Day 14. Silver

Today is my silver wedding anniversary.  25 years ago I was preparing to walk down the aisle in Edinburgh City Fellowship with my Dad.  I was preparing to leave the keys of my Portobello house into the estate agent and move my life over the water to Northern Ireland.  Id already handed in my notice to work,  settled Cara and Katelin (my teenage foster kid and her baby)  into their new home.  It was a day of the most monumental change.  Everything after that day was different.  Not least the fact of finally being married after 34 years of singleness.

To say I wasnt really ready for all the changes was an understatement. The change from single to married was huge and very disconcerting. The change from Scotland to Northern Ireland was much more complex than I had anticipated.  The loss of friends and church family was painful.  But when you are in love and you know that God has a plan then you just adapt and gird your loins and get on with it.

Now, 25 years later our eldest son Sam is about to get married.  In June he will be making promises to the lovely Lydia and setting up his own home with her as an independent married man.  In some ways it hardly seems like yesterday since he was born. In other ways it feels as though he has been an adult for ages and this is the right time for him.   I wonder what the coming 25 years has in store for Sam and Lydia. For certain there will be challenges and growth and hopefully lots of fun.

In Jewish tradition, the number 25, spelled "kaph-hey" in Hebrew, is associated with the concept of "blessing" and is linked to the rededication of the Temple during Hanukkah, as well as the completion of the Tabernacle items.  Its surely no coincidence that this season of upheaval and change in our lives (see the blog post about houses!) is happening in our 25th year.  I trust that it will indeed be a year of blessing and of re-dedication and completion.

Hee hee. Couldn't resist.