I thought life had given me one last chance at happiness, even if only for a few precious days. But just when I thought our love story had ended, I discovered it still had an extraordinary surprise waiting for me.

“Mom warned me you might faint when you read this.”

Wade stood outside the church, looking nervous and holding a sealed envelope.

We’d just buried his mother, Margaret. My wife of eight days.

I stared at the envelope. “What is it?”

We’d just buried his mother.

Wade swallowed. “Tom, there’s something you need to know. You don’t know the whole truth about Mom. She left this for you and asked me to give it to you only after she was gone.”

I opened it.

Inside was a handwritten letter.

I unfolded the paper and read the first line.

My knees nearly gave out!

I opened it.

I grabbed the church railing. “Good Lord!”

Wade caught my arm. “Are you okay?”

I looked at him. “Your mother did WHAT?”

He smiled nervously. “She thought you’d say something like that.”

I looked back at the letter.

“Are you okay?”

Even from beyond the grave, Margaret had managed to leave me speechless.

And believe me, making a 63-year-old pastor speechless is no small achievement.

But before I explain what she left me, you need to understand how we found each other again.

***

I’d been the pastor of a small community church for 23 years.

Margaret had managed to leave me speechless.

Several times a week, I visited terminally ill patients at the local hospital.

Sometimes we prayed. Sometimes we talked. Occasionally, people simply wanted someone to listen.

***

One Tuesday, a nurse named Helen mentioned a new patient with stage four cancer.

“She’s quite a character,” Helen said. “Yesterday, she told the doctor his handwriting looked like a spider had fallen into an ink bottle!”

Sometimes we prayed.

I laughed. “Sounds like someone I should meet.”

When I entered her room, my heart nearly stopped! The woman lying in the hospital bed looked older, but I recognized her immediately.

Those eyes.

That smile.

I couldn’t believe my eyes! “Margaret?”

The woman in the bed looked up and squinted as she studied my face.

My heart nearly stopped!

Then, she suddenly burst into laughter!

“Wow! Tommy?! Is that you?! This can’t be real!”

I stood there, stunned.

She grinned. “Well, don’t just stand there! Come hug me before I start charging admission.”

I laughed.

Then I hugged the girl I’d fallen in love with 45 years ago.

“This can’t be real!”

***

Margaret had been my high school sweetheart.

We went to prom together, shared milkshakes, and made plans for a future we were certain would happen.

I’d promised to marry her.

She said she’d consider it when we were older.

Unfortunately, we left for different colleges, and our phone calls gradually stopped.

I’d promised to marry her.