About the Couple
WRITTEN BY DONNA ECKHOFF
Dear Higgs' and Davis’s,
As an engineer, Steve had difficulty sharing his ‘feelings’…he was uncertain as to how to go about sharing how he really felt about different topics. He took to heart everything that was shared during our encountered weekend.
I had areas in my life to work on as well. Sharing my feelings came easier for me, but God was teaching me to wait upon His timing…for when and how to share those feelings.
As I’ve been preparing for Steve’s Eulogy and Celebration of Life service in Illinois, I found this beautiful expression of his love for me, as my husband. Steve wrote this for our 38th anniversary in November, 2017.
Written by Steve Eckhoff Happy Anniversary! November 2017
Marriage is like shooting the rapids of a spring swollen river with your covenant spouse with a pair of little paddles. You both may be novices at rafting but you have committed yourself to a lifetime relationship of rafting not knowing what lies ahead because you each have seen Christ keep you safe when you rafted alone before you were married. You have heard that there are rough spots in the marriage river but you’ve only seen calm water or an occasional wake that rocks the raft. There are times where you can lay back and enjoy the beauty of the canyon walls, sharing with your spouse all of your dreams and aspirations and plot out a course of action. You pray for God’s will while you marvel at God’s handiwork and all is well with your souls.
Eventually though you begin to feel the surging of water beneath your raft and you hear the deafening sound of turbulent water just around the bend in the river. Suddenly you are in a rumbling, tumbling rapid, which disorients you and tosses you around so that you both have to cling to Jesus with all your might and you just want to survive. Sometimes the waters slow down and you can enjoy a respite but other times the cessation of one set of rapids is quickly followed by another set of faith jarring rapids.
Donna, there is no one I would rather go through the rapids of life with than you. We have had our share of trials over the last 38 years and we face some now but I always know you are going to be in the middle of it with me, holding on to Jesus and to each other.
Happy Anniversary!
I love you,
Steve
Steve had practiced and learned how to share his feelings….even despite having complicated neurological issues and diseases.
God bless you couples, for all you are doing, that is counter cultural in defining MARRIAGE as 1 man and 1 woman for a lifetime.
Bless you,
Donna Eckhoff
Sun City West, AZ
