Charleston, South Carolina  August 23, 1947

The wedding was at set for 5 pm at the Citadel Square Baptist Church.  The Lawrence family and the Skinner family were thrilled that Frances and Bill were about to tie the knot. There were no finer young people in the land than those two. Bill was finishing medical school and about to receive his honorable discharge from the Navy.  Francis was working as the church secretary for the Citadel Square Baptist Church.  Each of them had previously professed a call to the mission field, and were now making plans to follow their call together.

But the important thing at hand on the morning of August 23 was to complete the detailed preparations for the five o’clock wedding ceremony.  It was nine o’clock and there was still more to do.  Frances was in a race against the clock.

“Mildred,” Frances called out to her oldest sister, “Will you do me a big favor please?”

“Anything you need, Fran.” Mildred answered.

“Will you please ask Bill to go by the King Street Bakery.  I need him to pick-up the mints for the reception.  I promised them we’d pick them up by noon.”

“I’ll tell him.  I think he’s outside with Charlie right now,” Mildred announced as she made her way toward the door.

“Wait,” Frances yelled.  “And tell him to get the keys to Daddy’s car from Charlie. Daddy won’t mind him using it.”  Mildred signaled a happy OK as she exited the building.

Minutes later Bill was fumbling with the keys as he slipped into the driver’s seat of Mr. Lawrence’s black Chevrolet when he heard someone calling his name.  There to his right were Frances’ other two sisters, Callie and Gene, and Fran’s roommate, Mary, all running toward him.

“Where are you headed, Bill?”  Callie asked.  Bill explained his simple mission to pick-up the wedding mints.

“Are you in a hurry?”

“Not particularly.”

Then Gene spoke up, turning on the charm.  “Can we ride with you?  We’ve all been dying to go down to the beach since we got to Charleston, but we’ve been so busy we haven’t been able to.  Do you think we have time for a quick trip to Sullivan’s Island Beach?  It’s only ten miles away, and it’s such a beautiful summer day– it would be a shame to waste it.”

“I don’t see why not?” Bill affirmed. “Jump in.”

Dutifully, Bill picked up the mints at the King Street Bakery just like he promised.  Then the foursome hit the road for a brief appointment with the beautiful sands of the Atlantic Ocean.  The girls hopped out of the car as soon as Bill pulled onto the beach, skipping across the sand and wading in the ocean.  Bill rolled up the windows so that no sand would blow into the car belonging to his soon to be “father-in-law.”  He set the mints on the flat shelf under the back window and above the rear seat.  Then he joined Callie, Gene, and Mary as they splashed and waded in the surf.  It was the perfect way to relax under a hot, August sun at midday.

When they arrived back at the church in Charleston, Frances inquired about the mints. “Oh yes,” Bill said.  “We picked them up this morning, just like you requested.  They look delicious!  I set them on a table in the fellowship hall.”  Less than a minute later, Mildred called out,

“Fran, the bakery did not do a good job with the mints.  They’re sort of flat and gooey.”

“Flat and gooey?” Frances made a bee-line into the hall where the reception was to be held.  She took one look at the mint tray and said,

“What happened?  It looks like they’ve melted!”

“Fran!” Mildred surmised, “I was just in Daddy’s car, and it smelled very minty!  I’ll bet they left them in the car when they went to the beach today.  Did you know that Callie, Gene, Mary and Bill went to the beach?”

“The BEACH?,” Frances exclaimed! “Bill took them all to the beach while my mints melted in the car?  On my wedding day?  What were they thinking?!”

Needless to say, Frances was not happy– not with her sisters, her roommate, or the groom.  Not at all.  But as soon as her father walked her down the aisle to say “I do,” all was forgotten.  Well, maybe not forgotten, but at least forgiven.

They spent almost forty years as missionaries in Paraguay.

They will celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary this August (2017).

 

“Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.”   Proverbs 19:21

 

Obviously it was mint to be.