The Watkinsville Blessing

If you've read my blog for very long then you've probably heard of Gene and Marion Acuff, now living in Watkinsville, Georgia. 18 years ago they lived in Stillwater Oklahoma where Gene was the head of the Department of Sociology at Oklahoma State University and Marion was a writer for Guidepost Magazine.It was Marion who wrote the articles in Guidepost about the death of her first husband. It was through that article that Gene and Marion met (his first wife had died from a cancer battle as had Marion's husband). In time they married and Marion moved to Stillwater to wait until Gene retired, at which time they would move back to Georgia. I met them when they were preparing to move and had not yet sold his farm outside of Stillwater. I became their house-sitter.
Marion wrote another article about about her marriage to Gene (her name in Guidepost is Marion Bond West). One of Debbie's co-workers gave her a copy of the article. It was when Debbie tried to contact Marion that she got me instead. And we've been best friends ever since. But until now Debbie had never met Marion and Gene in person.

We drove to Watkinsville on Monday and had a wonderful visit with them. It was such a blessing -- seems almost like a completed circle. I told them that we had waited 18 years for this moment! Marion is now a contributing editor for Guidpost and continues to have articles published. Her daughter is also a writer and instructs for a Christian Writer's organization and will be participating in a seminar in Dallas later this year. We're already making plans for Debbie to attend and meet her.

Everyday brings new people, new friends, new experiences. We never know which of those God has ordained to be a key factor in our lives. It's so important to face every day, regardless of what the day brings, as having the potential of being a divine appointment from our Heavenly Father. The day I met Gene Acuff at Hillcrest Baptist Church in Stillwater was such a day! I have not stopped giving thanks!