Romance Realized

“New moon, true moon, trusty, tell me who my true love must be; the color of his eyes, the color of his hair, and the everyday clothes that he used to wear.”

Put a piece of wedding cake underneath your pillow, chant the above, then lay down to sleep… you’ll dream of the man you’re to marry.  That’s what my teenaged great-grandmother and her friends were told; and much excited, they tried it.

Martha dreamed she was walking along a dirt road and saw a man in a field with his horse and plow.  He was dressed a particular way… an outfit she recognized when she first saw him a few months later.  He had just moved into the area and begun to farm.  Soon after, he needed a housekeeper, and she was hired for the job.  It wasn’t long before they fancied one another and decided to set a wedding date.  The dream and the outcome was the most romantic real story I ever heard as a child.

Five children, fourteen grandchildren and scads of great-grandchildren were the result of their union.  Real life turned out to have little romance, however.  Alfred had a horrible temper, tales of which were still told thirty years after his death.  He and Martha grew estranged, and if she ever knew about the “other child” he fathered, she never mentioned it.  (Her children didn’t find out until they were very old, when their surprise half-brother came looking for a picture of his father.)

She outlived him by several decades, and had some time for a more peaceful life.  I don’t recall ever hearing loving words about him, only details of memorable incidents, including physical abuse.  No talk of missing him, no emphasis on positive, lasting traits passed down from his side; whereas, my main memory of her was seeing her big black Bible in her lap every morning, even when her fingers were so stiff she needed help to turn the pages.

I don’t know at what point she accepted Christ into her life.  Was she a Christian as a child, but only accepted Jesus as the lover of her soul through life’s disappointments?  Did she recognize the significance of His love for her right away, or did she learn to depend on it over time?  Whatever the details of her journey, she made her relationship with her True Love a priority, influencing lives down through her offspring, creating memories and lessons as pieces of a godly heritage.

Copyright 2010 by Tammi Mossman.