Blog #32 - Our Wedding Anniversary

Sunday,  1 February 2015

On Friday, the 30th of January,
Keith and I celebrated our 44th wedding anniversary.

Throughout the day Keith and I sat together and reminisced

and reflected on the joys, the sadness and the hardships
of our time together and thanked God for each other
and the time we have had together -
and the time we have yet to enjoy together.

  

I recalled the day.  Wedding time was 3.30 in the afternoon.

Woke to a dull day and as I was sitting up in bed at 6.30am

(putting the final stitches into the hem of my ‘going away’ outfit

that I had made), my dad came in to me and said,

“It’s supposed to rain this afternoon”
and my reply was,

“God won’t let it rain on my special day”. 

 And He didn’t!

I have a saying on a plaque hanging on the wall in the family room

and I have experienced the truth of it all my life.  

It says - 

     Faith is not believing that God can, it is knowing that God will.

Over and over and over, time and time again,

He has shown His love for me.

I truly have an awesome Heavenly Father.

One of Keith’s reflections was how we were both nearly killed

in a head-on collision that very night.

It was almost midnight and we were travelling to Levin

in Dad Whiteman’s ‘flash, brand-new’ car which he had loaned to us

for our planned honeymoon travels throughout the North Island.

We were travelling along beside the sea at Pukerua Bay -

a concrete wall and high concrete edged footpath to our left -

when a car on the other side of the road began to overtake,

heading straight for us (I can still recall the headlights).  

Keith braked hard and moved as far as he could towards

the concrete footpath edge, scrapping his dad’s car the whole length

of it and with God’s protection we were saved. 

Keith reckons there was only a hair’s breath between us

and that overtaking car.  

Today that piece of road has a central median barrier

between the north and south bound lanes so that no-one can overtake.

Throughout the years we have experienced and seen

God’s hand over us in so many ways

and we give Him all the thanks and praise.

A few more wedding pics to share with you.

The wedding party -

Groomsman  -  Martin Bennett  (my brother)

Bridesmaid  -  Sandrea Dulieu  (my cousin)

Flower Girl  -  Vicky Munn  (Keith’s niece)

Groom  &  Bride  -  Keith  (22)  &  Sherelyn  (20)

Matron-of-Honour  -  Merrill Pepperell 

                                                (wife of my cousin, Kevin)

Best Man  -  Allan Whiteman  (Keith’s brother)

Pageboy  -  Richard Munn  (Keith’s Nephew)

Two families joined -

My Dad  -  Wilfrid Bennett

Keith’s Mum  -  Hilda Whiteman

My Mum  -  Edna Bennett

Keith’s Dad  -  Reginald Whiteman

I really wanted olive green for my bridesmaids -

but no-one had any such coloured fabric to buy!

I had to opt for apple green.

Vicky  &  Richard Munn

Brother & sister  - 

flower girl and pageboy

Keith’s niece and nephew

Both

Vicky and Richard 

are now grandparents!

My bouquet was not very large

as it was mounted on a little white booklet

that sits on my bedside cabinet today and has done ever since we were married.

This little booklet
contains
the New Testament,
the Book of Psalms

and the
Book of Proverbs
from The Bible.

It was given to me (and one was given to each new girl)

when I began my nursing training at Hutt Hospital, Lower Hutt.

That’s all for now.