Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad!

My mom and dad are celebrating their 54th anniversary today. Below is the speech I gave at their 50th wedding anniversary party in 2005. Every word still holds true...

Mom and Dad
50th Anniversary
January 8, 2005

Tonight we are honoring my parents, Lois and Allen Brown, after fifty years of marriage. They have a marriage that has endured fifty years because they made their relationship their “number one” priority.

In the same manner, family was always the center of our activities when we were growing up. We spent time together. We laughed and cried together. Our family vacations were spent camping, water-skiing, and building great memories.

My mom and dad have also made our extended family and their friends a priority. They have always been available to lend a hand to every one of us in this room, whether we were working on home improvements, moving to a new home, celebrating weddings and babies, or mourning the loss of a loved one—my mom and dad have been there. They are two of the most generous, thoughtful, and dependable people I know.

Thank you, Mom and Dad, for showing us--your children, your grandchildren, and now your great-grandchildren--how to live with honesty, integrity, and love.

Matthew 6:19-21 says, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Your treasure is in people, in relationships, but especially in your relationship. Your love for each other has been evident throughout the years and remains strong today. Congratulations on your first fifty years together—here’s to the next fifty!