My husband and I celebrated our 28^th wedding anniversary on Oct. 13. In all those years, the one constant has been his wedding ring. It has seen us through making decisions as young newlyweds, being busy with three small sons, seeing those sons turn into teenagers and then young adults, making memories, and sharing so many joys and sorrows.

words + photographs KRISTEN WALTERS

In the past eight years, my husband, Doug, has been on a hard journey with cancer. It is slow growing but requires lots of treatments and surgeries. Surgery is the hardest time for me because I imagine what is (and what isn’t) going on and wonder if he’s O.K. Before he heads into the operating room, Doug gives me his big, gold wedding ring, and I place it on a gold chain around my neck. It stays close to my heart until he comes out of surgery, when I can place it back on his finger again. His ring represents so much love, respect, life.

In August 2022, Doug was in between surgeries and treatments and feeling better, so we planned a family vacation to Orange Beach, Alabama. Our goal was for all five of us to be together before high school and college started again in the fall. We all looked forward to a restful week of family time.

We spent our time on the beach enjoying the sun, walking in the sand, playing games. Toward the beginning of the week, Doug was in the water with one of our sons, tossing the football. He threw the ball and as it spun, my husband’s big, gold wedding ring flew off and landed somewhere in that great, big ocean. The waves were tossing, the sand was moving and the water was lapping at their waists.

His big, gold wedding ring was somewhere mixed up in all that. We prayed hard we would find it, this reminder of so many hopes, so many moments, so many trials in which we fumbled through and yet made it safely to the other side. 

Doug looked everywhere for that ring, even using a snorkel and mask, but it was nowhere to be found. We were devastated.

The next morning, we went out and searched again. We knew the ring had to have been tossed by waves all night and settled inches under the sand. I decided to search online and was referred to a man who used a metal detector to help find lost and precious jewelry.

I called him, and he met us on the beach that afternoon. He and Doug talked for a bit, discussing approximately where my husband and son were when the ring flung off. We assumed the hunt was hopeless, but it was worth a try to find something so meaningful to us. The man proceeded out to the water with his shovel basket and metal detector. He said he would be a while, so we sat down and watched the search, even more doubtful he would find what we had lost.

The man was out in the water for maybe a minute or two. He dug his basket down deep into the water and the sand and pulled it back up. Our eyes were on him as he started shaking his head with a grin, walking in from the water toward the beach. We thought he must be joking but hurried toward him.

He opened up his basket,
and there it was:
my husband’s big, gold, shiny wedding ring.

I immediately started crying and thanking God for helping us find this precious ring. In the vast ocean water, under six inches of sand, God in His great mercy showed us where it was. What a gift. Little did we know how much of a blessing it would be in the days ahead.

We went on to have a great rest of the week together. Our last night of vacation, we watched a beautiful sunset and took a family walk together on the beach. We returned to the condo to pack and settle in for the night.

My husband woke at midnight in agonizing, terrifying pain. We rushed him to a small hospital nearby where he was diagnosed with an intestinal obstruction. After a long night of extreme pain, not knowing what to do, and making calls to his cancer surgeon in New Orleans, we ended up being rushed by ambulance to the city three hours away.

We didn’t arrive until evening. Immediately, Doug was taken into surgery. As the nurses were prepping him, one reached over to remove his big, gold wedding ring. Even though my husband was sedated, his instinct wouldn’t allow her to take it off until she checked with me first.

I told the nurses the story of how we had just lost and found it, and they were amazed. I placed the ring around my neck, near my heart, once again. I took a seat in the ICU waiting room with family and friends to pray I would be able to put the ring back on his finger once again. Much later that night, the doctor came in to deliver devastating news.

For reasons they did not know, all blood supply was cut off to both his small and large intestines, either from a blood clot or tumors. His intestines had been perforated and had to be removed as he had gone septic. He was left open, sedated, intubated. If he survived, he would face countless more surgeries, life-changing circumstances of never being able to eat again and living only on IV nutrition for the rest of his life.

He was given a five percent chance to live.

We were heartbroken.

We felt like we had already lost him.

As the days went on, Doug kept fighting, and we kept praying. It was the hardest thing we had ever done. We had an army of prayer warriors lifting us up in prayer for the detailed requests brought on by each day. Doug had four more surgeries in the next 10 days. He went through liver failure, kidney failure and dialysis. A chest tube was placed due to fluid on his lungs. A major abdominal abscess required surgery every three days. A wound vac was placed. Doug returned to the operating room for more surgeries than we could count, and he lived in the hospital for three months. We were able to come home, but we have had many more hospital stays and surgeries this past year.

My husband is called a miracle by the doctors and nurses. We don’t know why God chose to save Him, but we remain in awe of the miracles He performed. During that whole time, I wore Doug’s big, gold wedding ring around my neck, near to my heart. It brought me so much comfort. Returning my husband’s ring to us from the ocean was the first gift God gave us in this journey He planned. He was showing us if He can make a ring show up in deep ocean waters, in thousands of grains of sand, six inches under, and if He cared so much to show kindness and mercy in a very small thing, then how much more would He care for us and be there for us as we walked through what was ahead? How much more did He love Doug and show His awesome miracle work in him? He showed us how closely He would walk with us in each step.

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He showed us how closely He would walk with us in each step.

Life now is harder and so very different. It makes us sad sometimes to look back on the way things used to be. We grieve so much for all we lost in a moment. I grieve remembering how I thought my husband was gone. I grieve for all the pain and suffering my husband has endured, for the loss of his ability to eat, for the sorrow and pain my boys have watched and felt, for all we’ve lost as a married couple and a family, and for the daily normal life we no longer have. Even though he was already fighting a cancer battle, this extra layer has at times been almost unbearable. My heart aches and hurts.

I grieve but not without hope.

I see the endless prayers given to God and the miracles He gave us. I am forever grateful. My husband is alive today, with us, after fighting against all odds. I am forever grateful. Multitudes of family and precious friends swooped in and met every single need – and continue to do so today. I am forever grateful. I feel the care of Jesus so closely. Our family never once felt alone. We were so loved and cared for; it’s overwhelming to think about. God showed daily how much He loves us and how He is in every single detail. I am forever grateful.

We get up every morning and keep going, not in our own strength, but in God’s alone. It certainly is not strength or joy that comes naturally; it’s directly from Jesus like manna – just enough for each day. He shows us His mercies new every morning. We don’t know what the future holds. As we’ve seen time and time again, things can turn in a minute. But we do know Who holds us. We know God’s plans are higher than our own; we know someday when we get to heaven, we’ll see the big picture. We know He promises to hold us, to go before us, to never leave us, and to always carry us near to His heart.

I can’t help but think about all the precious moments and memories we’ve been given this past year, days we never would have had if God had not intervened. Doug was able to be here for our 27^th wedding anniversary and now our 28^th. He was home for Thanksgiving; his 53^rd birthday; and Christmas, all of which were made more beautiful by our church family. Doug welcomed a new year, cheered during almost every game of our youngest son’s senior year of baseball, including his very last game, and celebrated his 18^th birthday. He was there for our son’s every senior event and sat and held my hand as we watched our last boy walk down the aisle to graduate from high school. Doug rejoiced at Easter, was a proud dad as our middle son made his final college engineering presentation, and, by many prayers answered, beamed at his college graduation. Doug was with us as we attended a beautiful family wedding in Oxford, was with us as we honored him on Father’s Day, and was with me as we supported our boy as he moved to a college campus. God has gifted us each of these moments since He saved my husband’s life one year ago.

We’ve been given so much in the middle of this dark road. We have comfort and joy because my life and my husband’s life are held perfectly in Jesus’ hands. God cared so much for us He would not allow that big, gold wedding ring to stay hidden in the ocean. How much more does He care for us – for you – in all the needs and details of this life and path He has for us to walk? We walk this life one step at a time, trusting He knows each and every detail and will provide light for each step.

Romans 15:13 says, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” To God be all the glory.

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