CBN's Wendy Griffith on Finding The One!

GETTING TO KNOW BILL

While hiking in Machu Picchu, Peru with her new friend, Ginna, in 2017, the ladies got to talking about men and their hopes for marriage. Wendy explained that she was ready to meet someone, but simply hadn’t, and asked Ginna if she knew any good, available men back in Virginia. As a matter of fact, Ginna did. Just a couple of weeks later, Ginna and her college friend, Will, introduced Wendy to Bill Susewind at a restaurant in Virginia Beach. The four made easy conversation, and the evening went well. At the end, Bill asked for Wendy’s phone number. Both say that while it wasn’t “love at first sight,” they liked each other and were interested in getting together again. 

Bill and Wendy dated through the summer of 2017, getting to know and liking each other more and more. By the end of the summer, though, Wendy wasn’t sure if they were on the same spiritual level as she hoped, and decided to break it off. “In Bill’s defense, though, he had never given me any indication to justify my concern,” she admits. “Still, I let my anxieties and insecurities get the best of me, and I panicked!”

The pair soon reunited, continued dating over the next year, and Wendy’s fears were put to rest. She came to see Bill’s character and sincere love for God play out in many ways. One of those observations came during a snowstorm in early 2018, when during a couple snow days off of work, Bill was helping not only Wendy, but her neighbors shovel out their driveways. The next day they volunteered with Operation Blessing to help people in need with shoveling. “Once again, God was showing me Bill’s character, his work ethic, his love for the outdoors – his fun nature.  Although the snow had stopped falling, I was falling more in love during the blizzard of 2018; that was for sure.”

Bill proposed to Wendy on a hike on Old Rag Mountain on September 1, 2018, and the two were married in a glorious ceremony on February 9, 2019.

BILL’S STORY

Wendy generously gives Bill the room to express some of his own story in her book, and he does so with grace and transparency. Having gone through separation and divorce before they met, he’s very honest about the enormous pain of that situation, as well as the ways he feels he contributed to it. “I will forever be sorry that it’s a part of my history. I would not wish divorce on anyone. It’s devastating emotionally and is truly exhausting. I encourage those with marital difficulties to communicate better and try hard to work things out. I didn’t do a good job of that,” he admits. Bill clearly remembers calling out to God one night in his closet, asking His forgiveness and for another chance at a life lived for Him. 

“So, Wendy and I each had our concerns and worries about relationships and commitment. She didn’t want to be built up only to be let down again, and I didn’t want to go through another divorce, ever. We worked out our respective insecurities over time, taking enough time and learning about one another. I can honestly say God used the deep pain of my divorce to make me a better person and a better husband. God really is the Lord of the second chances. If you’re still going through the dark night of the soul, I encourage you to seek His face, ask for forgiveness, and most of all, forgive yourself.” 

LESSONS OF WAITING

Wendy says she’s not an expert on marriage after four years, but she is an expert on waiting for it! There are always things to be healed and strengthened within us, as she says of her own hurt over being rejected. She also quickly acknowledges that waiting is really hard and painful, and encourages singles to have a spiritually stronger friend who will pray with and for you. Some of the truths that helped her through that time are:

• Your Wait is Not in Vain: She says the time of waiting is not punishment, but preparation, a time when God protects, prepares, and makes us ready for the blessing He has for us, and points to Isaiah 30:18. “You need to know that God has not forgotten you,” Wendy reminds us. “He hears your prayers – He listens to the cry of your heart and He will answer you.”   
• God Will Restore the Years: “Although the waiting seemed long at the time, I can honestly say God has erased the pain of those lonely years of waiting. (Joel 2:25) God has a way of making up for lost time.”
• Your Story Doesn’t Have to Look Like Everyone Else’s: Marrying in her fifties, Wendy’s the first to say that her love story didn’t look like most others, and was not what she’d always expected. “God is always right because He knows us better than we know ourselves. I could be confident in knowing that God was at work – and apparently, I still had some work to do as well to get ready for the blessing of marriage.” 

Wendy wants other singles to believe what she came to believe about God’s goodness and provision: that He’s true to His Word, it’s not too late, and if it’s God’s plan for you, you didn’t miss it!    

To purchase Wendy Griffith's book, "You Didn't Miss It," please visit www.WendyGriffithAuthor.com, and encourage the singles in your life that nothing is impossible with God.