Yes! to God-Yes! to Each Other
by Ed Willock, 1950’s
Not long ago my wife and I had a few moments of peace together. I had arrived home from the office after a day of tiring conferences, capped by the usual hour on the subway. The seven children were having their supper and my wife’s hectic day was at its climax.
Ann had been told in school that she needed glasses. Marie had pictures to show me which she had painted in kindergarten. Paul was in line for a spanking for having resisted a neighbor’s attempts to remove him from his rear bumper. Michael had a cold. Elizabeth had fallen downstairs. Peter’s new tooth had blossomed beautifully in the middle of his grin. Clare, too, had a cold.
We organized the rambunctious crew through their supper, washed them up, packaged them in their pajamas and lined them up for prayers. Paul was able to get through the Hail Mary without any help. Michael characteristically thanked God and asked God for food. Elizabeth made the others giggle when she said, “Blessed is the soup” instead of, “Blessed is the fruit.”
Prayers having been finished, we tucked them in bed. Everything had been tended to except listening to Ann’s reading. God bless you’s were exchanged and Dot and I sat down at the kitchen to eat our cooled-off dinner. Surprisingly enough, the children went immediately to sleep. We became suddenly aware of the ticking of the kitchen clock-things were that quiet!
Suddenly a feeling of great peace descended upon us. We lingered over a second cup of tea and began to reminisce. Nine years of married life were behind us. We talked about our various experiences together.
I asked Dot which of these experiences struck her as being the happiest. We both knitted our brows and tried to remember. After a while Dot said, “You know, I don’t think I was ever more happy with you than I am right at this moment.” I had to admit with some surprise that I felt the same way!
Ours, we think, is a successful marriage. How do we account for success when all the trials and troubles we go through are the very things that other people avoid as pit-falls?
I suppose that at the root of the happiness is a mystery. Through a process of elimination, we always arrive at the conclusion that it is nothing but God’s helping grace.
We are living a Sacrament. All the other things that seem to explain our peace in the midst of trouble are more an effect than a cause.
Certainly, a husband’s love matures as he sees his wife constantly attentive to the endless demands of the children, rising in a cold bedroom to early-morning emergencies. His love is no longer a fairy-thing, floating in the mirages of courtship.
This is a woman with courage and a capacity for sacrifice. She is no stoic, no creature of iron will and vigorous constitution. She is a woman sensitive to pain, yet beyond pain when someone else needs attention.
I have not the slightest doubt that come hell or high water, Dot will be right beside me, doing a masterful job. She may weep, but she will work through her tears and she will smile when a smile is needed.
There is a strength far beyond our own that mans the helm of our family ship. Each joy and sorrow has a place in the divine scheme of things. Take one iota of trouble away, and the balance would be lost, the happiness less poignant, the peace less complete.
This is Christian marriage – a star, real, practical, full adventure, a thing of days, nights, years and eternity. The price we pay is merely to reiterate the original vow, I will, saying over and over again, Yes! to God and Yes! to each other.
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Love that picture of them on the swing! This was a really lovely reading, so much rings true! Thank you.
This was a lovely article. My life looks nothing like the couple above yet, I know in my own way and in our quiet home, it’s a reminder that I too can live my life in dedication and sacrifice even if it different than others. Thank you 💗