We were members of Clay Road Baptist Church in 1989 and we were involved with the church in many ways. Tammy was in her senior year and Jennifer was a Freshman at Southwest Texas (now Texas State). Eva was involved with the choir, she sang many solos, and with groups for special events. We were close friends with the Pastor and his wife and the Music Minister and his wife. I was a member of a few committees and had been teaching in the youth department.
Our 25th Anniversary was on March 21st and Easter was on March 26th. Eva was so involved with the Easter Program that year and preparing for her solos, that the girls selected April 1st, the Saturday after Easter, for the anniversary party. I remember being so proud of Eva and our girls that day. I remember thinking about how good God had been to us and about the road we had traveled together at that point. I wish I could remember the name of the songs she sang or even the name of the Easter program that year, but nothing comes to mind.
We had a lot of friends come to our 25th Anniversary party. Several from our church, many relatives, some of our neighbors, some from where I worked, and some friends from our high school days. We got several gifts that day, many silver items for the 25th, and one special gift that we have always displayed. It is one of the invitations that our daughters mailed to those invited. Bill Mullendore worked with me. His wife, Jo, was an artist and taught painting classes, did the watercolor painting on the invitation card, and framed it as a gift to us. It was and still is special. I have another special gift that was made by a friend from junior and senior high school, Clifford Rains, and his wife Barbara. We knew that the plaque was made with love. That plaque has hung in our kitchen for 34 years as of this past April 1st.
I was up late that night, reading and preparing for class the next morning when I realized that 25 years earlier, I did not have a clue how my life would play out. I don’t remember what the lesson I was studying for was about, but I remember feeling grateful for all that God had provided in my life. Every day we live, we make memories. On a few of those days, we stop and recall memories from prior years. If we work at it, we can make most of those memories good. The truth is that when we leave this world, all we will take with us is memories and the love we have been given by others in our life. Try to be a part of a good memory for someone.
