A Golden Half Century Ago...

For My Parents....




This month would have marked a very special anniversary.

And just because my dad is no longer here on earth, I couldn't let the month completely slip by without paying tribute to it...and my parents.

Because, if my dad were still alive, this month of August would have marked their
50th Anniversary.

My parents met at a little phone booth, on the corner of Hollywood and Vine. My dad was at the end of a very bitter divorce process, feeling both lost and lonely. When he saw my sweet mom, an innocent and very-young-for-thirty gal using the phone, something compelled him to try and meet her.
And my mom, very cautious and a little shy....saw something in this tall, handsome and rather lonely looking man...and actually agreed to a date!
She claims this was totally out of character for her. But she did insist, that because it was going to be a Sunday, their first date be to church.

(You can read more about this part of their story from my mom, herself, written on her blog in this post.)

So, began a whirlwind romance...and they were soon married just several months after meeting, in August, 1957.

Well, at least the first time.

No, they weren't divorced later, but because this first marriage ceremony was an elopement in Mexico, where my parents strained to understand the quickie ceremony performed in Spanish, they agreed to have a real wedding later that year in December.



Things were not so easy. There were financial issues, health issues (each of them became very ill right from the start, but thankfully recovered) ...and then there were those issues that come when one spouse has been divorced and has children.

My mom's new step-daughters were about nine and fourteen, and surprisingly, it was the youngest that seemed to have the most bitter spirit; a heart that seemed impossible for my mom to reach.
Looking at this from my now adult perspective, I can only imagine how difficult this transition was for all of them involved...but I do know that my mom has always had a tender heart, and I know how hard she must have tried.

Not quite a year later, still newlyweds, my parents spent their first entire summer as man and wife within the walls of their little trailer house....with his two daughters!

Let's just say it gave a whole new meaning of close quarters.

Here is my mother, above, in front of the "infamous" trailer house. I love this picture of her...I would look at it as a child and think how pretty she was!

Somehow, everyone survived...but there were other issues that challenged their marriage.
She wanted a child...my dad, after seeing the bitterness of his own children toward him following the divorce, did not.
Mom mom pleaded, prayed ...and even contemplated leaving him. She spoke with their pastor, who in turn had a heart to heart with my father.
It was God using this talk, that I believe ultimately lead...five years after their wedding...

to me!

I heard that in spite of his initial reluctance to be a father again, it was love at first sight.


In the almost 31 years that my parents were married, up until he passed away in 1988, their lives were challenged with so many different kinds of hurdles.

The two worst were his years of alcoholism, and later, his kidney disease.
But I do know that after my father returned to the Lord, God was with them, strengthening their marriage and making it better than it had been when they were young.


My parents even became ministers, getting their license and pastoring a tiny church as well as mistering to those in prisons.
Even in the last four years of his life, when illness began to take a toll on his body, he continued to try and work, and minister to others...which became a legacy of his determination, love and faith.
My mom, also showed her faithfulness to him by not holding past sins against him...but completely forgiving and loving him, unconditionally.

As I look back over their marriage- both before I came along and afterward, I am now beginning to see something a little more clearly.
There were the trouble years, times filled with turmoil, there is no doubt...
But but the big picture I am seeing is that God's mercy was there all the time.
When they asked for it, He gave it abundantly...redeeming their lives and their marriage.



I'm so glad they didn't give up on their marriage during those very hard years... which they could have easily done.

Because, with God, all things are possible.
And for them, the best was yet to be.

My mom recently turned 80, and he has been gone from her life for the past 19 years.
I know she still misses him incredibly.
But she knows she will see him again one day.

In the meantime, his memories continue to dwell with us.

So, because of this, I wish you, my sweet Mom and Dad,

A Happy Golden Anniversary.

Until you meet again...