It was no accident,me finding you,someone had a hand in it long before we ever knew. We had no plans for a relationship just a night without care. I was out with the girls and you with the guys. We both had been thru the married life with no success. I had been diagnoised with Chronic Fatigue and Fibromyalgia in 1989 I was in remission and I didn't need anything to trigger that off again. That was the last thing on my mind. I had only myself and a calico cat to worry about. This Cowboy that was about to walk into my life had 3 daughters and I knew nothing about being a Mother. Little did I know my life was about to change drastically in a matter of time. God saw it differently I was about to realize why he had never allowed me to have children of my own. My Mother who is the most precious woman on earth to me ,I feel like if I can be half the Mother she is I will have accomplished a great task. I had met the man of my life. It was as if we had been drawn together. I saw him walk across the dance floor in Cowboys and said Girls This Cowboy Is Mine! And he has been ever since. . Since we didn't want a close relationship we tried to put distance between us to keep us apart. Doug went on a mobil work crew to Florida and I was in S.C. That still didn't keep us apart. July 2nd,1994 we were married in Gatlenburg,Tenn. now it is 2003. We have been thru alot over the years but our love has held us together. Doug never went to Church but I took the girls and we would go. I would ask him if he wanted to go but I always knew the answer. He would always have something else to do. Even tho God blessed us he still would not go. Doug had a drinking problem which I was not really aware of he didn't drink around me very much. Only when we were out at someones cookout or a party. He would come in from work drunk sometimes he had been fighting. He would work all week then have no money on payday. This was putting a strain on our marriage. This was getting to be more than I could handle. It finally came to either he would quit or I would leave. We can give God the praise for this because at this time he did turn to God and started going to Church but it lasted a short time for him. He was back out of it and here we go all alone again. God continued to bless us even tho Doug was not in Church. That year Doug had a great year at work his earnings were over $50,000. We were able to buy the things we had wanted. A custom van,nice bass boat with all the fishing gear and a tent. We had 2 horses,10 acres things were going great finally. The girls were adjusting really well. Ashleah was now 9, Antonia 7, and Carly 5. Carly and I had spent alot of time in Shriners in Greenville,S.C. She was born with alcohol syndrome. We were in to have her hips put back into place. She was in a full spica body cast for 8 weeks. Then back in for the removal and she had to learn to walk again. Within 1 year we were back in to have her hips redone they had removed the pins too soon. Once again she was in a spica cast another 8 weeks. This time praise The Lord they have remained in place. After all this we were ready for some quiet time. We started spending alot of time mostly weekends on Lake Hartwell on a small island,we were really enjoying life. The only thing was I was begining to leave God out of my life and plans. That year Dougs earnings dropped to around $25,000. He heard of a job in Kentucky that sounded good so we sold everything and moved to Kentucky. Doug had already been here working while I was doing the final things in S.C. I had never seen the home I was about to move into until June 7th,1998 at 10:30 PM. I thought I'd never find my way out of here again. Doug knew what I liked and knows me well enough he had picked the house out and bought it except for signing the final papers. There was my big yard,flowers,front porch,2 story country house. Nowhere new somewhere around 175-200 years old. The job we moved here for moved to Ohio so here we go again. We decided to start a small business. Things were going great again. I had a 1997 Jeep Grand Cherokee,Doug bought a new 2001 Chevy 4X4 truck and a 2001 4 wheel Polaris. We had purchased a time share Condo in Branson ,Missouri. He had more than enough work and had hired a couple of guys to work for him. Doug was finally in Church he recieved The Lord as his Savior in March of 2001. To show you how fast something can destroy you. June 7th,2001 the day we bought the truck in about an hour after he got home with it we had a flood that destroyed almost everything we had. It flooded the truck,jeep and we had 8" of water running through the house. No flood insurance. It is not a flood zone. That is how quickly your life can go from having everything to having just the necessities. From being independent to dependent. This is a real humbling experience. When you live for the Lord,Satan will try everything he can to destroy you. We have had a constant struggle since our family has become involved in Church activities. We know Satan cannot defeat us as long as we live for the Lord. 2003 finds us looking for work and opening other doors of possibilities, but one thing we know for sure is Our Lord will win the fight and Satan doesn't have a chance because we will stay grounded in Gods word no matter where we may end up. |
