ENan and I recently celebrated our 50th Anniversary in Florida, which seemed fitting since we spent our honeymoon at Disney. (Don’t judge! We were still teenagers at the time.) There are far too many memories from the past 50 years to begin to share them in one page – or one decade. ENan has been by my side as we have witnessed God doing amazing things in the churches we have served and in our personal lives. She has carried me through some very dark and difficult days and has danced with me through sunlight and stars. In every possible way she has been my life-partner and my soul-mate.
I gave ENan the artwork pictured above. I love this painting by Suzy Toronto and how the inscription beautifully describes my feelings for ENan. Part of it reads like this:
She lights up a room with her presence.
She listens and she hears.
She is comfort,
She is compassion.
She is heart and soul combined in a most glorious package…
And she brings me such joy!
The Bible tells us that humanity begins with God creating Adam and Eve. Each is created in the image of God and each has their own distinct differences. The thing that strikes me as most significant about their story is the shared nature of their relationship. Eve was created from Adam’s rib, inspiring him to proclaim, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh.” (Genesis 2:23) The connection between them went even deeper, however. The Bible goes on to explain, “That’s why a man will leave his own father and his mother. He marries a woman, and the two of them become like one person.” (Genesis 2:24)
After 50 years of marriage to ENan, our lives have become so intertwined that sometimes I can no longer tell where one of us ends and the other begins. Maybe that is because she is my heart, my soul and my life.
And I thank God for this gift of oneness every day.
-Dr. Jim Baldwin
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