There are simply some things in life you are absolutely sure of. The two that stand out for me are my call to preach the Gospel and marrying Martha Sue Layton. By the way, I, and everyone else in Brantley, called her Martha Sue. On our wedding day (today is our anniversary) I inexplicably started calling her Martha. I have no idea why.
Martha and I are high school sweethearts. She says she can’t remember not knowing me, but I can remember the first time I really got to know her. We both were at the Brantley High School prom with different dates. I had invited a sweet girl in Martha’s class and she came to the prom with a nice guy. We still know these folks. We sat at a folding table (I’ve always called it a card table). Martha and I wound up at the same table with our dates. It was a long time ago but I remember it well. Our dates were not very talkative but Martha and I carried the conversation. From that point on, I knew I wanted to see more of her.
I proposed to Martha in two stages. First, I wanted to know she would say yes. So, the first stage was to ask her. For this part of the proposal I planned a dinner at a fancy restaurant in Montgomery. After dinner, as we sat in my 64 and 1/2 Red Mustang, I popped the question. Her response: “I’ll think about it.” I stammered something like, “You’ll think about it?’ Then, she said, “Oh, you’re serious.” I finally got a yes from her and as they say the rest is history. I have plenty of other similar stories!
We spent our honeymoon in the Great Smoky Mountains and Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Neither of us has ever laughed as much as we did that week. It was a magical time, as our whole life together has been, but our life has not been without ups and downs. A few months before our wedding, Martha’s father passed away. I was the one who drove 30 miles to her dorm to give her the news. It was hard on me and hard on her, but the hard times draw you even closer together.
My life has been forever blessed by Martha. In the 80’s there was a great song that went something like this: “You’re in my heart, you’re in my soul, you’ll be my breath when I grow old. You are my lover, my best friend. You’re in my soul.”
Martha, I pray God will bless you with a wonderful day. I love you.
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24 Responses
Happy Anniversary to a wonderful Christian couple. They say you lead by example. Your marriage is certainly a blessed and admirable example.
Congratulations, and Happy Anniversary to a wonderful and Godly couple. May you marriage continue to be blessed.
Happy Aaniversary to you and Martha from Maurice and Pam
Happy Anniversary to two very special people! May God bless you with many more years together!
Happy Anniversary!
What a wonderful tribute to your bride! May God bless your marriage with many more years together. Love ya’ll!
Waylon, this was so sweet! Happy anniversary to two very special people! I’m so blessed to know you both.
Happy happy anniversary! I can still hear Martha saying that she married her prince charming! Congratulations to a precious couple who hold a special place in my heart.
AWWWW, I FEEL LIKE I JUST READ A CHAPTER FROM A BEAUTIFUL LOVE STORY!
YOU TWO ARE SO SPECIAL, MAY GOD BLESS YOU ON YOUR SPECAIL DAY…HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!
What a blessing to read this post. God gave each of you a tremendous gift when He gave you each other.
Well Done in Our Lord! Happy Anniversary!!!
Happy Anniversary Waylon and Martha! Waylon it is SO refreshing to hear such a wonderful story of two people in love that have cherished their relationship and grown together through the years. I admire you two so much!
Also, I chuckled picturing you in a red mustang in those days!!! Loved it! haha.
happy anniversary to you and martha. i remember her pushing the stroller around seminary campus when the baby came. may the Lord Jesus greatly bless your day! by the way, i liked that rod stewart song too!
It is wonderful to know that you are so happy on your anniversary and that you were young at heart enough to rent a convertable in recent years and drive it around in the mountains of CO. Mine and Royce’s 6oth will be on your birthday. We, too, have been blessed with a wonderful life together. Thank you for sharing your story. It brought tears of joy to my heart.
Happy Anniversary Waylon & Martha! When God weaves the fabric is beautiful beyond words. We love you both!
Happy Anniversary to the sweetest most wonderful couple I have ever had the privilege to know. Miss you guys so much. May God continue to bless you and thanks for sharing.
Waylon, congratulations on your anniversary. You and Martha have always been special to me. This post brought tears to my eyes. Thanks for sharing.
Happy Anniversary. Thank for sharing your story. God bless you both for being awesome example to our church family. We are blessed to have you both.
Happy Anniversary! Thank you and Martha for your spiritual leadership. Though I never expected to hear you quote Rod Stewart! LOL great song!
Happy Anniversary- May God richly bless you as you serve Him
Happy Anniversary – God Bless you both.
Happy day to both of you! What a sweet love story. I love a good love story!
Eight days a week, is not enough to show I care!… 😉
Waylon, Your tribute to your lovely wife was sweet and precious. We are so happy that God brought you together to love and cherisheach other. Your marriage is a wonderful example of respect, caring and loving the way God intended a man and woman to have for each other. We pray that God will bless you with many more years of love, joy, and good health as husband and wife. Congratulations to 2 very special people.
Miss you, Elaine and Dick