a. beautiful. love

(I had planned to share this several weeks ago, but decided to save it as Valentine's Day seemed a wonderful time to do so.)

I, for one, often use the term "beautiful" lightly. A way to casually describe something such as, "That necklace is beautiful" or "Those shoes are just plain beautiful." And they might really be so, but today I want to share something that is absolutely, truly beautiful.

In my family, I have been blessed with parents that have been married twenty-two years and both sets of grandparents that have been married over fifty years. In a nation where the divorce rates seem to be ever-rising, I appreciate their Godly marriages even more so because it is sadly becoming rare. Maybe I will share their stories sometime, but this one is about my great-grandparents.

When my great-grandparents (on my dad's side) were married, "Granddaddy" was just nineteen and "Grandmother" was a sweet fifteen year old girl. They lived on a farm and I know that life could not have always been easy, but they were in love and committed to one another...and it eventually spanned almost seventy-five years of marriage. 

Several weeks ago, my great-granddaddy went to be with Jesus. He was ninety-four. It wasn't unexpected, but still very bittersweet. When Granddaddy left this world, the family that was there held hands around his bed and sang songs (including his favorite hymn, "In The Garden"). 

And my great-grandmother was right there, holding his hand.

Others have mentioned  this and I agree that, in so many ways, their marriage reminds me of a fairy tale. Not because it was perfect or because they didn't have any hardships along the way...I know they did. But I can only recall a handful of times in my life when I didn't see them together. In fact, a few months ago (before Granddaddy died) Grandmother was telling us about meeting him and, at age ninety, she looked over at him and blushed.

There is so much more that I could say, but I guess I will simply close with the fact that their commitment and love provided such an example of what a Godly marriage should be and left a legacy for all of us.

And that, my friends, is truly beautiful.