Honeymoon from Heaven | Previous Challenge Entry

how it works

TITLE: Honeymoon from Heaven | Previous Challenge Entry
By Stanley McMahon
09/01/15
LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE
SEND A PRIVATE COMMENT
ADD TO MY FAVORITES

Honeymoon from Heaven

The sun was setting on our exhausting but wonderful, eventful and memorable wedding day on the 9th July, 1985, when we drove off to our first night stop-over. We were booked into a hotel in Coleraine, about fifty miles north of Belfast. We would stay there one night and then go on to a Bed and Breakfast in Donegal.

In the days before internet, holidays were booked over the phone and the most advanced technology was a brochure from the local tourist board. This one had been booked for us as a wedding gift, presumably based on the scant knowledge gleaned from the brochure and the recommendations therein. Another consideration may have been the cost of the chosen destination and the depth of the pockets of the giver of the gift. And given that the giver was in fact my father, one may also wish to figure in his tendency for economising on generosity.

Our wedding day had been the best day of a dreadfully wet summer. Any hope of that continuing was soon dashed by the onslaught of persistent, torrential rain. In Ireland, no season is not the rainy season. Our first night’s sleep was soon broken by the sound of sirens and flashing blue lights lighting up our bedroom. Not to mention the noise of shouting and fighting outside our window. The disturbance ended any thought of sleep, adding to our exhaustion. Never mind, onwards and upwards and over to Donegal.

Our second day as the new Mr. and Mrs. McMahon was spent travelling and consulting maps in the rain. We got lost, frustrated and were generally disorientated and still getting used to our new status. It was getting dark as we approached our new destination along a less than cared for lane. As the cottage came into view within its rural setting, we were greeted by an old homestead complete with torn net curtains on the windows and an old lady coming to meet us. Already not convinced, we left our luggage in the car, just in case. It didn’t get any better when we went in. It was more than our disappointed young hearts could bear. With the excuse that we had to get our luggage, and through the tears and the rain, we checked out before we checked in.

‘I’m not staying there’ said my wife. I had to agree, not that disagreeing would have made any difference. We turned the car and headed back down the lane to find the nearest hotel. The plan was, we would rest up and find something more suitable in the morning. The problem was, we were just fresh out of Bible College and our potential to find a hotel on our budget would require something of a miracle.

The rain continued and finding a hotel in Ireland in July on short notice proved difficult. Disheartened and defeated we spent a further two nights checking in and checking out before deciding to go back into Northern Ireland.

We decided upon a hotel in the seaside town of Castlerock. The sun came out and things started looking up. The only thing we hadn’t reckoned on was that it was the Twelfth night. Now that is no Shakespearian reference. It is, nonetheless, rooted in history. 12th July is the date on which the three hundred year old Battle of the Boyne is commemorated every year in colourful parades boasting bands and banners. One added feature is the consumption of alcohol into the small hours. About eleven o’clock someone started playing shrill notes on a penny whistle. This continued until we could bear it no more. At four o’clock in the morning we were packed, fuming and ready to check out when it suddenly stopped. Exhausted, we weighed up our options, thought about what it would mean to check out at four in the morning, and went back to bed.

Our honeymoon continued in a less eventful vein but it had already been ruined by the stress of the first three nights. Through the years we have had some wonderful holidays together, mostly in Europe. I think of that time as a honeymoon from heaven, not because it went well, but it showed us that if we could work through that, we could work through anything together. At the end of the day, that is what marriage is all about; experiencing tough times together and good times together, and walking through them with the Lord.

PREVIOUS ENTRY | NEXT ENTRY
SUBMIT YOUR ENTRY FOR THIS WEEK'S CHALLENGE

The opinions expressed by authors may not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.

Accept Jesus as Your Lord and Savior Right Now - CLICK HERE
JOIN US at FaithWriters for Free. Grow as a Writer and Spread the Gospel.