The Back Page
By Sue Ferguson
As I write this month's back page at the eleventh hour before the deadline, today marks what would have been my late husband George and my twenty-fifth wedding anniversary. Twenty five years ago today we exchanged vows in a little wedding chapel in Las Vegas. Many of you will not know this story, but I do enjoy telling it once in awhile.
We had been dating since high school, and George was now living and working in Denver, Colorado. We had been through his initial cancer diagnosis along with a couple of surgeries and some routine check-ups before hearing the much anticipated and celebrated words “he's cured”. I was “visiting” Denver for extended periods of time, and periodically flying back to Simcoe to see our families and friends.
One particular time when my Dad was driving me back to the airport we were questioned at the border and then detained for further questioning, as I did not have a return airline ticket. After much discussion, they sent us back across the border in a taxi, as they decided to keep my Mom's car “because they could”. I will never forget that phone call to my Mom, as it was on April 1st of all days, and she thought we were joking when Dad and I asked her to come and pick us up at the border.
A couple of weeks later I was back in Denver, and I had a ring on my finger. We had been dating for years, but George was waiting for the “perfect time” to propose. He learned quickly that waiting for the “perfect time” means that you might wait a long, long time. He wanted us to go to Las Vegas together and have a simple ceremony all the while keeping it a secret. That was pretty tough to do! I told my best friend Amy, and also my Mom. Our plan was to have a big wedding in Simcoe one year later on May 19th.
The amazing thing about the Vegas wedding was that it was just the two of us. I had a fake bouquet, and was wearing a skirt. George wore shorts and a collared shirt. One of the best parts was standing in line in that Vegas courthouse to get our marriage certificate with many other people (some of them very interesting), who were doing the same thing.
I have only 2 photos of that day, and the ceremony cost $60. The memory imprinted on my heart is priceless. We had that big wedding in Simcoe a year later on May 19th, 2001. It was a beautiful day with Terry Dance officiating, at Trinity Anglican Church. I could never have imagined in that moment that only 3 years later Terry Dance would be officiating George's celebration of life.
God gives us all unique roads to travel on the paths of our lives doesn't he? He has blessed me with being married to two amazing men. With blessing sometimes comes heartache, but God heals and comforts too. He reaches down, takes us by the hand, and walks with us as we navigate the hairpin turns, the hills and valleys, and also the long, flat, quiet stretches of this road that is life.
The drive from Denver to Las Vegas has many roads like that, where there are stretches of highway that meander through the desolate desert as well as steep climbs amongst the majestic Rockies.
That road was one of many that led me to where I am today. I am happily married to my husband Shane, and back in Simcoe close to family and friends, and God has given me the blessing of memories upon which I can reflect and share. I pray that the road on which you travel enables you to stop and “smell the roses”, and that you feel God's presence as He takes you by the hand and leads you through whatever may lie ahead.
