Laurie’s story:
I loved my husband and was married to him for
over 23 years, but it felt like we had only a few short years when the Lord
called him home suddenly—in just a few
dreadful moments at midnight. I held his head in my hands as I prayed in
desperation for him to breathe. A blood clot had lodged in his bronchial artery
and he struggled to get air past it into his lungs.
What a sacred time of togetherness this was. I
was permitted time to tell him what a wonderful husband he had been to me, and
what a beloved-good father he had been. Even though I begged God not to take
him home I could feel this was his day to receive his heavenly reward.
I had been reading my Bible since the age of
17 and knew so many things about the Lord by this time; I knew He never made mistakes
in His timing. I knew by heart the word that proclaims the 'Day of our death is
precious in His sight' and also that 'it is better than the day of our birth.'
I did not fall into questioning or despair at his departure, only a deep
sadness at what I would have to live without.
He was a very protective father and husband,
so much so that when it snowed he would tell me I would not be driving to work!
He would warm up his truck and he would escort me safely to work and back.
Through the love of my long-time church
friends, work friends, and CR I began to receive hope that my sadness was
lifting and there would be a purpose for my life in the future. That's when my
oldest son called with the shocking news that my daughter had died early that morning,
moments after feeding her newborn baby, only 7 days old.
I had talked to her the night before—another
one of those 'Godly Gifts' I will be forever thankful to Him for! It made it
harder to believe, however. She hadn't been ill or sick, just happy to receive
the newest addition in her family of 11 children. I went to stay with the
children until my oldest grand-daughter could arrive to help my son in law. It
wasn't long before I could see how beneficial I could be to the family if I stayed
to help.
My days are now filled with helping raise and
transport the kids to their practices and games. I think back to how God
orchestrated my availability to be able to move from the West coast to the
East. If He hadn't taken my husband home first, the move would never have been
possible.
God knew what it would take to make a way for
me to help. I loved my community and my friends were a security after the loss
of my best friend (my husband!) I cried as I drove East and I was afraid to let
go...God said quietly but distinctly, " You will lose a lot of things but
when you get there the most important thing of all will be right there waiting
for you, and that will be ME!"
Tori’s story:
I had been dating Beau, the love
of my life for a long time, and wishing he would ask me to marry him. So much
so that I bought a wedding dress, just in case he proposed.
I knew Beau was the one for me
so I headed to Goodwill before moving from Maryland to Illinois (his hometown).
I saw a dress in the back of the store that was gorgeous and still had the
tags. It was just my size so I handed the cashier $50 and packed it up.
The dress became stagnant when I
moved to Illinois. It was not put to use as quickly as I hoped it would. I was
fixed on getting married very quickly. When I passed by the dress I would
become mad at Beau then proceed to yell at him for not proposing yet. Beau was
always calm and sweet with his reply, "Just be patient." How I hated
when he said that.
So my dress kept sitting, no
ring on my finger yet. I left for a trip back to Maryland to visit my family.
While I was gone I had no clue that my king of grand gestures, Beau, was creating
my wedding.
It came time to travel back to
Illinois, on the trip home I was just excited to see Beau again but still
bitter we still weren't engaged. I began to pull up to Beau’s house and saw
streets full of vehicles. I got out of the car, completely confused, Beau
walked out of the house, got on his knee and asked me to be his wife.
Well by now you should know I
screamed yes... then not only did he propose he said, "Good, because we
are getting married today." WHAT!?
I was walked back to a hall and
had makeup and hair done in 15 minutes then straight into my no longer stagnate
dress. My family had raced to beat me to Illinois and surprised me too.
I had a whole lot of emotions as
I walked down the aisle to that crazy man that I adore. I, of course, felt like
a total brat for yelling at him so much about marriage. I'm sure at some point
he thought, "Well Lord I'm not sure if I can go through with this," but the
whole time he had something beyond my wildest dreams planned. If it had gone my
way, Beau would have proposed out of my impatience and it wouldn't have been as
magical as our wedding was.
What an amazing husband I have
to know his bride so well. He created the perfect wedding in a week and gave me
the surprise of lifetime. I feel this story is a lot like God’s love. We beg
and plead for things we desire, but if God always gave us our desires we would
miss out on something so much more beautiful and wonderful. I'm so fortunate to
have been blessed with this beautiful love story.
Happy Valentines Day! Tune in for more tomorrow.
#Valentines
#lovestories #shareyourstory #romanticlove #loveislike
Thank you for sharing these stories. Just last night, for the first time I remember contemplating these verses, I read the scripture that your,"Day of our death is precious in His sight' and also that 'it is better than the day of our birth.'
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