IT IS NEVER TOO LATE TO LIVE HAPPILY EVER AFTER

Remember the old Michael W. Smith song "Friends"

And friends are friends forever, If the Lords the Lord of them.

It has always been one of my favorite songs.
This past Saturday night, one of those kind of friends got married.
This was a friend that I have known for 30 years, a prayer partner for as long as I can remember, one I don't see often enough, though we live in the same town. We both have busy lives. She has been single and I am married with kids and grandkids. But through the years, both of us have known the faithfulness of God. Saturday night just happened to be a night his faithfulness was on special display. And it was BEAUTIFUL!

When I first met Suzanne, she had been in a long, very difficult marriage. She had stayed married because that was the thing to do. Eventually she got a divorce. It was not something she took lightly, but it happened. And then she met Bill, the love of her life. I remember the glow on her face, the love in her eyes. Happiness was no longer a hope. She WAS!!!!

These two people were meant for each other. Fast forward two short years and she was a widow. Bill had a heart attack and died in her arms, as she waited on the EMT's. That glow left and she was left all alone, no children and not yet 40. Life did not seem fair. I can remember so many talks we had about the faithfulness of God.


Over the next twenty years she had many dates (can I tell you this is one of the most beautiful ladies I have ever known, both inside and out!) and yet she felt like she would spend the rest of her years alone. And then it happened !

About a year ago, she met a man who had lost his wife to cancer a few years earlier. In her words to me, she had met another Bill. They dated for a year, he took her to New York City, took her on a church trip to the Holy Land, she even got to go to the Republican convention last summer, as he was a delegate from Arkansas ...and yes, he gave her a ROCK. I wish I had a picture of it.

I know how many times she had prayed for a man who loved God, loved family and would love her.
I attended their wedding on Saturday night and could not hold back the tears as she walked down the aisle, glowing. As I looked around in that beautiful cathedral, I realized everyone had a few tears. They are both 60 and super healthy (when you see her picture you will not believe she is a day over 40) so I see them having many happy years. He has two married daughters that have welcomed her into their family, so I bet she will get to be a grandmother someday. She never had children and would have been a wonderful Mom. She has always been one of my kids very favorite people.


So the next years of her life will bring some new experiences that she has only dreamed of. They are going to Paris for a week in April. Life is good. God is faithful! And as the saying goes, "It is never too late to live happily ever after"!
Suzanne and John are a testimony to that. So cheers to the newlyweds. May you have many happy years together.