My Boaz Has Come

All of us want a story that begins, “once upon a time” and ends “and they lived happily ever after.” The day the tragic motorcycle accident tore my husband Paul’s physical presence from my arms, my world collapsed. My fairytale became a nightmare; my life as I knew it ended. With Paul’s “promotion to heaven,” our marriage of twenty-eight years was over. I became a widow.

My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my savior for He has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. Luke 1:46

As a single woman, I had to humble myself in my financial struggles, making major decisions (buying a car, putting a new roof on my home and remodeling a bathroom), and in travelling to Africa alone.

The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him. Lamentations 3:25

In June 2012, a widower asked if he could clean my garage and the Lord asked me to accept help. Jim Turner’s wife, Peggy, succumbed to a five year battle with breast cancer eighteen months prior. We shared our grief as we sorted. Jim and I became good friends and fell deeply in love. We were married on April 12, 2014.

Do not be afraid, you will not suffer shame. Do not fear disgrace, you will not be humiliated. You will forget the shame of your youth and remember no more the disappointment of your widowhood. Isaiah 54:4

My story reminds me of Ruth, Naomi’s daughter-in-law, who was also widowed at a young age. God provided Ruth with a kinsman-redeemer: Boaz. A hopeless romantic, my faith in fairytale happy endings has been restored. My new husband, Jim Turner and I look forward to many years of serving God together!

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