#Valentine’sDay: Practising love daily bonds Bluff couple
One can say it was both faith and fate that brought the two together as they met at St. Gabriel's Anglican Church.
FROM two unfortunate life traumas, a beautiful love story was born when Linda and Maurice James, found genuine companionship in each other more that 40 years ago.
Linda was born in central Durban and moved to Wentworth when the Group Areas Act was imposed, and Maurice was born in Eastern Cape and moved to Wentworth as a young adult. One can say it was both faith and fate that brought the two together as they met at St. Gabriel’s Anglican Church.
“We were friends within the church youth group. I had joined the church because I had just accepted the Lord into my life while also going through a traumatic time with my divorce from a first marriage. The priest encouraged me to join the group for young people, as I was on the path of changing drastically for the better. I was relearning what it meant to be a Christian. That’s where I met Linda,” said Maurice, who admitted that at the time he had strong reservations towards falling for another woman.
“Slowly but surely, I began to realise how loving and caring this woman at the church was. It was very different from the perception that I had from the outside world. She was so friendly I just couldn’t help falling in love,” he said. In an effort to fight his admiration for Linda, he went to work outside the country.
“The priest told me that you can’t run away from your problem, you run with it. So, I eventually decided to come back with the hope that nature would run its course. One day, Linda and I were walking home from church and I spontaneously told her how I feel and she told me to go pray about it. I just knew she was the one for me.”
Linda, who at the time had also recently lost her teenage boyfriend in a tragic car accident, said that it was Maurice’s kindness and compassion towards others that set him apart from the other young men. It wasn’t long after that the two mutually agreed to embark on a relationship. They got married in a simple and beautiful ceremony in December 1980, at the same church they met.
Having had difficult upbringings, having their own home was one of their biggest aspirations. Despite life’s odds, God’s grace saw the James’ secure land that had been allocated by the then government and were able to build their first home together at Ballerina Terrace in Wentworth. “One of the things that has kept our marriage strong, is having common goals. To always have something to work towards is very important to us,” said Linda, who highlighted that she and Maurice shared interests of travel, education, church and community service.
Prayer is the epicentre for this couple, and they attribute all they have as a blessing from God. All the hard work they have invested in the early years of their marriage have come to fruition. Today, they share a lovely life together in their beautiful Bluff home. They have four children who are now adults, seven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. The two chuckled when asked how they celebrate Valentine’s Day.
“I’m very Christian and it doesn’t really have a place in our relationship. I never had the money to spend on presents and dates,” said Maurice, who did, however, admit to buying a few cheesy gifts when he felt the ‘pressure’ that comes with the day. We vouch to practice love everyday. Love must be genuine. Make everyday special,” she said.
The couple’s advice to young people is, “Faith is very important, it’s what guides us. Have goals within the relationship, in order to keep growing. Give each other the space to do whatever it is you do best and be supportive of your passions and differences. Always be genuine and remain true to yourself. Life is full of challenges. The ‘happily ever after’ narrative is only in the movies. Marriage is two imperfect people coming together committed to making it work.”
