself. The woman hardly had two nickles to rub against each other, yet she made sure everyone had a pair of booties before they left her house. Or an afghan. Or a scarf or hat. She made sure everyone was fed. She made sure newborns at the local hospital had tiny knitted caps to keep them warm. She was a sweet, fun soul and certainly one to emulate in the hospitality department.

There was another legacy she left behind: a long marriage. Hattie and her husband Roman were married for over 60 years until his death in 2003, and while Hattie would never describe the marriage as entirely happy, Busha said she never heard a cross word spoken between them and knew the marriage was one of mutual respect. Likewise, Brad's paternal grandparents were married and deeply in love for more than 60 years. Brad's parents have been happily married now for 53 years. When these folks married, they did so for life. They took the "till death do us part" part of the vows seriously. There was no out.

Anton & Veronica Zimanek

I am grateful my husband comes from those genes and more importantly an environment where no matter what circumstances they faced, these folks stayed together, remaining true to the vows they made before God. If you talked to all of these couples, they would definitely tell you it was not always a fairytale. There were hard times, arguments, relocations, illnesses and tragedies. But they loved each other and made it work.

Satan hates marriage. Since a marriage is an example of the love Christ has for the church, Satan does whatever he can to derail couples and get them to revoke the vows they've made. And there are true tests of that longevity. Will you work through circumstances together? Will you remain faithful to one another? Satan is counting on your failure in that department, rubbing his hands together in glee, snidely waiting to laugh as couple after couple terminate their marriages. There are countless examples of it where people gave up instead of fighting for what they promised before God. And God says in Malachi 2:16, "For I hate divorce, says the Lord, the God of Israel, and covering one’s garment with violence, says the Lord of hosts. So take heed to yourselves and do not be faithless."

Barbara & Tony Zimanek

Marriage is work. Anyone who tells you otherwise is lying to you. It's remembering what is important to your spouse. It's remembering to love them unconditionally. It's remembering to forgive, share, take care and have fun. And most importantly, its remembering to Whom you belong and vowed to on that wedding day.

But let us tell you, it's so worth it. There is no doubt we love each other more than we did on the day we married, and that is hard to fathom since we loved each other wildly, robustly and passionately on that day. Through our peaks and valleys, we have been married 27 years and we pray we reach the 50, 60 or even 70 year mark of marriage. There is no magic formula to make it easy. It requires commitment, effort and love. But we're in it for the long haul. We believe it's a legacy worth living and dying for.

Discussion: Tell of examples of successful long marriages you know about? Tell about marriages you know that have failed? What caused the failure? Do you think there is an out in marriage?

Prayer: Father, when we make vows on our wedding day to love till death us do part, we pray to be obedient to it. Lord, we know challenges will face us. We pray, Father, you will help us get through them together. Help our marriage be an example of what marriage can be in glorifying you. In Jesus, Amen.