Cedarville Magazine, Spring/Summer 2016

Cedarville Couples Share Their Joys, Challenges Below is an excerpt from the September 3, 2015, chapel where Cedarville’s President, Thomas White, led a panel discussion onmarriage with long-married faculty couples: Loren ’70 and Karen (Chrestensen) Reno ’74, Murray and RuthMurdoch ’72, and Lyle ’70 and Connie (Clark) Anderson ’73. To view the entire “Q-and-A onMarriage” chapel, go to cedarville.edu/marriagechape l . What do you love most about being married? Connie Anderson: I love sharing life with my very best friend and being able to serve either here or overseas with him through music. Ruth Murdoch: It’s amazing to be able to spend your life and build your life with the person you like best in the whole world. So, there’s no one else I would want to be with, and we just have a lot of fun together. Murray Murdoch: The older you get the busier all your loved ones become, and you still have each other. You draw on each other for strength, for encouragement, and then it’s just great to have a friend you enjoy being with all the time. Lyle Anderson: I like just doing life together. Knowing that our companion is on the same wavelength, loves the Lord, and is on the same trajectory through all of the vicissitudes of life. Just knowing that God is in control, energizing every situation— sorrowful or joyful — and we’re doing it together. Loren Reno: Seeing her faithfulness and the way that she completes me. We walk into a room, and I’m an introvert, and I’m looking for a place to hide, and she engages with people, and I love it. She just completes me, so I think that’s the best part of marriage. What is one of the hardest things you’ve ever walked through as a married couple, and how did that impact your marriage? Connie Anderson: The first thing that was difficult was a miscarriage. We didn’t have parents around, so it was the Lord who gave us the hugs and each other. Going through that with the Lord and each other was a cementing together. Karen Reno: In 1982, [Loren] wasn’t flying anymore [for the Air Force]; he was doing a staff job. Pretty soon, it became extremely demanding. He was working about 90 hours or more a week, and I could not go up to his office because it was a secure area, but I would send our kids in on the weekend. They made Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck security badges for our kids, and they carried their little backpacks and their sleeping quilts, and they spent the day with Dad under his desk. Loren Reno: She started praying that something would change. This went on for months. One Sunday, it started snowing. It snowed all night and all day Monday. It snowed so much, they had to close the base. Then they couldn’t get the snow equipment out, so it was closed for the whole week. I am convinced that God sent a snowstorm to answer my wife’s prayer to keep her husband home. What is the one thing you admire most about your spouse? Connie Anderson: Lyle’s godly character and very gentle spirit. He has led our family with humility, and he continues to do so. Lyle Anderson: Her ability to make everybody she meets, even if it’s the first time, sincerely feel as though they’re the only important person in the world at that point. Ruth Murdoch: I admire his strong Christian leadership. He is a very loving and kind person, and he can tell anybody anything in a very kind way and get his point across, and that is a gift. Murray Murdoch: Her integrity, her strong commitment to Christ, and her absolute loyalty, and when you’re in ministry, those are very vital things. Loren Reno: Her willingness to be submissive and her readiness to lead. She chose to stay at home and raise our children and gave up career aspirations, and yet when I was away, she stepped up and then stepped back when I’d come back. She just handled that wonderfully. Karen Reno: I remember when I met Loren, I felt like I was looking into a soul and his soul had no guile in it. Integrity, servanthood, and excellence all wrapped up [in one person]. God’s Design for Man and Woman in Marriage Last fall, Lyle ‘70 and Connie (Clark) Anderson ‘73 were one of three Cedarville couples who shared their wisdom for an enduring and happy marriage. Cedarville Magazine | 23