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Friday, December 4, 2009

A Marriage Everlasting

Today is Dec 4th--my mom and dad's 56th wedding anniversary. Well it would be their anniversary, but she went home to be with Jesus in September of 2007.

My mom and I did not get along all that well once I hit my teenage years. We fought like cats and dogs, and I of course, was one of the rebellious ones. But there was one thing that my mom did for me that will forever be ingrained in my mind. She gave me the gift of marriage--the example of how a lifelong commitment looks like.

You see, my mom married my dad when she was 15. Back then, in those days, 15 was an appropriate age to get married. By sixteen she had her first child, and by the time she was 23, she had four children! As a young woman, she had a husband, and a houseful of yunguns' to take care of. She did it with style and grace and loved every minute of it.

And then, 14 years later. . . I came into the picture. She got to love on a baby all over again. She was a good mother--as good as one can be under the circumstances of a hell-bent daughter.

As I grew older, I watched her and my dad fight horribly. But I also watched them love each other. I watched them work their fingers to the bones to provide for us kids. I watched them set an example for me of what marriage *should* be like. You have your ups and downs--you fight--you love--but in the end, you stick it out and find a way to make it work.

Once I was married and had a family myself, there were many times when my husband and I would be fighting and arguing, that I would come to her just to talk. Her response would always be the same: "You guys can work this out".

My parents were a wonderful example to me of what everlasting love looked like. Even during the last few years of mom's life. They both loved each other. Just being together in the same room was all they needed. I can only pray that as Stephen and I grow old together, we can set that same example to our children--that in marriage, you will have ups and downs, but in the end--LOVE will prevail.

Thanks Momma and Daddy for the loving example you set for me in the area of marriage. HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!

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