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  Family - Weekend Effect

Our 50 Years Together

John & Helen Haskett

(Excerpted from Spring 1992 Matrimony magazine)

Helen writes:
First of all, we want to thank God for these years and the courage, faith and many blessings He has given us.

We met about 53 years ago, dated for 1 year, engaged for 6 months and married 50 years ago - March 8, 1941 in Lebanon, Ind. We married on a very small shoe string and much love. The shoe string must have been a strong one. Our love has grown through sickness, unemployment, moving on to better ourselves and to make life better for our family. We have been in farming, dairy farming, unemployment, factory work, hospital work, bee work and raising children. We have become the right arm for each other. We have 4 great children and 11 wonderful grandchildren. We are proud of them.

John accepted the Catholic faith about l0 years after our marriage which added another blessing to our many others and made us a family together in faith. We had been married almost 40 years when we made Marriage Encounter. It was one of the best things have done for our marriage. We would like to encourage every married couple to make one. There is no better way to learn how to share your needs, wants, hopes, dreams, and love with each other.

I would like to say to every couple--after God, make each other special and first. *Forgive--you can't always forget the mistake but grow from it.

- Learn to say--"I'm sorry" and say it.
- Let each other know your needs.
- When you fight-fight to save something, not to destroy something.
- Pray together.
- Love your children but know they are yours for a short time and then you will go back to the way it was when you started your life together.
- Be there for each other.
- Always ask God for His help and thank Him.

Our marriage has had its ups and downs and we thank God for it and ask Him for more years together. It is good.

John writes:
As I reflect back on our lives together, I sometimes wonder why God put a good and loving girl with a fun loving and laid back boy. But I know He had a purpose in doing that. What it is, I don't know yet. But without His love for us, we would not have made it these 50 years we have been together.

Oh yes, Helen and I had our dreams disappear, but we are sure that our dreams were not what God wanted for us. We have no white house with a picket fence and red barn with hampshire pigs and jersey cows, but we have four children we can be proud of, lots of friends and the love of our Lord and lots of faith in God. Yes, we have our disagreements, but we found tools in the M. E. Weekend to solve them. It takes a lot of love and forgiveness to make a marriage last.

The more love other people have for us the stronger our love is for each other. In the M. E. Weekend we learned we are special and the more special we feel, the more we love one another. Our hope for all of you is to have a good life and the love of God that Helen and I have. God bless all of you.

Dialogue Quesitons:
HDIF About your decision to walk this journey with me?
We are stewards of our children. HDIFAT?
How has our relationship been strengthened by others? HDIFAT?
When you forgive me HDTMMF?
HDIFA our praying together?
What need do I have that l have not yet shared with you? HDIFSTWY?
(HDIFSTWY? = How do I feel sharing this with you?)

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