45 Years

June 23, 2015

Watkins Glen has been home to the world of international road course racing since 1948, the course actually winding through the village until 1953. The racing tradition is seen all over the village in the shops that sell trinkets and racing memorabilia, and in the bronze plaques set into the Main Street sidewalks honoring various winners of the contests that have been fiercely contended on the streets and now on the track just outside of town.

Of course, before the races there was the gorge, which is why Linda and I were here today. It is a natural wonder not quite on par with Niagara Falls or the Grand Canyon, but impressive for the sheer beauty that one can admire close up and personal, walking at times behind the waterfalls, and at others, on the very edge of the sandstone walls that rise hundreds of feet above. We are here celebrating our 45th anniversary, which these days is somewhat of an unnatural wonder almost eclipsing Niagara or the Canyon. We hiked all 834 steps and a rise of nearly 500 feet in a mile and a half of the trail clinging to the walls of the gorge, then retraced our steps on the way back down. Only the sissies took the shuttle bus. I am grateful for the health and strength that enables us to undertake such a hike, knowing how unthinkable it would be for many our age. We certainly weren't the best-looking pair on the trail, but we were on it all the way, constantly amazed at the beauty around us, the craftsmanship and courage of those who first laid out and now maintain the walkways.

I remember hiking this same trail as a teenager, but it is infinitely more satisfying today, sharing it with the woman I've loved for over 45 years. Sunday she and I will share with Park church the final segment of pastor Joe's series on marriage, speaking on what it takes to have a marriage that not only lasts, but also flourishes for 45 years. Love grows best when it draws on a love that is infinite; ours often has fallen short, but when it has, we have found God's love overflowing to fill our empty cups, just as the water cascades down the Glen from a source high above. I am grateful for that love which has sustained us and brought us to this place with gratitude and wonder.