It would be a mistake to not give credit to some of the great examples of commitment in my life.
It’s hard to write just one post on both sets of my grandparents. My paternal grandparents, Clyde and Juanita Clark were married in November of 1946. We called them Mamaw and Papaw.
Papaw was the oldest of 8 siblings and Mamaw was second oldest of 7. Together they had 5 children of their own.
I have some very fond memories of Mamaw and Papaw. They were a very good example of a husband and wife partnership in marriage.
Papaw was a Baptist Preacher. He pastored a few churches in Texas before moving his family of 7 to Ayre, Massachusetts as a Missionary. Their family built the building that the church met in.
Papaw was a very good electrician and carpenter. He loved to make whirly gigs, windmills, and other yard decorations by hand. I remember watching him work in his shop and looking at all the wonderful things he would make.
Mamaw was a great seamstress and artist. She won awards in quilting shows. All her quilts were quilted by hand.
The wonderful thing about their relationship was how they worked together and were interested in each other’s hobbies.
When Mamaw painted, Papaw built frames for her paintings.
One year Papaw built all their granddaughters doll cradles for Christmas. Mamaw crocheted blankets to go in the cradles. That same year for the grandsons he built wooden chairs shaped like animals. Mamaw painted them.
They worked in their garden together.
When they moved into an apartment, Papaw couldn’t bring his tools with him. Mamaw taught him how to crochet and quilt. I remember how proud he was to show us the blanket he made.
If there was a problem anywhere else they seemed to always be in agreement with each other. I don’t remember ever seeing Mamaw and Papaw fight.
Papaw passed away in 2008. They were committed to each other throughout their 63 years of marriage. One day they will be reunited as fellow saints singing praises together in heaven. I wonder if God has a harmonica for my Papaw. If there are crowns up there surely they could make a harmonica. 🙂
How about you? Do you have any ancestors that modeled commitment and partnership in marriage? What do you think it was that made their marriage so strong back then? As always please share in the comments.
This was Day 2 in my 31 Days Building Commitment series. Tomorrow, I will share my memories of my maternal grandparents’ marriage commitment.
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