The Love Story Continues
Today's Truth
I missed you last week! We had some events that took place in our family that left us in a blur. I'm just now coming out of the fog. As some of you remember, in February my precious father-in-law went to be with the Lord. He was an amazing man with many wonderful characteristics. But the most amazing was the way he loved his wife of sixty-four years, Mary Ellen. While we all missed him, mom just couldn't imagine life without him. For those who are new to our on-line family, I have their wonderful love story below in a repeat of that weeks devotion. For those who remember the story, please scroll down for the latest chapter of their love story in red.
"Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails" (1 Corinthians 13:7,8 NIV)
Friend to Friend
For those who have read Becoming the Woman of His Dreams, you will probably recognize the following love story. I encourage you to read to the end, there's more. For those who have not read this story before, I pray you will savor the words.
Bruce and Mary Ellen grew up in the mountains of North Carolina in the sleepy little hollow of Waynesville. From Bruce's first remembrance, he recalls the petite beauty with Chestnut hair, coke bottle figure and "plenty of book smarts." Back in the 1940's high school only went through eleventh grade, with an optional twelfth for those who wanted to continue in their studies. Since Mary Ellen was one grade behind, Bruce made the decision to stay one more year...to continue his studies, of course. Bruce and Mary Ellen were a stunning couple. His muscular build with 32" waist, and 6'4 stature towered over Mary Ellen's 5'3" with curves in all the right places. No one was surprised when Bruce asked Mary Ellen to be his bride just a few days after her graduation. On a beautiful November afternoon in 1943, they became man and wife. When they said those words, "till death do us part," they meant it. It was a vow made to one another and to God, and the thought of anything other than a lifelong commitment to each other was inconceivable...no matter what.
It was war time when Bruce and Mary Ellen tied the knot, and eleven months after they were married, Bruce was shipped off to the Aleutian Islands. For the next eighteen months, the newlyweds corresponded through the US mail. There were no telephones, e-mails, or instant messaging. The communication of two hearts depended on prayer, pen, and paper. In one of his many letters, Bruce asked Mary Ellen to send him a photograph of her legs...which she did.
Ner' was a man so happy as when Bruce got off the bus, walked to Mary Ellen's grandparents' house, and saw his bride come bounding down the steps in her nightgown to rush into his hungry arms. Never again were they apart for an extended period of time.
Bruce went right to work when he arrived back in the United States, but had a dream to go to college. Three years later, even though they now had a two-year-old baby girl in tow, Mary Ellen encouraged him to follow his dream. Bruce graduated from college with a Masters in education and then for the next 39 years served as a teacher, a coach, a high school assistant principal and a junior high principal. Through the years, Mary Ellen had various jobs, but retired after being with one company for twenty-five years. Together they raised four wonderful children...one of which became my husband on a beautiful summer day in August of 1980.
In November of 2003, we celebrated Bruce and Mary Ellen Jaynes' 60th wedding anniversary. I was in the throws of writing Becoming the Woman of His Dreams and was hit with the realization of the living example of what I hope this book will help others accomplish. Mary Ellen was the woman of her man's dreams - and she had been for sixty years. Faces lined with years embraced cheek to cheek, weathered hands and arthritic fingers intertwined, and slow but steady gaits served as a picture of enduring love in the winter of their lives. Like a rare treasure, their legacy of commitment and enduring love is the inheritance they leave to four grown children and five grown grandchildren. Oh, and that picture of her legs that Mary Ellen mailed Bruce in 1944 when he was off at war? He never took it out of his wallet.
On February 7, 2008, this amazing man of God went to be with His heavenly Father. We mourn our loss, but rejoice in his gain. Friends, I loved Bruce Jaynes and I am thankful for what he has given me. See, my husband loves me well because he watched his dad love his mom.
Now for the latest in this journey. On August 10, 2008, mom went to join her two great loves - Jesus Christ her Savior and Bruce her life-long companion. Yes, Steve's mom died of a sudden heart attack on a Sunday night, surrounded by family. We believe she died of a broken heart and simply wanted to be with her man. Once again we mourn the loss of one so dear, but take comfort in knowing that there is no other place she would rather be.
Imagine with me for a moment. Think ahead 20, 40, 60 years. What do you see? Your marriage is becoming what it is going to be - and so much depends on you. No, building a wonderful marriage can not be achieved by one party alone. It takes two. I take that back. It takes three: a woman who's committed to becoming the woman of her man's dreams, God Who longs to give her the power and creativity to do so, and a man who clings tightly to both. That's what Steve's parents taught us.
I was talking with a woman not too long ago. She had initiated a separation from her husband. "It's my life and my choice," she told me. But friend, it's not just your life. It's not just my life. It is the heritage we leave behind for many generations to come. It is the life of those who will come after us that today's decisions will affect. We treasure the decisions Steve's parents made and the heritage they have left behind.
I pray that your and your husband's lives will be so intertwined that you will not be able to see where one ends and the other begins and that your hearts will beat in tandem with each other to the metronome of God's pulse. And then one day, as your husband reflects on the years you've invested he will say... "Many women do noble things, but you, my dear, surpass them all."
Let's Pray
Dear Lord, Thank you for godly examples that have gone before us. Help us to have marriages that will leave a godly heritage for our children and grandchildren. That's the best inheritance of all.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen
Now It's Your Turn
Is there a godly marriage in your heritage that you admire?
What makes that marriage special?
If you are married, what about your marriage do you hope your children will learn by example? Ask your husband and consider this question together.
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