Brought Together By A Snake

Brought Together By A Snake

When God decides a man and woman are meant for each other, he can use just about anything to bring them together!

GRADY WILSON and his boyhood friend Billy Graham attended Wheaton College together. On the “Senior Sneak,” an annual outing at Muskegon, Michigan, for graduating seniors, Grady became enamored of a beautiful fellow student named Wilma Hardie. He had heard that she was engaged but that she had just broken up with her fiancé. During the retreat, with a lump in his throat and sweating palms, he asked her to go on a date—canoeing. After their ride, as they were pulling the canoe back up on shore, Wilma saw a small green water snake sunning itself on a nearby log. Reacting as if it were a boa constrictor, Wilma threw her arms around Grady’s neck and held on for dear life. With great bravado, Grady grabbed the snake and threw it into the bushes, secretly thankful for the snake’s strategic appearance. From that time on Grady was of the opinion that the snake had been part of God’s perfect plan to get them together.

On the way back to Wheaton, the bus driver had to swerve suddenly to avoid an oncoming car, and the bus almost tipped over. Fortunately, the driver never lost control, and the students were all safe. However, the force of the swerve threw Wilma into Grady’s arms once again as Grady prayed, “Oh, Lord, protect us!” Wilma was sure that it was Grady’s prayer that kept the bus upright. Thus began their lifetime love story.

After they graduated from Wheaton, Grady and Wilma were married on June 5, 1943. The wedding was held at Wilma’s home church, Cicero Bible Church in Cicero, Illinois, then one of the largest evangelical churches in the Chicago area.

Dr. William McCarrell, the pastor of the church and also the head of the evangelism department of Moody Bible Institute, performed the ceremony. Confusion was rampant as the wedding was about to begin. The best man had missed the rehearsal, and everyone arrived late for the ceremony. Dr. McCarrell had told Grady that the signal for him to kiss the bride would be the phrase “Let us pray.” However, he forgot to tell Grady that he was going to pray three times during the ceremony, and the signal applied only to the third prayer.

At the start of the wedding he began the invocation by saying, “Let us pray.” Grady, the conscientious bridegroom, lifted Wilma’s veil and kissed her. The best man hissed, “Not now, you moron.”

When Dr. McCarrell asked Grady to repeat the words, “With all my worldly goods I thee endow,” the best man whispered, “There goes your shotgun and your rod and reel.”

By the time they got to the end of the ceremony and Dr. McCarrell said, “You may now kiss the bride,” Grady had already kissed her three times. This “kissingist” wedding launched a marriage filled with love and laughter. Grady and Wilma were blessed with two daughters and a rich life of serving the Lord together.

Grady Wilson went on to become an associate evangelist to Billy Graham and one of his lifelong best friends.

Reflection

To what extent has your family life been filled with love and laughter? Can you laugh at the funny things that happen in life? Are you able to laugh at yourself? Think of ways in which you can inject a dose of holy hilarity into your family. You’ll be amazed at the difference it makes!

A cheerful heart is good medicine.

Proverbs 17:22