" Good Friends are the Chocolate Chips in the Cookies of Life"

Deena and Marilyn and I had such fun on Thursday evening. Our dinner and visit lasted 4 and ½ hours! As they say, we behaved outrageously (and can hardly wait to do it again). Seriously, what fun friends they are, and what great Christian examples they are to me. Many years ago now, Deena was in a very troubled first marriage, wherein her former husband was physically and verbally abusive. Fearing for their lives/safety, Deena took her two small children and fled, with little more than the clothes on their backs, in the middle of the night. She drove until several states separated them from the source of abuse. She got a job as a waitress and made barely enough money to cover rent and utilities and food for the children. If they didn’t eat everything, she cleaned their plates. She also “cleaned the plates” of the customers in the café where she worked, half a hot dog here, soda crackers there, etc.
After a period of time, Deena met a wonderful man, Ron, who was divorced and had also been in a very unhappy first marriage. It was, and still is, a match made in Heaven. When Deena and Ron first moved here with their young family, Ron had a job at a local dealership, selling cars. They used their cash reserves to move here, pay first and last month’s rent, utilities (you know the routine). Ron got paid once a month and it was several weeks before he got his first check. There were four very long days remaining before Ron’s first check was due, and they had spent every last penny they had. They made it through those four days by living off PEARS—and only pears--from trees in a local park. We still talk about the pears that saved their lives. Deena says she has a lot more guts today and would ask for help if in the same situation, but at that time . . .
To this day (and Ron and Deena have now been married for years, sharing 19 grandchildren and, I think, 7 great grandchildren), Deena calls Ron “Mr. Universe,” and he calls her “Miss World.” They call one another often when they are not together just to express their love and appreciation. I’m so thankful they found one another.
Steve grilled chicken for us and joined us for dinner before leaving to attend the viewing of a friend who passed away. At one point, Marilyn asked Steve what he liked most about our home. He pointed to me and made a very sweet comment that I don’t recall verbatim.
We received a thank you note from Marilyn in today’s mail, from which I’ll quote just a portion, “When I asked what you liked about your home the most and Steve indicated it was his precious wife—WOW! That was a huge statement. How wonderful God has blessed you with such happiness. Your friendship makes the world seem right.” This was a particularly poignant moment because Marilyn lost her husband to heart disease a couple of years ago. How blessed I am to be loved and appreciated by my awesome husband.