The summer between my junior and senior year of college, I attended a month-long Christian camp on Catalina Island. After several weeks of Bible study and training, our group hiked from our rustic campsite to the beaches of Avalon to share our faith. As we climbed the hilly terrain to get there, Milt, one of the university students, took my hand and pulled me up the steep slopes.
While in Avalon I commented to Milt, “Isn’t it silly that people sing, ‘Catalina Island, the island of romance’?”
Although Catalina didn’t seem romantic then, a year later I again took Milt’s hand—this time in marriage. Kneeling together at the church altar on our wedding night, Milt prayed aloud, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15 KJV).
Fast forward several decades to the present. As we walked arm in arm into church, a gentleman in a wheelchair asked, “Still holding hands?”
“Yes,” I replied, “for forty-six years, and we hope for many more.”
Genesis 2:18 (NIV) says, “It is not good for the man to be alone.” And I would add, it’s not good for a woman, either. Marriage is God’s idea, and He has been faithful to help us throughout ours.
Now, with arthritic knees and aching joints, we not only express love by holding hands, we literally hold each other up. “Two are better than one . . . If either of them falls down, one can help the other up” (Ecclesiastes 4:9–10 NIV).
I’m glad I took Milt’s hand as a young bride. And I’m glad—with God’s continued help—we still walk hand in hand.
About Lydia Harris
Lydia E. Harris is happily married to Milt, her sweetheart for 48 years. She has two married children, five grandkids, and is the author of a Bible study, "Preparing My Heart for Grandparenting" (AMG Publishers, 2010 release). She's also a tea enthusiast and writes the column "A Cup of Tea with Lydia."
