At Cocomelody, we love all our brides-to-be and enjoy hearing their real life love stories. This month, one bride-to-be’s experience touched us profoundly and we wanted to share her extraordinary story with all our readers. This is the first of a two-post series on our beautiful client, Audrey Morgan.
Our beautiful bride-to-be, Audrey Morgan
Audrey’s story begins in Tualatin, a small town south of Portland in Oregon. She had moved there from Southern California in mid 2011 and started working at a local health club shortly after arriving. Having been badly burned in love one too many times in the past, Audrey hadn’t dated in 20 years and had pretty well given up on ever finding true love… until she met John. He happened to be a client at the club, and although he was obviously a very good hearted, hard-working Christian man, he was also going through an ugly divorce. So they remained just friends and chatted once in a while when he came in. After a short time, Audrey left the gym and began working as a caregiver instead. Although they had exchanged phone numbers, several months passed with no communication between them.
Audrey wanted to reach out and call to see how John was doing, but knew that because of the divorce, he would probably still have a lot going on in his life. In September 2012, she even contemplated deleting his number from her phone, but heard a distinct voice in her heart say: “Don’t.” Instead, she decided that she’d just have to give John and his situation more time to heal. Then three days later, while Audrey was shopping for vitamins at her local supermarket, and lo and behold… there was John! Though the connection between them was again very evident, they did their best to do the right thing and proceeded slowly as they began to date. As they began to know each other better, they learned that they shared a common interest in nature and the great outdoors. So they went on hiking dates, biked trails, and developed nicknames for each other: “He became my woodland prince and I was his forest fairy,” Audrey laughs.
Both Audrey and John were very cautious when they first started dating. John was still reeling from the effects of his divorce and certainly did not want to rush into another relationship anytime soon. Audrey reflects upon this: “Matter of fact… In the fury of his pain, he had even developed a bucket list of rules and requirements he intended to follow for becoming romantically involved with anyone in the future. And according to most of his physical requirements… I didn’t fit. Then suddenly, I discovered a large tumor in my breast which was later diagnosed as breast cancer.”
Upon discovery, Audrey at first tried to battle her disease with supplements and dietary changes, but to no avail. In the months that followed, it was obvious it was all too little too late as the tumor continued to grow bigger and bigger. Finally, Audrey saw a doctor, went through a barrage of tests and consented to chemotherapy.
Having been a petite woman all her life, the chemo was tough on Audrey as she lost her hair quickly and became very weak and gaunt. At one point, she had to go through three blood transfusions within a month just to stay alive: “Cancer and chemo have definitely taken a toll on me and I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to fully heal and recover my overall vitality… But the most important thing is that I am still alive and that I was given an opportunity to learn that I am loved. When a person goes through something terrible… People around them have a choice to either run away or they can stay and love on you for who you are, not for what they’d like you to be.”
Audrey during chemotherapy
With John, her church, friends, neighbors and all her kitties by her side, God blessed Audrey with angels who helped her as she went through it all. Now, after two surgeries to remove the tumor and all biopsies and diagnostic tests indicating that all malignancies have been removed, she is even more grateful for all that she has. She is currently concentrating on regaining her health again through exercise and proper nutrition, eating organic foods, and eliminating sugar, white carbs and meat from her diet as much as possible.
Audrey’s kitty Jacob keeping her company during her trying times
They say that God can create beauty from ashes, which in John and Audrey’s case has certainly proven to be true. Through their deepest pain and darkest hours, God has been there, and in light of all that they have been through, they’ve decided to marry and face the future together. Audrey muses: “God spared my life… And through some of our toughest times…He has also blessed us with a beautiful love that continues to grow and grow.”
To be continued…
