Silent Pain

There was one big problem standing in the way of our relationship. Timmy's parents were Catholic. They raised both of the children in the Catholic faith. As I've mentioned, I was raised in a strict Ssouthern Baptist home.  I had never even been inside any church that wasn't Baptist. If you'll recall, Timmy's older sister married my older brother, and she had joined the Baptist church. This had already set the stage for Timmy's parents, especially his mother.  She had already lost her daughter to the Baptist denomination.  Now her son was engaged to "the other" Baptist.

When Timmy and I began dating, I continually invited him to my church and youth activities at my church.  (He wasn't even attending the Catholic church with his parents).  He would always tell me "no".  He knew his parents would get upset.  Finally, before we were engaged, he began going with me to my church.  His mother was furious!  His parents never even knew about the night he accepted Christ into his heart or the Sunday that he was baptized, and officially joined my Southern Baptist Church.

His mother didn't like me from the beginning. She believed that the wife should follow her husband's beliefs.
There are some things that I agree with, that Catholics practice. I wasn't anti-Catholic, but I wasn't about to join the Catholic faith, although we worship the same God.  We just do it differently.

Timmy's parents have never quite fit in here in Burkburnett,Texas.  They were raised in Illinois. He was in the military and retired Civil Service, and I doubt they've ever voted for a Republican politician.

This is something I can't quite understand. If Catholics are so against abortion, why do they repeatedly vote for politicians who are pro-choice? Just a question that I often ponder.

If there's anybody in this world who needs to be taking an anti-depressant, it's Kay, Timmy's Mother.  She is constantly complaining about something.  When we have to see his parents, we're always wondering, "How will Mom be today?"  Occasionally, she acts just fine.  One just doesn't know what to expect while in her company.   Timmy's Dad, Jimmy, has caused his son much heartache through out the years.  More about that later. He is sixty-seven years old, but thinks he's still a teenager.  He has survived throat cancer twice. He and Kay bought a Ford Mustang awhile back, but they had to trade it in, because they couldn't get in and out of it without having much difficulty.  Then he's purchased and traded several motorcycles over the past few years. They are just odd people. They've done or said so many wierd things, I couldn't attempt to list them all.