Another Walk Around the Lake. Another Lap Around the Sun.

Celebrating another year of grace...and appreciating the gift of godly examples.

On our first date, Jeff saved my life.

He invited me to join him on a hike, and the contrarian in me loved the idea because it wasn’t a cliche “dinner and movie.” It was a chance to be outside, and to talk while we walk.

So, on the following Saturday, Jeff took me to a popular trail in the foothills north of Pasadena. The trail paralleled a stream, and all around us I could hear the sounds of nature. The waters rushing beside us. The breeze rustling through trees. And even the buzzing of bees somewhere unseen.

I was looking around, trying to locate where the sound of bees was coming from, while also examining the stream to see if it was deep enough, in case I needed to jump in to escape a swarm of killer bees.

With all of this ambient noise, I failed to hear the rattle in front of me. Jeff grabbed me and pulled me back as I was about to step on a rattlesnake, coiled and ready to strike. (You can picture here a near-swoon moment.)

Ever since our first date, we continue to go on hikes when the weather is nice, and we have turned most of our anniversaries into more hikes. This year was no different.

To celebrate another lap around the sun together, we found a nearby lake in South Carolina and went for a hike. While walking along the shady path, we talked about our favorite moments from this past year. We both agreed that some of our favorite weekends were the times our kids came home from college and brought several friends with them. We loved being The Hughes Hotel while serving our kids and their friends. It reminded us of the influence a dear couple had on us, early in our marriage.

Bob and Diana were an elderly couple in our small church. Their love for God, each other, and the body of Christ was evident in everything they did. They invested not only in their own grandchildren, they invested in everyone’s kids. They loved to invite our family over for Saturday morning breakfast, where Diana put out her best dishes and placed fresh flowers in vases.

They served our young family blueberry pancakes, scrambled eggs, hash browns, bacon, toast, and orange juice. They did this with a lot of families in our church because that was the kind of people they were. But their investment in our children meant a lot to us because our kids didn’t have grandparents in their daily lives.

As a young married couple, Jeff and I agreed that we wanted to be like Bob and Diana when we grew up. Today, we still talk about Bob and Diana, especially on our anniversaries. Are we becoming more like them as we get older?

While walking around the lake, Jeff and I reminisced about the weekends our kids came home from college and brought some friends with them. On those Saturday mornings, we set the table with dishes (not paper plates) and put fresh flowers in vases and lit real tea light candles (not battery-operated ones). Jeff and I then served a spread of blueberry pancakes, scrambled eggs, hash browns, bacon, toast, and orange juice. Our kids and their guests (all young adults now) would sleepily come to the dining room table in the morning and dive in.

We loved it.

For us, Bob and Diana became the example we wanted to follow. Perhaps you have parents you are grateful to emulate. Or maybe, like us, you come from a long line of generational brokenness, yet you’ve found a sweet older couple at church who are a godly example of what it looks like to go the distance with Grace as your guide.

It is yet another reason why we are convinced that being part of a local church body is so important.

Thankfully, on our recent anniversary hike, no rattlers crossed our path. But we did meet this cute little guy.

And that is what we love. Sweet surprises in unexpected places.

Whether we’re hiking through the woods around a lake or strolling across a pier over the Atlantic, we are grateful for another lap around the sun. Together. With Grace as our guide.

Shalom.