August 1, 1953

August 1, 1953 marked a life changing event for many. Nearly a year previously Charley Brown had approached Betty Clement and requested that she marry him. They had never dated. They had merely worked together for 7 months. Yet, somehow this Rhode Island native summoned the courage to ask. The rest as they say is history.

August 1, 1953 was the beginning of a marriage, the beginning of a grand adventure, and the beginning of a friendship. “God has been good. He has taken care of us”, my grandmother says. She then shares the story of how the two of them met, worked together in M.R.A, and then abruptly married. My grandfather, now being in the early stages of Alzheimer’s, grins with a twinkle in his eye at the all but lost memories of love and faithfulness. It has been 56 years now and despite my grandfather’s illness he still remembers to say “I love you” every night before they fall asleep.

I know very little. What I do know is that love can’t just be the feeling of a quickened heart beat when the other is near, not your needs being met, nor should love be fleeting. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 also has much to say about love. However, when I think of love I think of that wrinkled and scarred old couple hand in hand, confessing how God has been good to them through the entirety of their 85 years on earth. It has been the grace of God and a choice to love Him and each other that has pulled them through. My grandfather had a stroke a few days ago. One out of maybe a handful of times he has been in the hospital. As my grandfather’s health declines, my grandmother continues to fight on for the both of them. I have no doubt they lay hand in hand, vows upheld, ready to meet their father. This my friends, is love. In 65 years, I hope to be so fortunate.

-DB