Betsy and I were married in Gainesville, Florida 29 years ago today. I was a soon-to-be-graduate of the University of Florida. She was a nurses aide in a labor and delivery unit. I was headed towards ministry. Campus ministry with InterVaristy to begin with, but eventually looking towards heading overseas to save the world. Betsy was planning on becoming a Nurse Midwife.

Neil Young said that he wasn’t happy to have ended up in the mainstream after Heart of Gold, so he “headed to the ditches.” We were full of youthful idealism and the ditches seemed pretty romantic to us. We lived in a house in the ghetto for our first year together. There was a detox center on the next block and a biker gang behind us. Betsy called for a cab one day and they said they didn’t send cabs to that neighborhood. But we loved it.

InterVarsity sent me to Pensaconservacola, Florida the next year and we started moving to the middle. We spent the next 28 years in the burbs and suburban evangelical churches. Betsy helped me discover my inner parent and we eventually discovered that adopting a bunch of kids was a way to change the world while living in the burbs and working for the man.

So here we are, twenty nine years later, living in the city and looking for ways to save the world. Betsy and I are more in love today than we were when we stood in front of our family and friends at the Community Evangelical Free Church. It hasn’t always been easy, but we’ve stuck with it and we’re really happy to be together.

Happy anniversary Betsy. I love you.

Joe