Charlotte Akin is becoming one of Southern Baptists' most visible, gracious and remarkable women. She is the wife of Southeastern Seminary President Danny Akin and the mother of four sons: twins Nathan and Jonathan, 24; Paul, 21; and Timothy 20.

The Akins live in Magnolia Hill, the home provided for the seminary president. The house, built in 1928 for the president of Wake Forest College, is located off the southwest corner of the campus and is the heart of Southeastern hospitality. Charlotte enhances the ambiance of the spacious home with her personal charm as the first lady of the seminary.

The raven-haired hostess of Magnolia Hill traces her roots back to Georgia. She was born in Atlanta at the Georgia Baptist Hospital on November 21, 1958. Her parents divorced when she was a child and Charlotte was placed in the Georgia Baptist Children's Home in Palmetto at age nine.

 

A memorable time

Akin recalls, "My experiences at the Children's Home in Palmetto were good. They took great care of me. They put braces on my teeth, and while I lived there, I learned how to swim, roller-skate and ride horses.

"Each cottage had to grow their own garden," Charlotte recalls, "and that was really a fun and memorable time for me. I enjoyed learning how to grow vegetables, and I remember that the corn we grew tasted really good."

It was while Charlotte was a resident at the GBCH that she came to know Christ as her personal Savior. "A girl in my cottage witnessed to me when I was eleven years old, and walked down the aisle of the church with me when I decided to make my public profession of faith. That decision was made at the First Baptist Church of Fairburn," Akin recounted.

When Charlotte was 16 years old Danny entered into her life. She had secured a summer job at Fort McPherson where she met Danny's aunt, Linda, who introduced the two teenagers. That introduction led to a dating relationship, but Charlotte remembers the first date almost 30 years ago with great nostalgia. "He was so romantic," she asserted. "He took me to the movies to see Jaws."

 

First came love ...

The first date blossomed into a serious courtship. In 1977 Charlotte graduated from Palmetto High School and moved to Atlanta to live with an uncle and aunt. By the end of that summer Danny left Georgia and Charlotte to go to Criswell College in Dallas, Texas. Subsequently Charlotte moved in with Danny's parents. In December of the same year Danny returned to Atlanta for the Christmas holidays and proposed to Charlotte.

Ash Street Baptist Church in Forest Park is where Danny and Charlotte were married May 27, 1978. Charlotte joined her husband in Dallas where she worked for the federal government as a switchboard operator. Charlotte earned her PHT (Put Hubby Through) degree while Danny finished his undergraduate work at Criswell College.

Today the Akin family is closely knit and marked by a genuine commitment to the Lord and to each other. Three of the sons are going into fulltime Christian ministry and the fourth one is a teacher and basketball coach at a Christian school. Charlotte explained, "Danny and I are very close to our boys, and this has allowed the boys to be able to be open and honest with us."

Charlotte remarked, "Being a wife and mother was my childhood dream and has become a reality through God's grace to me. I have been blessed by being Danny Akin's wife in so many ways. Being loved so much by someone else has given me confidence and self-worth. Also, it is an honor and a privilege to have been entrusted with the care of our four sons. I do not think there is a higher calling in life than to be a wife and a mother."

Saturdays are family days for the Akins. The whole family enjoys quality time with each other and often just stays home to watch sports events on television. Charlotte, who is outnumbered five to one in the male to female ratio, declares, "From basketball to football, we like to watch the games and spend time together." Apparently, she decided long ago, "If you can't lick 'em, join 'em."

The perceptive homemaker states, "My primary responsibility is to take care of Danny. That responsibility takes many forms. There are times when I need to be available to sit in and help him in counseling a woman. He also loves for me to travel with him. Then, of course, I am the hostess of the home. We have many activities here, and God has blessed me with a servant's heart and I love showing hospitality to others."

 

Offering counsel

The energetic wife and mother interacts with young seminary wives on a daily basis and has great counsel for them and pastors' wives everywhere. She advises, "Rely upon the Lord, grow in your daily walk with Him and spend time in His Word to allow the Lord to make you the woman and mother that He wants you to be."

Charlotte continued, "Make it a daily habit to pray for your husband. This will help you to grow in your love, respect and trust in him."

Georgia Baptists can be grateful that Charlotte Akin is a wonderful and exemplary product of the ministry of the Georgia Baptist Children's Homes and Family Ministries. She is a delightful woman of grace and her husband would agree that "her price is far above rubies."