A love by God’s grace

Like a perfectly aged wine, the love between Westbrook couple Derrick and Edna Sheldon has grown sweeter over time.

Celebrating their 63rd wedding anniversary this week, the couple who can be spotted holding hands and whispering inside jokes during their outings on the Dolphin Coast, said they are still as deeply in love as when they were young adults living in Cape Town.

Attributing their marital success to God’s grace, Derrick (85) remembered when he first saw Edna (87) 65 years ago.

Saying that she had been the object of his affection from the moment he laid eyes on her, he is certain that fate played a large role in their union.

“I was 18 years old and on that particular day I went to the sports field to watch my sister play softball and I laid my eyes on Edna, who I thought was a real picture.

“I asked my sister who this woman was and how I could meet her, but all she could tell me was that her name was Edna Smith.”

Being shy, Derrick wondered how he would meet Edna again and lost hope until he returned to work from a three week holiday to find that a new typist had been hired, by the name of Edna Smith.

“To me, that was God’s grace and I never left her alone since that day.”

“He was quite the pest,” said Edna jokingly.

The couple married after four years of courting and described their lives together as a tremendous journey, with a few challenges. As they walk hand in hand on their dates, the pair are often stopped and asked for advice – something they find a privilege to be able to offer.

“Marriage has many challenges and I would say that the first seven years are the hardest. The first year or two are great because it is all new and exciting. But marriage is when two different characters come together and it is not easy.

“My advice to anyone, I didn’t know it then but I know it now, is to make God your partner and he will sort out your problems. He has blessed us particularly in the last 15 years and I wish that I knew that sooner. Now everything is great.”

Having shared many memories, the ones they treasure most were when their two children were born, the first after seven years of marriage.

“We had many adventures like when we moved to the Wilderness in Cape Town. We decided to retire and make and sell canoes while we lived in a wooden cottage that we built on a river bank.”

With deteriorating health, the couple said they now take their days one at a time with their goal being to celebrate their 75th anniversary together.

“We were walking in the Ballito Junction mall hand in hand when a young couple came up to us and asked what our secret was. It was such a glorious moment for us to think that God could shine through us and someone would see it. We shared that each night before we went to sleep, we thank God for the day and ask him that we may by his grace wake another morning to be together. “

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