Golden

Ted and Helen
July 1, 1961

Here we are at the start committing to each other
By His word and from our hearts
We will be a family in a house that will be a home
And with faith we'll build it strong

Now to be a family we've got to love each other
At any cost unselfishly
And our home must be a place that fully abounds with grace
A reflection of His face


We'll build a household of faith
That together we can make
And when the strong winds blow it won't fall down
As one in Him we'll grow and the whole world will know
We are a household of faith

Fifty years ago today, at Lower Falls Baptist Church in St. Albans, West Virginia, Ted Walborn  and Helen Mash, my parents, committed their lives to each other before God, their family, and their friends. Marriages that last for fifty years are rare--it seems right that we should call them golden anniversaries. We have much to learn from couples who reach this milestone about what it takes to make a marriage last for so long. 

Perhaps the finest quality of my parents' marriage has been their devotion to God. I can't remember when I didn't know about Jesus, when I wasn't learning Sunday school songs, when our family did something other than go to church on Sunday. My parents modeled their faith in every aspect of their lives--as a husband and wife, as parents to us children, as family members to their own parents and siblings, to their coworkers and friends. I'm sure they would tell you that God has held them together, in good times and bad, and He is the one who has helped them keep the vows they made to each other fifty years ago.

Not only have they served God, they have served others through their marriage. They cared for us children physically, emotionally, and spiritually so that we lacked nothing that we needed. They gave us the gift of music and then sacrificed themselves to help us develop our talents. I have always known that whatever I truly needed they would move heaven and earth to provide. They put action to that knowledge when my first husband died in 1996 and they moved from their lifelong home in Ohio to Michigan to help me raise Katie and Jonathan. Now Katie and Jonathan know the blessing of having been served by their grandparents. When my sister, Kristi, died from injuries she sustained in a car accident in 1990, we all were devastated. We still grieve her loss today. But after a few years, my parents took up God's call to comfort others with the comfort they received, and they have ministered to many other parents who have lost children and helped them through the darkness of their grief.

And now I watch them, as they grow older, serving each other. A few years ago, Mom had a run-in with cancer (thankfully she is cured now). Dad has experienced a series of surgeries, minor to major, over the past few years--on his ears, his knees, his back. And they are still there for each other, looking out for one another's needs--serving one another.

Today people talk about things being right for them, being fulfilled, finding themselves. Marriages often come to an end in the pursuit of these goals. My parents--and others who live and love for fifty years and more--inspire us to see that a marriage that lasts is a marriage focused outwardly--on God, others, and each other. 


Their fifty-year commitment to each other sets an example and inspires us all to a greater commitment to God, our spouses, and our families and friends. At a time when marriages are treated as disposable commodities, as easily discarded as yesterday's newspaper, my mom and dad have demonstrated that marriage is a rare treasure, to be carefully tended and guarded for as long as God gives it.

Happy anniversary, Mom and Dad! What a blessing to have been raised and loved by you in a household of faith!