When we were kids, my sister, Jane, and I often went to visit our grandparents Tom and Nellie Newsome in Talladega, Alabama, a four-hour drive from our home in Columbus, Mississippi. We\u2019d hang out in Grandpa Tom\u2019s country store, playing I Spy; my sister would spot something in the store and I\u2019d have to guess what it was. There was a lot to choose from\u2014baskets of apples, jars of pickles, or the cute little boy in a cowboy hat pictured in the huge advertisement hanging in the corner.<\/p>\n
Then Mama New (she said the word grandmother sounded older than she felt) would lead us around the bend to their farmhouse and let us bake with her. By the end of the day, the kitchen floor would be blanketed with sugar and we\u2019d be hoarse from telling stories. Mama New\u2019s favorites were miracle stories. She didn\u2019t just believe in miracles\u2014she expected them.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou just have to talk to God about what you need, and he\u2019ll take care of the rest,\u201d she told us. As Jane and I grew up, our favorite topic of discussion with Mama New became romance. One by one our friends settled down, and Jane and I started to get a bit worried about being single. After a particularly painful breakup, Jane announced she was giving up on marriage altogether.<\/p>\n
\u201cBe patient, Jane,\u201d Mama New said. \u201cYour husband\u2019s just around the corner.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jane rolled her eyes. \u201cReally, Mama New,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not just saying that. I\u2019ve talked to God about it. Your husband\u2019s just around the corner.\u201d Then one time Mama New came to visit us in Columbus. We set to baking, just like old times. Nothing had changed, including our marital status. But I had a steady boyfriend, and Jane had just met a nice-looking lawyer named Dennis. That night Jane introduced Dennis to us before they headed out on their first date. As soon as the door closed behind them, Mama New turned to me with a sparkle in her eye.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s him,\u201d she said, \u201cthe one who\u2019s been just around the corner.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jane and Dennis have been married five years now. Sure enough, when they met, Dennis lived around the corner from our house.<\/p>\n
And that\u2019s not all: when he was a child, Dennis modeled for advertisements. Remember the cute little boy wearing the cowboy hat in the poster that hung in Grandpa Tom\u2019s country store? He was none other than my sister\u2019s future husband!<\/p>\n
Who knew? Mama New.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
When we were kids, my sister, Jane, and I often went to visit our grandparents Tom and Nellie Newsome in Talladega, Alabama, a four-hour drive from our home in Columbus, Mississippi. We\u2019d hang out in Grandpa Tom\u2019s country store, playing I Spy; my sister would spot something in the store and I\u2019d have to guess […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":25710,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[152],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[2427],"class_list":["post-13992","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-angels"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n