Love is Patient and Kind, A True Love Story

Every month we share a True Love story.
Love is Patient and Kind is Twentieth Century Inspiration
with 10 Takeaways for successful marriages.

More Love’s True Stories:

Engaged, Unengaged and Then Finally, a Wedding

When God Chose Their Future: Love’s True Story 3

A True Love Story

No couple can be married 40 to 50 years and not have stories archived in their family’s memories.

My dad’s cousin died this winter, and her family had so much fun telling all her stories at her memorial. She had a good, long life, so the pain of loss was not as crushing as if she’d been young. They mostly rejoiced she was home with the God she loved dearly.

This woman, we’ll call her Helen, stood about 5 feet 2 inches in her bare feet,

but she was at least 7 feet tall in the eyes of all who knew her.

She was a dynamo in an old fashioned dress and sensible shoes.

She knew how to run a household on practically no money.

A niece told about helping Helen in the kitchen. Scraping leftovers into a fridge container (probably a recycled margarine tub) after a meal, the niece felt sure she had it clean enough for Aunt Helen’s standards. But alas, when the niece put the bowl down, Aunt Helen grabbed it up and gave it another scrape or two. And got another teaspoonful to put in the fridge container.

Aunt Helen’s husband was a pastor, and they were true caretakers of their little flock. They never needed much for themselves, but made sure everyone else had enough to eat and a warm place to stay.

Helen had family in another state, so one year they planned an extensive road trip to visit them all. On the road awhile, Helen climbed into the back seat to take a little snooze while George motored on.

George saw a rest area beside the highway and decided to stop. Quietly he opened his car door and gently closed it, so as not to disturb Helen. But Helen woke up, and realizing what was happening, decided to take the opportunity to use the restroom, too.

So as Helen is in the restroom, George gets back to the car and quietly gets back on the road again, happy not to have disturbed Helen’s nap.

Helen trips back down the sidewalk to the car, and it’s gone! Now what? She looked around and found a pay phone. She punched 9-1-1.

The dispatcher answered the call,

“Name your emergency.”

Helen said, “You won’t believe this, but my husband left me behind. He didn’t do it on purpose; He thought I was sleeping in the back seat.”

The dispatcher asked the make, color and license number of the car, then sent all the officers within a hundred miles to be on the lookout.

Then George sees flashing lights in his rearview mirror. He’s puzzled, because he isn’t speeding or breaking any laws, but he obediently pulls over. The officer walks up to his window, “Good afternoon, sir. How are you doing?”

“Just fine, thank-you,” George replies politely.

“Are you missing anything?”

asks the officer.

“No, I don’t believe I am.”

“What about your wife?”

“No. She’s napping in the back.”

“Are you sure, sir?”

Bewildered George takes a glance over his shoulder. “Oh, well, I guess I am!”

“No problem, sir. Your wife called us. She’s waiting for you back at the rest stop.”

Amiable, unflappable George and friendly, high-energy Helen

never told anyone the story until years later,

until the pain of the mistake wore off and only the humor remained.

A good marriage is built like facets on a diamond.
It starts out a little rough, but as the polishing continues,
even the embarrassing moments
become part of the shine others absorb and admire.

Takeaways From This 20th Century Love Story

Have a common goal for your life together.

Helen honored George’s call to ministry, and didn’t grudge the energy she infused in his calling.
Respect each others’ interests.

Helen loved to have dinner guests, and George sacrificed his private time to help her. And used it as a way to further their calling, even though financially it wasn’t a good move for them.
Protect each other’s feelings.

Helen didn’t tell the embarrassing story until George was ready to talk about it.
Remember laughter.

Once they got past the embarrassed feelings, they readily shared the rest stop story as a fun family joke.
Marriage is a lifelong commitment.

You know this wouldn’t have been the only time George was absent-minded or caused Helen a little discomfort. She didn’t capitalize on his faults, and readily forgave his mistakes. She took commitment seriously.
Always speak kindly.

Some people like to argue, or they might call it a healthy discussion. Either way, never be vindictive. Helen spoke no disrespect about George when she enlisted the police assistance.
Trust each other.

Helen knew George would never set out to hurt her. She trusted him to have her best interests in mind at all times.
Keep things private.

There’s a limit no couple should breach about certain marriage details. Don’t break your spouse’s confidence about anything you know he/she wishes to keep private.
Have patience.

There’s so much room for anger, impatience, disgust in this story. Helen didn’t give in to any of them. She honored her husband too much to hurt him with words she would soon regret.
Be truthful.

Respecting her husband’s feelings, she didn’t make up a story for the police that would sound more plausible than “he forgot me.” Lies come back to bite you, while the truth and acceptance of your faults is so much more noble.

The Unlikely Marriage Counsellor

Peter Davidson spent his career writing mystery novels, college textbooks, corporate training manuals, children’s books, magazine articles and songs.

In all that time, Davidson never wrote about love and relationships. Then his grandson got engaged and Peter decided to write some advice for his grandson in a joking, half-serious way. He wrote Marital Advice help Joel to accomplish as long a marriage as his grandparents had.