The story has largely been untold, so it could have been lost in the annals of time. But milestones often rekindle memories to share with those unfamiliar. And so it is that a golden milestone has rekindled some of my secluded memories. One is of a dollar bill.

There was nothing special about that day as I recall. Almost every day I found some reason to invite Janice to go for a cup of coffee at Hank’s Grill and this one was no exception. So, I walked that short block to her dorm to find her waiting at the door. Hank’s was only another short block away, and as we began to cross the street, Janice noticed a half-dollar near the curb. It wasn’t the silver kind. It was half of a dollar bill. She picked it up and we continued across the street wondering who might have been so destructive with their money. As we approached the other side, I looked down and near the curb was the other half of it. We noted that it was our first dollar together. We still have it. And that’s the story of the dollar bill. Well, almost.

We had some choices to make about the pieces we found. Each of us could have kept our respective piece as a token of what should be joined together. That might have been a popular option others would have chosen. But the two pieces, neither connected to the other, may have been symbolic, yet there would have been no productive value in either piece. So, our choice was to exchange the two pieces for one as a reserve should the need arise, but more importantly as a symbol of our union that was soon to be. So the two pieces of the dollar bill were exchanged and became one.

In a small way, our first dollar was a milestone in our lives It was one that marked anticipation of our lives together—and so it came to be some 50 years ago. That dollar bill, stored away in a small compartment of a jewelry box, has been around through all of our travels in our married life. And even though it has seldom seen the light of day, it has been witness to all the blessings God has bestowed on us through the years.

He has blessed us with loving children and grandchildren whose lives promise to carry on the legacy of love we have tried to live. We have faithful friends and long, enduring relationships with them; and have enjoyed a comfortable life. But most of all, God blessed us with each other.

And much like our first dollar, God joined us together, and we became one.

 

“You are the light of the world.”