A Letter in His Bible

My grandfathers bible was given to me shortly after his death. It was very worn, tattered, and stuffed full of papers. I asked my grandmother when she gave it to me what all the papers and notes were. She shrugged her shoulders and replied "Just stuff he liked"

I wad thrilled that she had decided to give it to me, as I had just started to work on my Family tree project and felt that his notes and papers would contain a wealth of knowledge. I took the worn leather bound book at placed it carefully in a plastic bag. I was anxious to get home and start sifting through the papers all folded up and stuffed in nearly every page.

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My grandfather was eighty three when he died, The Bible had been given to him by his father on the day he married grandma, so for 50 years he had been jotting down notes and scriptures and things and stuffing them between the pages of this Bible. When I started to read through them I realised that a lot of the papers were sort of his way of studying the Bible, while many others told the story of his life.

His birth certificate and marriage license where there along with baptism records for all of his children. There were newspaper clipping about family and friends, letters he had recieved from his brother who had been in Europe during WWII, A hand written loan document that tracked the payment of money he had borrowed from his sister to buy his home. Letters he had never sent to his children while he was away from home to work. Picture of his parents and siblings and notes he had written to remind himself of important dates and such.

This Bible contained his life. I became more intrigued with each new find. I sorted through the papers carefully organizing them into groups until I finally got to the end. I was sad about that. As I held the last folded paper in my hand I thought to myself how much I had learned about him, who he was and what his family had meant to him. Carefully I unfolded the last piece of paper and as I started to read it I was even more amazed by the man he was.

June 25, 1936

My Darling Esther,

In 2 days we will be wed. I feel that I am the most blessed man alive. I do not know why you have agreed to marry me, I only know that you have and for that I will be forever thankful.

I have cherished each moment we have had together and find that I am barely able to keep a thought in my head other than those of you.

I fear that I will not be all that you deserve in a husband but today I make a promise to you.

I promise to stand by you always, to be faithful, and thoughtful, and kind. I promise to work hard everyday to provide for you. I promise to keep your love in my heart and to display my love for you proudly so that the world might see that you are the most special women alive. My love for you will never falter or grow dim. My eyes will never wander and my mind will never stray. Even though miles may separate us in these uncertain times my heart will always be with you.

Eternally,

Oliver L. March

As I read this letter I was unable to contain my tears. It was such a special expression of his feelings and I knew when I read the little note on the very bottom that my grandmother was indeed the most cherished person alive.

It simply said

Dec.29, 1983

I kept my promise.

Olly

This post script had been written on the day he passed away.