It Was A Crackerjack Honeymoon.

Monroe is a quiet, humble man, sincere and warm. His deep-set eyes look straight at you when he talks. A business man, his demeanor belies his 30 years of success in his field; that of an auctioneer. When he mentioned to us that his 34th wedding anniversary was coming soon, I asked him what he and his wife had planned for their special day.

(I like to ask people questions because sometimes one gets an interesting story in return. This time was no exception.)

Monroe, with a half-smile, told me about his wedding day. His eyes left mine as he gazed off into the distance, remembering so clearly the day he married Diane. They were teenagers, “born and raised in the country,” he related. Times were tough in Southern West Virginia, and jobs were hard to find in their small town. “I wasn’t much of a catch,” he said, “and I only had $15.00 to my name. But we were deeply in love and wanted to make a future together.”

Monroe had a ten-dollar and a five dollar bill, earned by working at a service station in kanawha City. The evening of his marriage, he placed one bill in each pocket of his pants and headed off to the town preacher with Diane. His plans were to give the minister the five dollar bill. The remaining ten dollars would cover the cost of a full tank of gas for his car ($3.00) leaving seven dollars with which to pay for their wedding supper at a small cafe in town.

But, his plans hit a snag. Once the preacher pronounced them man and wife, and he had kissed his new bride, he accidentally reached into the wrong pocket and handed the preacher the ten-dollar bill instead of the five. Young, nervous, and too embarrassed to say anything, he left. “Here I was, with a wife and just five dollars to my name. Subtract the three-dollars I had to use for gasoline, from the five-dollars I had left and you get only two-dollars,” he reminded me. “That wasn’t enough to buy Diane a wedding supper so what was I supposed to do?” he asked softly. I just shook my head, wondering how it all turned out.

Monroe continued his story, and I found out that while at the “filling- station,” (that’s what gas stations were called in those days - “filling stations”), he bought two boxes of cracker jacks and an RC cola apiece, and took them to the house he had rented from his parents. “That was our wedding supper together: crackerjacks and colas. It was all I could afford,” he recalled.

By this time, filled with warm memories of the past, his eyes misted over. With great emotion, he continued, “This anniversary we will do what we have done every year since that first night. We will buy two boxes of crackerjacks, two bottles of RC colas, and we will have our anniversary supper together.”

For 33 years they have celebrated their marriage with these simple things. Though a successful business man today (he gives Diane all the credit), Monroe does not want to forget “from whence he came.”

The Meadows’ have been blessed with two children and five grandchildren. How fortunate this couple is to be able to enjoy an abiding love and a lasting relationship. Theirs is a warm and happy Valentine’s Day story.

It reminds me that the same Love of God which has sustained our friends through 34 years together is available to all who put their trust in Him. Weren’t we poor, lost in sin, blinded by the god of this world, and without hope? Hasn’t Christ’s Love lifted us out of our poverty and supplied us with His riches? It is only as His children that we can enjoy the warmth of His Love to the fullest. Jeremiah 31:3 records God’s valentine message to us: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with loving kindness I have drawn you.” Let’s not forget "from whence we came.”

Evelyn R. Smith

©1999 Bible Center Church

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