A Time for Confession
Sixty years of Marriage
Now, I will address some issues that need to be addressed before I confess. Some of you came to our 57wedding anniversary dinner and celebration. I had given a detailed instruction on how and who I wanted to thank for being used of God to get us to 57 years of marriage. In my instruction, I had left out the most important name, Jesus Christ.
How my older grandson, John Mark, called me and said, Bob- Bob, that's what they have called me from the beginning, we do not need a fore mat, we will wing it. And that's how it was done.
Why 57 years? It was because neither Jan nor I was sure that we would see a 60th at that time. On December 28, 2020 I went into the hospital believing I had covid 19, on the 27, I had a treatment where they put some chemical in my body at the Seguin hospital that took three hours, one hour and a half, to put it in my veins, and then I had to sit for another hour and a half to see if it was going to have side effect.
The next morning, my brother called to check on me, and I told him I had never felt that bad in my life. Before taking the stuff, I was not feeling bad at all. When I was admitted into the hospital, they told my daughter it was not COVID, but my sodium levels were way below 100. Now, I’m a child of God, and I had no way of knowing that He had a kidney doctor in the Hospital visiting patients, and they grab her and say We've never seen anyone with sodium this low, what should we do. And she told them what to do. The next morning, Dr. Banks came into my room and introduced herself. Mr. Rice, good morning. I’m Dr. Banks, and this morning God woke me at 1:30, praying for you. I began to cry like a small child. My daughter was also in the room, and she began to visit with Dr. Banks, and when I got my composure, I thanked her and told her what it meant to me, that God spoke to her, and she did as instructed. Now that the kind of Doctor I would wish for everyone.
So, when are we going to arrive at your confession, and I feel a few more facts are needed to make you have a better understanding of my confession.
Jan was 18, and I was 23, when we got married; neither of us understood what we were promising in our wedding vows. However, we both understood that we had seen our parents live together for many years and raise a family. But love, I understood lust and commitment, but had no real understanding of love. We were both Baptists, we tithed and had attended Church regularly till marriage.
After attending a Bible Study for six months, I came to understand that the other 5 men knew the Jesus I was informed about. One night after trying for months to make a deal with God, He confronted me as I put the key into my hotel room. At about 10 pm, I heard a voice in my head say, Tonight, the last time my Spirit will deal with you. I ran for the hotel Bible and it opened to Romans 10, and my eyes went to verses 9-10, “because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart, one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.”
That night, my identity was changed. From Baptist to a Child of God, and once more, I had no clue what all that meant. About a year later, Jan told me she had asked Christ to be her Lord. I had not learned at this point, but had read that God loves me. Now I knew what a rascal I was and had a hard time loving myself, much less believing God could love me. My friend John Anderson’s who often calls Jan by the wrong name, but being single, loves to come to dinner and eat her pies. Johnny often would say; Bob, you're too harsh with Jan, and I knew that was true. Once more, I was learning how to allow God to show His love for me.
So, my confession is that for many years, I was searching for how to be loved, and Jesus began to show me. My first mentor, Jack Archer, said I want you to read this book. It was “Faith is the Victory.” My eyes were open to how much God loves you and me. And over the many years and great men God sent to teach me how to love my wife, Carrol Ray Jr. was used to open my eyes to the key to love, Jan, ask Jesus to love her through me. And I did, and He did as promised.
We both have had many people ask us what the secret to 60 years of marriage is, and I have never told the truth; it had not one nothing to do with our actions. It had everything to do with Jesus, who lives in us, giving us the desire to obey him, and I now know how to love, Jan. She is not only my best friend, but we have become one. And in our thirties, I almost left my wife and little girls. It haunts me that I could have lost what God has done for us and allowed us to be part of watching Byron and Natalie raise our two grandsons to become men who love the Lord.
So, my confession is that the reason for 60 years of marriage is Jesus doing it all for us.
From our Back Porch,
Bob Rice
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