September 12, 2019 (Thursday)
Something John F. Kennedy and I had in common was the year of our weddings. We both married in 1953. He married Jacqueline Bouvier in Newport, Rhode Island on September 12, 1953 (today is the anniversary), and three weeks later I married Wanda Jane Sadler, in Dallas, Texas.
The differences: Their marriage was in a church; ours was in a pastor’s home. Their officiant was a Catholic priest; ours was a Baptist pastor. She wore an elegant wedding dress; Wanda wore a tailored suit. Their priest was an Archbishop; our pastor was a local Dallas pastor. Their priest had four assistants and a special blessing from Pope Pius XII was read; our pastor was supported by his wife and a dear young lady from his church who played the piano. In the picture of our wedding, Wanda’s sister, Ann, Maid of Honor, is standing by her side and Dwight Dudley, Missionary to Japan and Okinawa, Best Man, is by my side. The minister was J. Howard Smith, a Dallas pastor and my friend.
We all remember that JFK died ten years later, assassinated in Dallas. Jackie died in 1994 after being married to a Greek shipping magnate for seven years before his death (1968-1975). Wanda died in 2002, five months after “9-11,” the vicious terrorist attack on our country September 11, 2001.
I live on and will celebrate my 88th birthday in 12 days. I recently wrote Wanda’s sister and later posted part of my letter to her on facebook. The paragraph reads: “I have had several funerals lately, each of which gives me the opportunity to review what we believe as Christians, and I gain new faith and hope with each message. By God’s grace, you and I are still living. We can thank the Lord for each new day and know in our hearts that if we don’t wake up tomorrow, we will wake up in Heaven with Jesus and all our loved ones who have gone on before us.”
Life has gone on, a day at a time, thus far in my time on earth, and will continue to do so after I am gone. My prayer is for everyone to have the assurance of Eternal Life that faith in Jesus brings.