This post is a departure from my normal Monday Musing Devotional. My parents' will be celebrating a major milestone in their marriage on Wednesday and I wanted to honor them.
Frank has repeated over the years that he was in love with her before she was with him. She was a shy, skittish, skinny little thing and he was red-headed, brash and self-assured, traits instilled in him by virtue of being the pampered baby of the bunch. Apparently she spurned his marriage proposals more than once! But following the War to End All Wars she finally gave into his declarations of love and they married on August 31, 1946. Yes, my dear parents have been married for a total of 65 years!!
Monnie was 19 and Frank was 21 when they set on their life's journey together. Today, they are 84 and 87 years young. Mom and Dad still live in their own home and "take care of themselves". My 4 siblings and I are so blessed to have them still here with us and in relatively good health.
Their 65 years have been filled with every imaginable sorrow and struggle-they lost their 2nd child/1st daughter to pneumonia before her 1st birthday. They lost a business in the oil bust in the early 1960's. Mom fought breast cancer over 30 years ago. But, their life together has been filled with great joy and victory. They raised 5 distinctly individual, healthy, productive children. They have 16 grandchildren, 12 great-grand children and 1 great-great-grandson.
Mom and Dad's legacy of faithfulness to each other and to their Lord and Savior has been manifested in all their children serving the Lord, a son who is a pastor, 2 grandchildren in ministry and more to come. The marriages of their children are strong and range in longevity from 6 years to 39 years. Their grandchildren are following in the path of faithfulness to marriage as well. Have there been struggles? Of course-but we try our best to remember our heritage and work through those struggles with the help of our faith.
This is one of "their" songs from way back when.
Frank and Monnie met in a dusty little town in West Texas when Monnie was 13 and Frank was 15. She was the 4th child of 5 and her daddy was the new preacher at the local Assembly of God. Frank was the youngest of a family of 5 kids. Like most families of the time, they were both from poor families who lived "hand to mouth". Both of them had parents who believed in the power of prayer and they never went hungry. This heritage of prayer has sustained them both throughout their lives. I remember stories of them gathering around a supper table as kids and praying for their need for some groceries only to hear a knock at the door and finding a box of food on their porch and the one who had left it had vanished.
Frank has repeated over the years that he was in love with her before she was with him. She was a shy, skittish, skinny little thing and he was red-headed, brash and self-assured, traits instilled in him by virtue of being the pampered baby of the bunch. Apparently she spurned his marriage proposals more than once! But following the War to End All Wars she finally gave into his declarations of love and they married on August 31, 1946. Yes, my dear parents have been married for a total of 65 years!!
Monnie was 19 and Frank was 21 when they set on their life's journey together. Today, they are 84 and 87 years young. Mom and Dad still live in their own home and "take care of themselves". My 4 siblings and I are so blessed to have them still here with us and in relatively good health.
Their 65 years have been filled with every imaginable sorrow and struggle-they lost their 2nd child/1st daughter to pneumonia before her 1st birthday. They lost a business in the oil bust in the early 1960's. Mom fought breast cancer over 30 years ago. But, their life together has been filled with great joy and victory. They raised 5 distinctly individual, healthy, productive children. They have 16 grandchildren, 12 great-grand children and 1 great-great-grandson.
Mom and Dad's legacy of faithfulness to each other and to their Lord and Savior has been manifested in all their children serving the Lord, a son who is a pastor, 2 grandchildren in ministry and more to come. The marriages of their children are strong and range in longevity from 6 years to 39 years. Their grandchildren are following in the path of faithfulness to marriage as well. Have there been struggles? Of course-but we try our best to remember our heritage and work through those struggles with the help of our faith.
This is one of "their" songs from way back when.
Aww Happy Anniversary to your Parents! What a milestone. They are blessed for sure. I loved your little backstory. So adorable.
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