The New Eve by Robert Lewis

Author:Robert Lewis
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: B&H Publishing Group
Published: 2009-11-27T16:00:00+00:00

This is what Sandy had to do. The tragic car accident converted her from a “Married Empty Nester” to a “Single Empty Nester.” Like most singles, she needed a job. But which? Sandy had a college degree in teaching, but she had never used those skills except for a brief time when she led the women's ministry at our church. The idea of having to support herself was terrifying. Initially she opened her home to international students to help offset the rent and utilities. She also worked at Dillards for $8.50 an hour. As humbling as this was, Sandy knew it was God's way of stretching her character in new and unexpected ways. “This is what I had to keep telling myself,” she says with a smile. In this kind of situation, a woman must choose between faith and despair. Sandy chose faith.

Through it all her Christian friends were a great source of encouragement. “I couldn't have made it without them. They were incredible.” Her adult children offered their support too, but they could go only so far. They needed their space and the opportunity to live their own lives. Just because Sandy was single again did not mean she could use her situation to bond with them like before. Sandy understood this, but it also meant she felt really alone.

After a year of merely making ends meet, Sandy knew it was time to do something more meaningful with her life. As we discussed earlier, singles need to focus on ability and career development, while empty nesters need new work after kids in which to invest their lives. Being both single and an empty nester, Sandy began to investigate where her skills and interests could best be used. One thing kept surfacing: she liked to help people who were hurting. This realization led her to take “the wildest, riskiest leap of my life.”

She enrolled in graduate school to become a professional counselor. “I was older than all my professors and even the dean of the college. I had to work really, really hard. I cried more in my statistics classes than at any other time in my life. But it became more and more evident that God was with me, sustaining me, empowering me. It was amazing what He did for me.” We who watched were also amazed—amazed at God and this wonderful woman He was blessing.

At age fifty-eight, after three and one-half years of graduate studies and another three and one-half years of residency work, Sandy took her national boards and became a licensed counselor. Her life and faith heroics set an example for all of us who watched her during those years. And God rewarded her for it too, not only with a good job but also with a new husband! I had the privilege of marrying Gayle and Sandy, and it was probably the most gratifying wedding I have ever performed. Before me was a real New Eve whose bold, courageous faith God had rewarded with a better life.

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