A World-Record Marriage

“The year was 1925. Calvin Coolidge was president, Adolph Hitler released the first part of his book, “Mein Kampf,” Charlie Chaplin’s big movie was “The Gold Rush,” flappers were singing and dancing to “Sweet Georgia Brown” and “I’m Sitting On Top Of The World,” the Scopes Trial played out in Tennessee, the first television images were broadcast, Al Capone ruled the streets of Chicago, flagpole sitters were all the rage, Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington were the newest recording artists, the price of a first-class stamp hit 2 cents. And in Hugo, Minnesota, an 18-year-old man named Clarence Vail married his 16-year-old sweetheart, Mayme. They had met in the eighth grade, and marriages at such young ages were more the norm than the exception back then. Unremarkable at the time, that union, now 83 years old and still as strong as ever, has finally claimed a place among the historic events of the year. NBC’s Kevin Tibbles reported for TODAY on Monday that Clarence and Mayme Vail are going into “Guinness World Records” for being married longer than any other living couple on earth. They don’t have a magic formula to explain the success of their marriage. They just took seriously what they said to each other when they stood at the altar. “You take your vows, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer,” Mayme said. “I guess you just stick to it, come what may” (Mike Celizic, TODAYshow.com, March 17, 2008).

There really is no magic involved in having a lasting marriage. It happens when a man and a woman keep the vows they make to each other, regardless of the struggles that they face. Sadly, though, we live in a world where vows are easily broken and marriages are destroyed. We need to be sensitive to that reality. But we also must never fall for the idea that the only marriages that endure are the lucky ones. Lasting marriages are not a hit-or-miss affair. They are built, year by year, as we keep our promises to our mates.

God loves you!

Mike