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When Russell Darden and Frances first met at church, they were both very young (10 and 8 respectively). Heck, they were not even into each other at first, as they only started dating because they were trying to get their best friends together. However, God had other plans, as they have been married for over 44 years now, and the love they have for one another has only grown even greater with time.
What has also grown over time is Frances’ relationship with God. She has always been a faithful woman, and her husband and children all have seen how much faith she puts in Him. He is her light and her guide, and they know how much trust she puts in her Christianity.
Speaking of which, Frances’ daughter Heather said that among everything else, it has been an absolute pleasure watching her mother honor God throughout her entire life. Heather looks up to her mother because of this, along with many other reasons, and she really just knows everything good in her life is because of what her mother did for her growing up.
“It’s really difficult to put into words what my mom means to me,” Heather said. “She is my inspiration to be the best that I can be. I can always count on her because she always has my back. She is one of the funniest people I know. All that I am is because of all that she is. My mom is truly my best friend.”
Frances (known by most people as Annette) is a supporter and a role model, and her generosity and love toward others has so much to do with her faith. She feels blessed to be on this earth and to be able to live a life for God, and her people around her all appreciate what Frances brings to the table.
“I’ve learned the power and worth of prayer from her,” her son Russell Jr. said. “I’ve also learned about placing my trust and faith in God first and foremost above all else.”
No matter what aspect of Frances’ life you look at, everything always circles back to her trust in the Lord… including who she is as a mother.
Every mother sets forth to be a source of inspiration for her children, and Frances is no different. It is just that her being a source of inspiration is through living life with Jesus in her heart. In being that faithful role model to her kids, she feels she has done her job right.
“She is a great mother because she’s a woman after God’s heart,” Heather said. “Because she seeks to please God, she seeks to please Him through being an honorable mom. She prays for us, imparts wisdom and knowledge onto us, laughs with us, gives what she has to help us succeed, and much more. When she makes mistakes, she prays for correction and apologizes if and when she’s wrong. It has been beautiful to watch her grow as a mother.”
“What makes her a good mother is the fact that she loves and cares for her family and shows what a true woman of God is supposed to exemplify through her life,” Russell Jr. added. “She stands up for her family and does her earnest best to show and teach her children what is right! She always sees the best within her family and believes in our potential to be the best that God has created us to be.”
For Frances, the morals and values exude exponentially from her. She stands on a firm foundation, and that is something that helps keep her grounded as a mother.
She is also the kind of mother and family woman who is going to always be there for her loved ones. She cares so much about all of them, and she is not afraid to show it.
Frances also wants what is best for all of her family, and she wants to help them all achieve greatness. She helps push them in the right direction, and she does so while never beating around the bush.
“What makes her great to her family is her no-nonsense approach to life situations,” Russell Sr. said. “Almost any problem-solving solution that she may have given was almost always rooted and based on her spiritual upbringing. The closeness that she has with her brothers and sisters trickled down to her own children. I believe our kids view her and her siblings as examples. My daughter has a perfect example of how a ‘Proverbs 31’ woman should be and act.”
Among everything else, Frances is all about togetherness. She believes that family is everything, and she certainly has a great way of showing it. She remains close to all of her family to this day, and they all appreciate her for that.
In being the family woman that she is, Frances is into “genuine words of affirmation,” according to her husband. As long as her family loves and appreciates her, that is all that matters.
As long as she is being a tremendous wife too, that is something that she lives for. She loves being Russell Sr.’s best friend and someone he can always count on.
“She makes for an amazing wife to my father due to her support and willingness to stand by him and humble herself to his direction,” Russell Jr. said. “She has shown what a feminine nature is to look like within a woman of God, and also what it looks like as a wife! She adores her husband and through all the years of marriage has continually strived to make a daily choice and decision to love him through all of their strengths and weaknesses. She trusts in the Lord to help her be the wife to her husband that she needs to be.”
“My mom honors, respects and loves my father,” Heather added. “They have been married for 44 years, and in the [almost] 22 years I’ve been alive, it’s been easy to see them disagree, get annoyed at each other, and not want to deal with one another. However, it’s been so encouraging to watch them choose to love each other every time. In spite of any arguments, disagreements or annoyances, they have chosen to love each other and commit to each other time and time again. She desires to be his partner in life forever.”
Both Russell Jr. and Heather have a benchmark set for them when it comes to relationships, as they have seen the sacrifices their own parents have made for each other over the years. They are the kind of couple whose love for one another never wavers, and that does not go unnoticed.
“I can’t imagine living a life without her,” Russell Sr. said. “We’ve been together since we were kids… we’re childhood sweethearts. There is NO ONE that could ever hope to replace her and what she has meant to myself and my children.”
Frances truly is irreplaceable. Her husband and children cherish her so much and they appreciate the love she has for God and for them. She is an angel on earth brought here to be the Darden family matriarch, and there is no way of getting around that.
“I love and appreciate the patience, love and tolerance that you have shown toward me for over 50 years. Our relationship has had some scary moments over the years, but through the help of God we have survived them all. You’ve also shown tremendous love and patience toward our children. You’ve been a perfect mom and wife, and I have no doubt that we will be together until ‘death do we part.’” – Russell Sr.
