A Promise Kept (Part 1) - Robertson McQuilkin

Dennis & Barbara's Top 25 All-Time Interviews

A Promise Kept (Part 1) - Robertson McQuilkin
A Promise Kept (Part 2) - Robertson McQuilkin
A Promise Kept (Part 3) - Robertson McQuilkin
A Promise Kept (Part 4) - Robertson McQuilkin

FamilyLife Today® Radio Transcript

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A Promise Kept

Day 1 of 4

Guest: Robertson McQuilkin

From the series: My Decision, Part 1

Bob: Robertson McQuilkin clearly remembers the first time he realized something was wrong with his wife, Muriel.

Robertson: We were driving with these friends, and Muriel started to tell a story. She liked to tell stories and laugh at her own stories. She had a marvelous, outrageous life – infectious. So she started this story, which she had just told five minutes earlier. This is a pretty, you know, four- or five-minute story. And I said, "Honey, you just told us that. This is a rerun." And she just laughed and went right on. And I thought, "Hey, that's funny. That never happened before." But then it began to happen with ever-greater frequency and, of course, we hadn't even heard the name Alzheimer's.

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Bob: This is FamilyLife Today for Monday, August 11th. Our host is the president of FamilyLife, Dennis Rainey, and I'm Bob Lepine. Today we hear the first part of a powerful love story. Stay tuned.

[musical transition]

And welcome to FamilyLife Today, thanks for joining us on the Monday edition. I know one of the questions you get asked frequently – I get asked the same question – is when you think back over now almost 16 years of doing FamilyLife Today what are some of your favorite radio interviews? And I think what our listeners are going to get a chance to hear this week has to be up in the top tier of programs we've ever had the privilege of doing.

Dennis: And I thought you were going to say, Bob, one of the Top 10.

Bob: Well, it's certainly one of the Top 10, maybe even higher than that, don't you think?

Dennis: No doubt about that. Robertson McQuilkin is a rare man. He is a world-renowned biblical theologian who has served internationally as a missionary. He was, for a number of years, president of Columbia International University; has spoken worldwide; written a number of books. But the real story our listeners are about to hear is Robertson's love for his wife, Muriel, who – well, more than 10 years from the time of this interview had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, and he was caring for her and, in fact, had resigned from his position as president of the seminary and college, and he went home to take care of her. And it's just a great love story.

Bob: It is a powerful story and, again, this interview goes back now almost nine years, but it's one of those interviews that we pull out and listen to ourselves over and over again, and we wanted our listeners to hear it as well. Here is part 1 of our conversation with Dr. Robertson McQuilkin.

Dennis: Robertson, you and your wife, Muriel, met and dated during the year I was born – 1948. That kind of dates me here a little bit.

Robertson: It dates me.

Dennis: Tell us about the love story originally. How did you meet Muriel and how did you propose to her?

Robertson: Well, we were both students at what was then Columbia Bible College. Now it's Columbia International University. And I thought she was the cutest thing. Somebody asked me on a television show whether it was love at first sight, and I said, "No." I liked her at first sight, but I was only 17 years old – 16 when we first met. But in our chapel, which was required, she sat in front of me, and when I watched her lovely, artistic fingers going through the hair, lovely brown hair, I just wanted to go out and see what she was like, and I discovered she was delightful – just smart and gifted and just a great lover of people and more fun than you can imagine.

Bob: Now, did you just tap her on the shoulder in chapel and say, "Would you go out for a Coke with me on Friday night?

Robertson: Well, I talked to her afterwards. We were in conversation before, but, I mean, that really got me going.

Dennis: So you proposed – how'd you do that?

Robertson: It happened several times.

Dennis: It took you a while to win Muriel's love, huh?

Robertson: I think she was faking it, actually. But, at any rate, yes. The first time was in the lobby of the school, and she had this – she wouldn't hold hands or kiss or anything, and I said, "Let me hold your hand, I want to tell you something." And she said, "Well, tell me what you're going to tell me." But she let me hold her hand, and I told her I loved her, and that was the first time.

Dennis: Yeah, and you told her you wanted her to be your wife?

Robertson: I didn't say that much, but she got the drift. But we decided afterwards, since we were young – and I guess a lot of people, after they propose, then they have misgivings. So we decided to be sure it was God's will that we put it on hold for six months, and I went to seminary, and she went to teach in a school. So we didn't have any contact for six months. And they say that distance will blow out a little flame and fan a big one.

So at the end of that time – I went to Bluefield, West Virginia to see her, and it was on Valentine's Day 1947 – the day before Valentine's Day, and that's when I had my ring and asked her to marry me, and she said, "Well, I've got to pray about it." She knew all along what she was going to do. Through the years I'd accuse her, I'd say, "You just did that so we could get engaged on Valentine's Day."

[laughter]

Bob: Well, you had to be a little nervous, driving up to Bluefield, West Virginia. You haven't seen her in six months, and you're carrying the ring, and did you wonder whether that little flame had been blown out or whether the big flame was still fanned?

Robertson: Well, I don't know, I was pretty confident, I guess.