Dying wife suggested I marry her friend ... and I did

‘My wife had a friend and this friend spent hours with her. My wife told me that when she died, if I considered getting married again, this woman was the person I should marry.’

Dear Pastor,

My wife died more than five years ago. She knew she was going to die. I tried my best to keep her alive. One of our daughters is a nurse and between her, my two other children and I, we did our best. We had good help from our church.

My wife had a friend and this friend spent hours with her. My wife told me that when she died, if I considered getting married again, this woman was the person I should marry.

I told my wife that she should not be thinking that way, she should be thinking about getting well. But she told me that it was reality and I would need somebody in my life. I kept what she said in my heart, but eventually I told my daughter (the nurse) and she said her mother was thinking very far ahead. The conversation ended there.

A few weeks after my wife passed, I had no desire in my heart to remarry. I did not think anybody could take my wife’s space. Her friend continued to come around. Sometimes she brought food for me. But that is where it ended. I never touched her. I had no desire for a woman after my wife died.

One day I had a dream. I was watching television, but I dozed off. It was more like a vision. My wife appeared and told me that it was time for me to consider her friend. The vision was so real, I could not believe it. I jumped up. My phone then rang, and I saw that it was my wife’s friend calling. She asked if I wanted some dinner and I said yes. She brought me the dinner, and she was nicely dressed. After she left and before retiring to bed, I called her and hinted to her that I was interested. She laughed and called me crazy. I told her to think about what I was saying to her.

A few days later, I called her again and asked her if she gave my proposal any thought. She said she was not good enough for me because I am educated and she is not. I talked to my children about the situation and they all encouraged me to marry her.

Today we are married. But people are saying what we thought they would say. They think that this woman and I were having an affair while my wife was alive. We were not. But wherever my wife is today, she is happy that I chose this woman. I know my children are happy.

My new wife told me that she knows she cannot take the place of my late wife. But I have had to assure her that she is doing very well; and when it comes to romance, she is even better. I know that sounds rude, pastor, but it is the truth. What happened to me has caused me to believe in dreams and visions. It was the first clear vision I have ever had.

W.C.

Dear W.C.,

Some people would agree with you that this must have been a vision. Your former wife knew she was going to die and she wanted her friend, who was never married, to get a good man.

She knew that you would make her a good husband and she would make you a good wife. Everything worked out well.

I know a case where a man’s wife was dying and she told her husband that after she died, he should marry her friend. They were all Christians. It was only about six months after she died that the gentleman married the young woman. It was rumoured that he married her too soon, and persons believed that something was going on between them, meaning that they had an affair while his wife was alive. But they were not having an affair.

People should learn to mind their own business and to keep their mouths shut.

Pastor