By this point in my life, I have been on quite a few journeys. I do love to travel and experience new things. I’m aways excited to take off on a new journey and always a little saddened when it’s over, but at the same time, I’m always glad to be back home.
Recently, someone asked me what has been the longest journey I’ve been on. That is an easy one to answer. Without doubt, it would have to be my journey from Rainsville, Alabama, to Opelika, Alabama. I know, you’re thinking how that could be. That trip is only about 165 miles, one way, and can be driven in approximately three hours. Nevertheless, it has taken me 438,291 hours to make this trip! I left my beloved Rainsville on June 14, 1975. While we moved to Opelika 18 years ago, it took 50 years to reach last Saturday’s destination. The awesome part is that that was simply one leg of the journey and, prayerfully, there is still more to come. I began this journey at Broadway Baptist Church, in Rainsville, with my new bride, and we completed this first leg of our journey at Lanier Baptist Church in Lanett.
Fifty years ago, Jean Willis became Jean Willis King. Last Saturday, we celebrated our golden wedding anniversary at Lanier. No, we did not renew our vows. Our original ones still suited us just fine. While we have not been by each other’s side every minute of every day or even each day of each year, she has been my traveling companion for half a century now. She has been so much more than simply my companion. She has been and is the love of my life, my soul mate, my best friend ever, the other half of me and, yes, absolutely the better half!
Here’s the funny thing, I never actually asked her to marry me. We began dating the summer before her senior year in high school, and I was about to begin my freshman year of college. We dated for two years before we married. Neither of us can actually remember when, but somewhere along the way we began to talk about getting married. Hey, a friend of ours asked his girlfriend if she wanted to get married by asking if they had any need for a sofa his mother had. Both marriages appear to have worked out just fine!
At first, we planned to wait until we had finished our college educations. That was a goal we did not achieve. Oh, we both completed our degrees, three each, but we did so after we were married. We took turns going. One “paid and prayed” while the other one went to school. Actually, we both worked then, too. That is simply one example of many when we have supported and helped each other in whatever we were attempting.
I am not going to use my writer’s license and tell you that every day has been an easy one. Jean said some days have been long, but the years have been short. I will tell you that the years have been more than wonderful, and I thank God for them all!
I also want to thank Lanier Baptist Church, where I now serve as pastor, for hosting our golden celebration. I want to thank our church members, family and friends, who came to celebrate this milestone with us. I especially want to thank our one-and-only daughter Sara Ashley, for all her hard work and expense in bringing this celebration together. I am truly one blessed man…husband, father, father-in-law, grandparent, etc.!
Bill King can be reached at bkpreach@yahoo.com or 334-728-5514 (office).
