“Our Marriage: Sixty-Four Years And Counting: A Testament To Enduring Love” ($10.99 in paperback, independently published; also for Amazon Kindle), by Nancy Marie Barnes, is not a guidebook for others but rather a celebration of God’s goodness.
In over seventy prayerful reflections, Nancy writes “as a God-fearing woman, believing in holding good morals and values and desiring to be the very best person possible—who loves the Lord with all her heart, mind, and soul—and who is incredibly in love” with Jim. (The two were married at St. Thomas More Catholic Church in Paradise.)
Marriage is a sacred vow. “We knew we were both humans with faults,” Nancy writes, “and when things were going bad, we’d hang in there and work through any issues. In any disagreements we addressed the problem, not with the attitude of who was right and who was wrong but the best way to solve or address it.”
“The moment I recognize that Jim is upset, it does not matter why. I ask, ‘Do you want to be helped, heard, or hugged?’ I may not word it just that way, but I know the gist.”
Not all their dreams came true. “Although we didn’t have children (not by our choice), we scored well in … serving children and parents in the elementary school setting. Actually, both of our careers and our marriage made good our commitment to ‘spiritual good.’”
There are special moments, “sitting close, kissing, hugging, listening to soft instrumental music, or quietly listening to the crackling fire in the fireplace, just the two of us, thanking the Lord for all His gifts, this day and this lifetime, seen and unseen. We are blessed,” Nancy writes, “with ‘Taste of Heaven’ moments.”
