Arranged Marriages

Oh well Bill told his story now for mine, are you siting comfortably…then I’ll begin.

It began for me, back in 1983, as many things do, by a separation from my first wife and then a split up with the girl friend I lived with. Over this period I had also given up my pretty successful career with Whitbread & Co the big brewers to undertake an intensive 40 week double postgraduate. A busy 18 months but you’d have to say I was at a point of my personal life which wasn’t at its height and the new job was also a drag. So I’d had a pretty arduous evening trying to brighten up my ex wife, who’s personal life was down and driving the 20 odd miles home from Hertford to Chalfont I was motoring at high speed.

On a divided section of a highway and going round a tight turn at about 60mph I hit a patch of oil not once but twice and with my car pointing at right angles heading towards a steep bank I decided enough was enough and hit the accelerator. Next thing I knew car came to a stop having turned back the right way and ploughed along the bank, damaged but driveable and totally unhurt. Nursed it back to my flat a bit bemused, set up the repair with my insurance co and a garage. Then a day later flew off to Khartoum(Sudan) for a month pulling together a tender on a remote services support contract.

Got back tired and late intending to spend the weekend in Prestatyn with my Mother who was about to have a very major Op but the garage had stuffed up and the car wasn’t repaired. Found also that a friend from the postgrads was getting engaged and no one else was attending so decided to take the first train Saturday and go along to the party. Standing there bored witless about to go, having done my bit representing the others when this woman walks in to the kitchen where in true tradition I’m standing by the drinks. She then proceeds to give me a message and tell me about her work as a medium. Talk goes on for hours and we exchange phone numbers. Only during the week I find we seem to have some form of telepathic link.

Three weeks later took me to my first Spiritualist Church(Ilford, where she sometimes worked and we would get married) medium comes on first message to me absolutely accurate and perfect proof of survival from a relative who was definitely not top of mind for me. Then the message to both of us, Spirit are suggesting you get married and have the child that is waiting to be born. Luckily we beat Spirit we’d agreed to marry the night before. A week later we knew our sons name in the same way(although it confirmed our thoughts already). I had to go back to Sudan and we kept in touch telepathically(we cross referenced the communication and had it verified by someone with each of us in the two countries). From then I was fast tracked into Spiritualism courtesy especially of Lis’s friends and circles.

Now it turned out my friend from the engagement party had tried to get me to dinner parties with Lis while I was still with the ex girl friend each time I was abroad on business so we never met up and found the two disliked each other immensely from those parties. Then Lis had to go back to Oz for her Mothers funeral and had repetitive dreams of meeting a man at a table who sometimes wore glasses, sometimes didn’t and wore cricket whites at times(now I had contact lenses and played cricket). Came into the kitchen that night and realised that she recognised the scenario from the dream.

There is more like Lis was born in Paddington NSW and I in Paddington London. However we were given real freedom of choice but a big shove along. Now 24 years on in an amazing journey which I don’t think has ever been straightforward. I think it also led into both of us at the Mission because every time job career looked likely to take over(and I’ve been general manager of a manufacturing company, general manager production of Wolf Blass Wines, with take overs spoiling things, now part time finance director) something would happen.

Oh well I hope you enjoyed the story you can wake up now.


Jim

A lovely story, Jim and congratulations to Lis on making the first move.

Thanks Jim - most interesting.

Hi Jim,

Absolutely wonderful story, thanks for sharing it!

Lynn

Nice one Jim,
Seems to me that it was just meant to be.


Bill