50 Good Years

Today I am thinking of my parents, Robert and Yvonne Pole who have been married 50 years today. A remarkable milestone in the era in which we live. Few people make it for one or another reason. Very often because they just cannot get along. My parents are still each other's best friends and such a wonderful example of what a great marriage should be. Always speaking good about and to each other. Always prayerful. Always hopeful. Never criticising. One piece of advice from my Dad I will always remember is "Never criticise, condemn or complain". He said he got this from a Dale Carnegie Course he once did. My mother's advice to me: "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all". Wow.

My father still spends hours in his home gym (he has always loved to exercise). He says that is when he talks to God. My mother spends hours tending her garden. And they both love to watch the birds, dozens of them come to feed at the bird feeder in their garden daily, and quite often I get a text message from Mom to tell me the woolly headed herons are once again in their garden. Sweet.

I know that Mom bombards heaven with her prayers every morning for a couple of hours. She once showed me a creased and torn prayer list which she'd prayed over for the previous 10 years. She pointed out 57 names on there that she was praying for, for financial release.She said that of those names, only 5 were still waiting for answers. There were other names there for other needs. Many of those prayers have been answered yet she continues to remember their names before heaven. Some of these people will never know that my Mom prayed for them, daily, for decades They are friends of friends of mine who live in other countries.

What a heritage I have. I feel so moved today just thinking about it. Joy and happiness to you, Mom and Dad! May the Goodness of God continue to be your portion. And many more years of happiness here and in heaven one day.