Our Story
The Beginning
Reflecting on our life’s journey in preparation to give our story, I thought about how the Scriptures could speak to our 50-year jubilee moment. I sought out all the chapters with a 50th verse. The first one in the Bible is Genesis 24 verse fifty. It reads: “Laban and Bethuel answered, “This is from the Lord. We can say nothing to you one way or the other. Here is Rebekah, take her and go, and let her become the wife of your master’s son, as the Lord as directed. “That response was as result of the quest of Abraham’s servant for a wife for Isaac. “This is from the Lord” and the phrase, “as the Lord directed” signify that therein is God’s approval and design for this marriage.
Our love journey began because God designed it and stamped His approval; we rejoiced, and our parents willingly bowed to God’s will. God is eternal and whatever is of Him last forever. Therefore, for us our love is long and lasting from the start.
Summer youth camp was the birthplace of many beautiful relationships for Church of God young people. It was an environment where we were free to have fun, at the same time experiencing joy in the Lord. Our relationships -family building, lasting relationships including romantic relationships. we had the freedom to come forward play without harsh judgment that eyes of some of our church parents Mature, spiritual counselors were there to supervise and guide the youths created a bit of healthy environment which gave birth to relationships healthy relationship ships including romantic related ones and friendships nasty in friendships people didn't go to camp to get romance it was just a natural offspring of fellowship beautiful fellowship every year every summer time
It was the year 1973. Youth camp was at Yalla’s Secondary School time with the theme “From you know with Love” The Bible Study was the Epistles of John. Milton was NYC vice President, and he prepared and led the Bible studies. Most of the young people were just getting to know him as he had missed out on camp for many years while he was studying in England. I think everyone’s focus was on Milton at camp because of how the church leaders introduced him to the church. He was special, a young man giving up his engineering career in answer to the call to ministry.
I saw another side of him on that weekend preceding the full week camp. As counsellors and camp leaders we had to prepare the untidy school with filthy bathrooms before the campers arrived on Monday. Working alongside Milton I was impressed by how he cleaned those clogged up, filthy toilets without hesitation.
The camp ended after Sunday service and dinner. We had some free time that evening. The beach along the school property was out of bounds for the duration of camp that week because the sea was rough and was not safe. The campers named it the Forbidden Beach.
But camp had ended, and we wanted to walk along the beach. Milton agreed to walk with my friend, Mern and I in the late evening. It was a serene twilight. We walked along as the full moon slowly rose above St Thomas mountains transforming the dark shadows to a slivery glow.
We gathered pebbles and slowly walked back to camp. When I returned home to May Pen, I told Dawn, my closest friend then that my husband would have to be a man like Milton. The camp with a weeklong contemplation on God’s love (Theme, “From you Know with Love) ending with that peaceful moonlight walk for us, had given birth to love without our knowing.
I started my internship at the hospital pharmacy in Spalding while Milton returned to finish his last year in seminary. Contact was limited to when Milton stopped by our home on his way to Chapelton to his internship under the supervision of the late Rev Fergus Simpson, My parents and siblings got to know him. Those visits continued. Then February 14, 1974, Valentine’s Day, May Pen Youth For Christ put on a special Valentine dinner. Someone invited Milton but I did not expect him to attend since it was Thursday when it would be difficult to leave seminary. But he surprised me and came to be my escort to the dinner. That was our first date and was extraordinary; the guest speaker was Dr Gerry Gallimore then Youth For Christ Director of Jamaica. As usual his address inspired the young people. He told us his love story about how he and his wife followed godly principles while they dated honoring the Lord. We were challenged to do the same. It was God’s design for our first date, the beginning of love journey.
Those were the days of no cellphones. Milton could not afford a car; he sometimes took public transportation to visit me in Spalding just for about two hours or less. Then he had to get back to Kingston before night. I looked forward to those visits and he would bring me the most beautiful red roses, bought from the nursery just before he got to the hospital. That meant he had to walk about half a mile the rest of the way to get to me. If that isn’t love……..Camp 1974 came six months after our first date, August 1974 at Black River Secondary School in St. Elizabeth. By now most of the youths in our circle knew that we had begun dating. Milton had now finished Seminary and started serving at the Harbor View Church of God and I had continued working at Spaulding Hospital. Milton, as NYC President was in charge of camp; I was a counselor. During that week, Milton’s parents and sisters came to pay a visit to camp. Milton introduced me to his parents. I found out after that he was seeking his parents’ approval which they gave. Before camp was through, Milton and I got away from the others, and he proposed to me under a massive tree on the school compound. We did not think we needed a ring.
In December, Milton and his dad came to visit my family in May Pen. Shortly after we decided to get Married in June, actually the first Saturday in June - June 7,1975.
The wedding took place at Constant Spring Church of God Reverend Grant and Reverend Beckles did the ceremony. It was a beautiful evening, an evening in wonderland, to start over journey of love as husband and wife. At last, we could be together at all times. So, I thought!
After a wonderful week of honeymoon in Runaway Bay, we headed back to start our new home together. Milton was called to pastor Harbor View Church, so he was just a few months into his new position as a pastor. I started to work at a health clinic and then went to KPH. Within the second month of our marriage, I became pregnant. I was frightfully sick for the first three months. We did not expect that I would be so sick all the time. Thank God I got over it at the end of that first trimester. I gave birth to a beautiful baby, Gail, and so began our childbearing years. Five children came in the first six years of our marriage. During those five years, Milton continued to pastor Harbor View Church of God and took on other leadership responsibilities such as helping in the establishment of Portmore Church of God ( co-pastor with Rev Wilmer Jackson), giving some assistance to the Mount Felix Church, St. Thomas, and for a couple of years serving as Chairman of the Assembly of the Church of God in Jamaica. At the end of those five years, Milton resigned from Harbor View Church to take up the position of Christian Education Director for the national Church. This meant we changed residence to another part of Kingston nearer to the school and the Church Office, Molynes Road area.
The next year Andrew, the fifth and last child was born. Milton also took on the full-time pastorate of the Portmore Church at this time and so had two full-time jobs. That might sound hard work, but if his job description as Christian Education Director is known, it would be seen as impossible. We were there through it all.
50 years of marriage of love true love is like pure gold. 50th year marks the golden year. As gold has to go through the process in the crucible to become pure gold, so our enduring love had to endure the crucible, the process. There were ups and downs, there were hurts and pain and there were all sorts of difficulties, but like pure gold we have been through the process. We started the journey convinced that it was, as in the case of Isaac and Rebecca, our marriage was God designed, and God approved.
All the rough places were surpassed by the joys experienced walking life together. I am deeply grateful to the Lord that He did not allow me to faint in those rough places. Our love endured and we keep singing “Long and Lasting Love.”