1965…It Was A Very Good Year

August, 1960
Canadian National Exhibition

Doris Day is known best for singing Que Sera Sera, the three-verse song that takes the listener through the life of a little girl—from childhood, through young adulthood and falling in love, to parenthood. In each verse the girl asks, “What will I be?” or “What lies ahead?” The chorus repeats the answer: “Que Sera, Sera: Whatever will be, will be: The future’s not ours to see: Que Sera, Sera: What will be, will be.” Originally considered a silly song by Doris, she turned it into a massive hit and used it as her theme song in her television comedy, The Doris Day Show.

Que Sera, Sera… It’s a known fact that we can never look ahead with clarity at the future. Of course, we can make plans, make decisions, and maybe even make an educated guess at what the day will bring or the week or even the year. But then, it’s just a guess. There’s never clarity. The opposite, however, can be said about the past. Certain events are as clear as a blue summer sky, especially if a particular event is life-changing. Carved in stone, never to be forgotten.

Having said that, some memories are just ‘there,’ somewhere in the deep recesses of our minds, gently sprinkled with a splash of details that may or may not be accurate. And in this particular case, it’s okay to have the grey fog of details because it’s the actual event that counts.

Case in point…I wrote a piece of my memoir for my children back in the mid 90s. It was an account of my father’s return home from WWII. I was not yet three when my dad arrived at my grandparent’s home on a cold, wintry February day and, no doubt, this memory is strongly influenced by home movies, pictures and stories I heard while I was growing up. Regardless, the memory warms my heart, despite that fact that my two older brothers and older sister had no problem raining on my parade, informing me that it never happened that way! With tongue in cheek, I defended my memory by quoting Mark Twain, “When I was younger, I could remember everything . . . whether it happened or not.”

If I asked you to pause for a moment and think of an event that changed your life, would you be able to settle on just one?

If you were like me, too many surfaced.

Spiritually speaking, in the autumn I turned twenty-two, I recognized the importance of who Jesus Christ was and is in my life. From that point forward, everything changed. My path was altered and I will be eternally grateful for what Christ did for me. Although our decision to become followers of Christ was done together, Doug and I each walked our own path and yet were/are united. The following became the basis for our marriage:

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,
declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Isaiah 55:8-9 ESV

The following spring, we were both baptized by Rev. Roy Lawson who gave us these life verses:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths.
Proverbs 3:5-6 ESV

Humanly speaking, the birth of my children had a major impact on my life, as well as those of my grandchildren. And even as I write this, I recognized how I have so dramatically simplified those two events. So much more could be said!

October 1, 1964
Engagement picture

However, the children and grandchildren would not have been had Doug and I not met in April, 1960, became engaged on October 1, 1964 and married on March 27, a cold, wintry Saturday in 1965. We never hesitated in the decision to join our lives together and move into the future, too much in love to be concerned about the lack of clarity beyond the moment. The only hint at our future was a sign hanging from our car as we drove away from our friends and family following our wedding reception: Watch Canada grow! It did, by three!

When the calendar flipped from December 2014 to January 2015, we said, “This is our 50th anniversary year!” acknowledging how fast time had travelled. When March arrived and found us enjoying Florida sunshine, we then said, “This is our 50th anniversary month! What a wonderful place to enjoy it.” When this past Monday arrived, we laughingly said, “This is our 50th anniversary week.” Today, we are saying quietly, in wonder and awe, “This is our 50th wedding anniversary. Wow!”

March 2015
Florida

On March 27, 1965, with no clarity for what the future would hold—except our feelings of unshakeable commitment and love for each other—we marched arm-and-arm down the aisle around 2:00 p.m. into the unknown.  Although the future was not ours to see, looking back, with clarity, we can both say, “We’d do it all again in a heartbeat.”

To my husband:
When I look back at that time and place where we began, think of the years we’ve shared: the smiles, the laughter, the love and yes, the tears, I could never have hoped for anything more. I want you to know that you’re still the one I would choose, still the one I’d give my heart to, still the one I love.

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord,
plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
Jeremiah 29:11 ESV