"Sometimes all you need is a second chance, because time wasn't ready for the first one" – Unknown
I mentioned to y’all last Friday that I went to my Step-Mom’s funeral. It was a great celebration of a life very well lived. My Step-Mom was a great lady who grew up in Southwest Texas on a ranch. She was a school teacher for over three decades. She positively impacted countless lives in her small town; she had many children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
I never knew about her until my Mom died after a long illness due to a stroke. My Dad took care of my Mom 24/7 for 16 years until she died peacefully in her sleep. My Dad is the poster child for a devoted husband. After about a year after my Mom died, my Dad decided it was time to stop being lonely. He remembered his long lost sweetheart he met in college at the University of Texas in Austin.
Back in college my Dad was ready to propose marriage; he had bought a ring, so he wanted to meet her parents at their ranch before proposing. After meeting her parents, they went to church and my Dad had never been to a Catholic church before. As they are walking into the church, my Dad was following behind her. My Dad was looking at all of the stain glass windows and not paying attention to her in front of him. She kneeled down before entering the pew and my Dad tripped right over her and sprawled out into the aisle, cussing like a sailor as he fell to the floor. The whole congregation heard his cussing and he was so embarrassed. Needless to say, the ride back to the ranch with her and her parents was silent.
He said his goodbyes and in his version of this story, he took the ring back when he got back to Austin and never saw her again due to his embarrassment. Now, if you ask about her version, the real reason they broke up was she needed to help her parents run the ranch and she couldn’t leave her parents at that time to marry my Dad due to her parent’s illnesses. Both of them moved on and married others.
Fast forward about 50 years.
So one day about a year after my Mom died my Dad drove to her old home town hoping she was still alive and soon he found someone who knew where she was still living. She had been a widow for over a decade and never remarried. He was able to get her phone number and they decided to meet. They met in a restaurant about halfway between their homes near San Antonio. As my Dad told the story, when she walked in the restaurant, he fell in love all over again and she felt the same way. In less than a year they married and they were like two teenagers in love. I told my Dad one time on the phone that seeing them holding hands and kissing was “making me sick” in a good way. I was so happy for them; they had 6 incredibly good years together until my Dad died.
I hadn’t seen my Dad so happy since he retired and was starting to enjoy retired life with my Mom, but she had her stroke soon after he had retired, so he never really got a chance to enjoy his retirement. I’m so glad our Creator gave them that second chance.
Our Creator is big on giving second chances; don’t hesitate to taking Him up on one if you need a do over.
1 John 4:7-8 & 2 Peter 3:9
Blessings to you all!
TSK
I mentioned to y’all last Friday that I went to my Step-Mom’s funeral. It was a great celebration of a life very well lived. My Step-Mom was a great lady who grew up in Southwest Texas on a ranch. She was a school teacher for over three decades. She positively impacted countless lives in her small town; she had many children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
I never knew about her until my Mom died after a long illness due to a stroke. My Dad took care of my Mom 24/7 for 16 years until she died peacefully in her sleep. My Dad is the poster child for a devoted husband. After about a year after my Mom died, my Dad decided it was time to stop being lonely. He remembered his long lost sweetheart he met in college at the University of Texas in Austin.
Back in college my Dad was ready to propose marriage; he had bought a ring, so he wanted to meet her parents at their ranch before proposing. After meeting her parents, they went to church and my Dad had never been to a Catholic church before. As they are walking into the church, my Dad was following behind her. My Dad was looking at all of the stain glass windows and not paying attention to her in front of him. She kneeled down before entering the pew and my Dad tripped right over her and sprawled out into the aisle, cussing like a sailor as he fell to the floor. The whole congregation heard his cussing and he was so embarrassed. Needless to say, the ride back to the ranch with her and her parents was silent.
He said his goodbyes and in his version of this story, he took the ring back when he got back to Austin and never saw her again due to his embarrassment. Now, if you ask about her version, the real reason they broke up was she needed to help her parents run the ranch and she couldn’t leave her parents at that time to marry my Dad due to her parent’s illnesses. Both of them moved on and married others.
Fast forward about 50 years.
So one day about a year after my Mom died my Dad drove to her old home town hoping she was still alive and soon he found someone who knew where she was still living. She had been a widow for over a decade and never remarried. He was able to get her phone number and they decided to meet. They met in a restaurant about halfway between their homes near San Antonio. As my Dad told the story, when she walked in the restaurant, he fell in love all over again and she felt the same way. In less than a year they married and they were like two teenagers in love. I told my Dad one time on the phone that seeing them holding hands and kissing was “making me sick” in a good way. I was so happy for them; they had 6 incredibly good years together until my Dad died.
I hadn’t seen my Dad so happy since he retired and was starting to enjoy retired life with my Mom, but she had her stroke soon after he had retired, so he never really got a chance to enjoy his retirement. I’m so glad our Creator gave them that second chance.
Our Creator is big on giving second chances; don’t hesitate to taking Him up on one if you need a do over.
1 John 4:7-8 & 2 Peter 3:9
Blessings to you all!
TSK
