The Valentine The Vow

Valentine Floral, originally uploaded by Shirley Buxton.

A biblical tenet that our society too frequently overlooks and little regards is that of marriage vows. More than half the people who speak wedding vows today will have their marriages end in divorce. Hear the words of Jesus concerning this issue:

“The Pharisees also come unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?

And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,

And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and they twain shall be one flesh?

Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. what therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.” Matthew 19:3-6

I want to pay tribute today to the Estes family, where the seven surviving children of C. M. and Minnie Estes have all been wed 50 or more years. It’s not easy to be married that long; it takes lots of work, tolerance, fortitude, and a basic regard for God, and for marriage vows. Salute with me on this Valentine’s Day, the Estes Family who collectively have celebrated 391 years of marriage.

The youngest, Sue Bass, completed the streak of golden anniversaries Saturday when she and husband Edwin marked their 50 years together in a laughter-filled banquet room, surrounded by Sue’s six surviving siblings and many of the couples’ 71 children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

“We’re the last. We made it,” Sue, 69, said after the Basses’ celebratory spotlight dance. Added Edwin, 73: “The others made it and we weren’t about to get beat!”

The Estes siblings, ages 69 to 84, attribute their marital success in large part to the moral example set by their late parents, who were married 58 years.

C.M. Estes was a Christian minister, and he and his wife raised their eight children — one is deceased and a ninth died as a toddler — with the belief that marriage is for life.

More here.

These beautiful flowers were given to me yesterday by Jerry, my sweet husband of 51 years. The vows we made those many years ago are binding, dear and precious to us.

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