I became a Christ follower as a teenager at a great church in Redford, MI! They had a very active youth group, and I have fond memories of those years. I met Doug there, and we became “youth group” sweethearts. We were blessed with incredible adults who poured into that group for years. We were married in 1978, and a few years later, we grew to a family of 4 with a son and a daughter. Our family was very plugged into our church and loved it. Though it was hard to leave, we moved to Virginia Beach in 1995. Doug had been asked to join the Family Channel. We found a wonderful church there and got involved in various ways. Our kids grew up, got married, and we became grandparents! It is the best! A difficult season of life began in 2016 when Doug started to struggle with speaking, which had been his life in business and church leadership. After many medical tests from VA to GA, he was diagnosed with PPA and FTD dementia. It was a hard pill to swallow; he was too young! I was so proud of him for how he fought it and was determined to make the best of what it was. He even took those years of the long goodbye to write “his story.” He titled it, “The Hand of God and Me.” We each have a story to share; writing it down is a good way for future generations to have it.

I say all of this to say to any widow reading this, we are a group who understands. We each have the unique story of our season becoming widowed; It might have been the long goodbye, or it might have been the shock of a lifetime. God is faithful; He will hold on close to us for every part of this journey. I invite you to join us to be encouraged and to be an encouragement. God has a plan for your life!