I am blessed today to be celebrating the anniversary of a beautiful and wonderful, committed relationship that I share with the kindest, sweetest, most loving man that I have ever known, Mr. Kenneth T. Marshall. For the past two years he has been there for me, taken care of me, supported me, loved me unconditionally, listened intently to every sermon that I've preached, believed in every dream that I've talked about, walked with me through every difficult moment that I've experienced, loved and celebrated my kids and my grandkids, helped me babysit the (grand)girls, gone to every local gig that my boys have played and cheered them on (even into the wee hours of the morning), helped me see about my parents and treat them as if they were his own, respected and honored the mothers of my children (especially Debye who still works with me), fixed everything that needed fixing in my house, has virtually transformed my parents' home into a showplace, helped the tech team set up and tear down for services before we got a permanent building for CITNE, helped us move into the building when we got one, fixed things there when they got broken, learned to run camera for the live streaming, nursed me back to health when I've gotten sick, stayed with me in my room when I was in the hospital, stayed up late with me for appointments without complaining even though he had to get up early for work the next morning, checked on people in the church and contacted them when they needed ministry, laughed with me, cried with me, and has just basically been the best partner that I could have ever asked for.
Every day of these last two years has been filled with happiness and a joy that I never thought I would experience in my lifetime. We have enjoyed every single day that we've been together, whether travelling (which we love to do), or just hanging out watching old movies together (I've made him sit through every one of my favorites).
My kids love and respect him, my friends appreciate him, my parents rely on him, my granddaughters adore him, and my congregation(s) have nothing but admiration, high esteem and affection for him.
Ken is one of the most down-to-earth, unpretentious, good-natured, optimistic, and sweet-spirited individuals that I have ever known. He is a great father to his sons, is an awesome son to his father, and was the principle caretaker for his mother in the last years of her life, caring for her right up to her death from Alzheimer's disease 3 years ago.
He always believes the best in people (including me), and never has a bad thing to say about anyone. There is no drama with him. He's always in a good mood. He has a true servant's heart, and his selflessness is inspirational.
He's an old-school, Southern Gentleman with very good manners. I've never met anyone more thoughtful. He can fix absolutely anything, is an incredibly hard worker, and does every job, from the biggest to the smallest, in total excellence.
He is loving, attentive, romantic, and does everything within his power to make every aspect of my life absolutely pleasurable. Making me happy is of the utmost importance to him, and he has been supremely successful in making that happen.
I've known that I was gay my entire life, but I didn't come out until I was 52 years old. So I honestly didn't know if I would ever be able, at my age, to find a man that I could love and admire who could accept and fit in with my very unusual life...someone who was mature enough to be able to share me with kids, grandkids, an ex-wife who is still very involved in my life, and all the many, many people who demand my attention for ministry, literally 24 hours a day.
But I did find that man, and he's the man that I'm in love with...a grown man of integrity who also knew his whole life that he, too, was gay, but tried to be something that he wasn't to please everyone else and to be accepted...a man who has gone through his own difficult and unique journey toward authenticity in his personal life, and has gotten to the other side of self-revelation without any shred of bitterness or regret...a man who also waited a very long time to come out, and also wondered if he would be able find someone to love and spend the rest of his life with at this late date.
In a word, we are both very, very thankful that we found each other.
Did God send Ken to me?
Yes, definitely.
Does God approve of the life we have together?
Not a doubt in my mind.
Are we blessed as a couple?
More than you can imagine.
Is this a Happy Anniversary for us?
Well, what do you think?
If you have a different opinion or viewpoint on these things, I can only tell you that you came too late to convince me otherwise (and, yes, I've read the whole Bible, and I know what Moses and Paul said)...
The bottom line is that I know who Ken is in my life, and I know where he came from...all good gifts come from the Father of Lights, and he is a very, very good gift to me.
Happy Anniversary, Kenneth.
I love you with all my heart.
