Wendy and I and the 11 children just returned from a most beautiful wedding. Stefani Schultz, a widow we posted about early last year, was married to today to Todd, a father of four children. The story is a wonderful one, and I have a great picture…
Stefani lost her husband, Jeff, to cancer May 2006. (Click here to read the posts.) Their love and thier faith were incredibly strong. We knew the Schultzes from a small group of friends who, like us, had many children. Stefani was pregnant with their 8th child when Jeff was diagnosed with cancer. Jeff fought cancer for nearly two years before cancer finally won.
The Lord was evident throughout the entire journey. Jeff moved his family back to Indiana. I brought a bunch of my kids over to their house to help pack up their trucks. Stefani’s parents were strong supports during the final days of Jeff’s life. When Jeff died, a large gathering of family and friends served as a solid ground as Stefani and her kids mourned their loss. We felt the pain from a distance, but our prayers were consistant and frequent.
In fact, our children began immediately including the Schultz family in their daily prayers. Some of the littlest Jeubs, though they had no rememberance of the Schultz family, still prayed at dinnertime and bedtime for “the Schultz family to be given a new dad.”
Todd lost his wife to cancer two years ago, and he has four children. The two met online (not sure of the entire story), but their hearts grew closer. They met, they mingled, the kids met and mingled too. Before we could say boo, they were engaged to be married! Emails between Stefani and Wendy showed nothing but excitement and joy. We were very happy to hear the news.
We were even happier to hear that Todd lives in Colorado! Just a two hour drive this afternoon and we were sitting in the most beautiful wedding. Twelve children lined up on both sides of the bride and groom. The pastor gave a most wonderful sermon about love, new beginnings, and the saving grace of Jesus. I can’t recall his exact words, but he made a most punctual point about this unique situation. It went something like this: “The marriages that departed at death carry joyful memories. Now we rejoice that two who knew love can join in matrimony once more.” That’s not nearly as well as the pastor said it, but it brought tears to both Wendy and my eyes.
Then we enjoyed the reception. I hear Todd is a big hunter, so I like him already. I had a great conversation with his aunt. We shared a word together that is very significant. The greater the marriage before the death of a spouse, the quicker the remarriage. This is statistically true, and it makes perfect sense. We are so happy for both Stefani and Todd, happy for their new life together.
Here is a shot of their wedding, the daughters on the left and the sons on the right (the 1-year-old is not in the picture)…
About Chris & Wendy Jeub
