Your Dying Spouse 636 - Story Of A Love

Today, June 24th, is Barbara's birthday...and our wedding anniversary.

August 9 will also be our wedding anniversary.

Confused?

There's a divorce and remarriage in there. The second marriage, on June 24, took place in Las Vegas, where we both flew (Barb from Indiana, me from Texas) to atend a Focus on the Family wedding seminar.

I had been an unfaithful fool in our short marriage...not with another woman, but worse, unfaithful to her in being true to my own pride.

I courted her all over again, with the weight of my character fully visible. That she was even willing to talk to me was a miracle.

Barb said in the weeks leading up that I could arrange for a remarriage, but she had not yet decided. She had a precondition that only God knew about.

So, on the appointed day, we both arrived, and got a wedding license, and then dressed for the maybe-wedding.

It took place in a helicopter, at night, over the Strip.

At the heliport, there waited the bird, the pilot, and a priest, who'd just gotten dispensation from his bishop to perform the ceremony.

And Barb said, "OK. I'm in."

The presence of a priest was her precondition.

And how did the priest get authority? Our first marriage was legally terminated, but never annulled...so in the eyes of the church, this was a rededication of vows, with a bit of extra paperwork.

I wasn't big enough for wedlock

and so I hurt a heart I loved.

God and me, we had a deadlock;

He demanded faith be proved.

There was divorce we didn't want;

would our dreams be uncompleted?

I put away my self-pride vaunt

and took medicine that was needed.

Counseling took no tender mercy

upon my selfish, foolish soul;

came God's help, and His courtesy

of making what was broken whole.

What was in her heart I can only guess,

but in the end...she said Yes.

Music from Jo Stafford, with You Belong To Me.

Thanks to Carol Ashby, Blessed Are The Pure Of Heart is back on Kindle, and will be available in paperback soon.

Friends are everything. I couldn't have done it.

Marley, the canine waif from Afghanistan, whom WE helped save, has a Facebook page! Please drop by to see how happy he is today.

Below are my recent releases on Kindle -please excuse their presence in the body of the blog. I haven't the energy to get them up as 'buttons' in the sidebar. You can click on the covers to go to the Amazon links.