Love Leaps Forward (Until Death Do We Part) Time Tilts Backward

By Retha Evans Ezell and James Calvin Ezell

In Retha Evans Ezell's memoir, Love Leaps Forward: (Until Death Do We Part) Time Tilts Backward written with her husband James Calvin Ezell, she recalls both good and bad times, and she learned to seek God for comfort and direction rather than give up and complain about her misfortune and mishaps. She and

• Language: English
• Publisher: ReadersMagnet LLC
• Release date: Mar 14, 2024
• ISBN: 9798890915108

Retha Evans Ezell

Retha Evans Ezell earned the Bachelor of Arts in Communication and Public Relations from Mercer University, Master of Arts in Human Relations from Liberty University, and Master in Clinical Psychology and Counseling from Minnesota Theological Seminary (Georgia Bible College). She has traveled extensively, both nationally and internationally, conducting workshops on life issues with specialization on Marriage Counseling. She and her husband have hosted marriage events and celebrations filled with scriptures, fun facts, and entertainment. She and her husband have also partnered together for over 30 years as leaders of Springhill Community Church of the Living God Byron Georgia. They have celebrated 52 years of marriage.

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Love Leaps Forward (Until Do We Part): Time Tilts Backward

Copyright © 2024 by Retha Evans Ezell, J. Calvin Ezell

Published in the United States of America

Library of Congress Control Number: 2024901096

ISBN Paperback: 979-8-89091-509-2

ISBN eBook: 979-8-89091-510-8

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any way by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the author except as provided by USA copyright law.

The opinions expressed by the author are not necessarily those of ReadersMagnet, LLC.

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Cover design by Tifanny Curaza

Interior design by Don De Guzman

Contents

Special Tribute

Endorsement (Reviews)

His Foreword

My Foreword

Dedication

Introduction

Section One: Time Tilts Backward

My Town

A Backward Glance

My Aunt And Uncle’s Place

My Aunt And Uncle’s Place (Original Poem)

Oh My: Where To Now?

Life Without Father

My Father And I (Original Poem)

There’s No Place Like Home

My Mother Wasn’t (Original Poem)

Section Two: Time To Make Friends

Peanuts (Trisha)! Popcorn (Emma) And Cracker Jacks! (Rete)

The Letter

Love Is In The Air

Gone Too Soon

My Friend And I (Original Poem)

Life Is Challenging: The World Is Changing

Grandmothers (Original Poem)

Section Three: Love Leaps Forward

Welcome To Adulthood

One Nation Under God (Original Poem)

Off To The City

Time To Move Forward

I Believe In Miracles!

Building Our Nest

For Better Or For Worse

In Sickness And In Health

Faith In A Fig?

Lord, You Send Me A Jew

The Examination

Gifted Hands

Do It Again, Lord

Near Death Experience?

Who Can Help Me?

Section Four: The Spiritual Journey

The Calling

The Ordination

The Assignments

First Sunday Morning

A Very Blessed Day

My Other Assignment

Section Five: Here We Stand

Here We Stand And He Still Gives Me Butterflies

Behold New Things Shall Come

Epilogue

Appendix

Did You Know?

Marriage (Q.u.i.c.k.)

Acknowledgments

Special Acknowledgment

Love Leaps Forward

(Until Death Do We Part)

Time Tilts Backward

For you are my hope O Lord God;

You are my trust from my youth.

By You I have been upheld from birth;

You are He who took me out of my mother’s womb.

My praise shall be continually of you.

Psalm 71:5 - 6

Time Tilts Backward

To everything there is a season,

A time for every purpose under heaven:

A time to be born

And a time to die…

Ecclesiastes 3:1-2

SPECIAL TRIBUTE

In Loving memory

of my husband

James Calvin Ezell

You left this world but not my heart

Now she who is really a widow, and left alone, trusts in God and continues in supplications and prayers night and day.

I Timothy 5:5

To My God,

My Creator, Maker, whom I love faithfully with all my heart, with all my soul, and with all my mind. Matthew 22:37

And

His Son, and the word of God that is embedded in my heart, through the Holy Spirit, which has brought me to this place in my life to joyfully accept the endearing end of my marriage covenant with my earthly husband. God has "now" called me out of my widowhood, and has laid my stones with colorful gems, and my foundation with sapphires, and made my pinnacles of rubies, and my gates of crystals and all my walls of precious stones, and all my children are taught of the Lord. Great shall be the peace of my children. In righteousness, I shall be established, for you God have restored unto me promises and blessings (as You did Israel.) Isaiah 54:11-1

"Unto You, I now pledge Thee my troth." Isaiah 54:5

Endorsement (Reviews)

First Edition:

This powerful story, infused with original poetry that punctuates key themes, is a breath of fresh air! The vivid details underscore the author’s love for each other and the Lord. Each chapter compels you to ponder your own relationship and propels you to take a walk down the memory lanes of love and life. Truly love does leap forward.

—Andrew & Danese Turner, childhood sweethearts and married for 20 years; Danese is the author and producer of numerous stage plays, including Blood Relatives and Big and Bud

Retha is able to capture the readers through the stories of her life and the lives of those she loves. Her journey is a true testament of the goodness and mercies of God.

—Stormy Denison, author of Single and Depressed: Yeah Right! and Pushed by the Winds

I just re-read the first edition of Love Leaps Forward, Time Tilts

Backward" and I am now waiting for the revised copy to be published. I had many take- aways from the first book:

Real love and true love will last forever

No problem is too great or too small for the one true and living God

God’s will shall be done in sickness, sorrow, sin, and pain and the enemy can’t prevent them."

—Pastor Lizzie Germany

Devoted Member- Walking in Grace Fellowship, Macon, GA (Pastor Robert Zeigler Jr. )

"For a few months leading up to when I re-read Love Leaps Forward: Time Tilts Backward, I’d thought about the book a couple of times and felt a need to pick it back up again. I didn’t realize it then, but now I know the urge I felt was a prompt from God. Re-reading this collection of stories and life experiences exemplified divine timing in many ways. Every now and then I need a fresh perspective of how sovereign God is, how much and how deeply He loves us, and how precious life is...this was one of those moments when I encountered all of this and more. His sovereignty, providence, and faithfulness are overarching themes of this book and the unified life of this couple. You’ll see this as you explore the book’s pages. It’s more than a re-telling of circumstances; it’s a collection of reflections that have taken me on a journey filled with swift transitions and that caused me to wonder what would happen next. Even in the midst of recalling different life events, the author has a positive outlook and focuses on what she can be grateful for while being honest about feelings of sadness and surprise. She looks at life from a place of abundance, not deficit, and I love how she weaves in nuggets of wisdom while doing so. Not only is food for thought sprinkled throughout the book, but so are glimpses of how our society used to be in the past. What’s amazing is that the book is still, and maybe even more so, relatable even after it was first published 10 years ago.

Change is constant, but so is God. This book contains so many glimpses of how God orchestrated two lives to live as one for His glory and how there is no such thing as coincidence. As an eye witness to their devotion to the Lord and each other my whole life, reading the book strengthened my faith and increased my desire to follow in the Ezells’ footsteps of having a life defined by prayer and obedience. The wonderful thing about the author is that she shows how The Author operates outside of time and has love that endures forever, which means that He can make His plan and purpose for anyone’s life come to pass. So, be encouraged, and if you feel the Lord tugging on your heart to read this book or do anything related to its contents, I’ll share what the author tells me all the time, hop to it! Let God renew your mind and transform you and your legacy, just as he did for Mr. and Mrs. Ezell."

—Goddaughter, Nekeisha Lynne Randall

Devoted Member- Cornerstone Church, Athens, GA (Pastor Scott Sheppard)

UGA Athens, Doctoral Student

First Draft:

This little composition book was lost before the first edition was finished. It dropped off my husband’s bookshelf a month ago and was probably providentially hidden in reserve just for this revised edition. I laughed because I always was his Spill-Chick, and he was my Math Champ!. Somehow, we always seemed to complement each other.

PRICELESS!

HIS FOREWORD

(2013)

It is amazing how God knows how to put people together when they have been called according to His purpose. When I met Rete (Retha), I didn’t know her but she knew me. She said she knew I was the one she was going to marry when we were just in the fourth grade. I caught her eye at our elementary school assembly program when I was reciting: Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death, a poem by Patrick Henry.

Rete, as I affectionately call her, lived on the same side of town that I lived. She lived on the street in front of mine and I lived on what was known as back street. I met her one day as she and her sister were walking through a path that connected our two streets together. Rete was coming to visit her friend, Margie, who just happened to be my puppy love girlfriend.

In time, Rete and I lost contact for a few years. Then, my puppy love girlfriend moved right across from her. Rete and I began seeing each other regularly whenever she came over to visit her friend. Everything changed when we began seeing each other on a regular basis. Our friendship turned into courtship and finally, our courtship turned into marriage. Once our paths crossed, we found ourselves walking hand in hand even to this day. In the year 2013, we celebrated our forty-second wedding anniversary. In any relationship there are going to be ups and downs.

We had our share of trials and tribulations. Together, we have experienced it all: family, finances, children, hurts, disappointments, ill health, and even a very special and unique ministry that we share together.

But God was always watching over us. His grace and His mercy kept us. This is the reason we are standing together today with everlasting love in our hearts for one another, but most of all, for God.

God is omniscient. He knows all things. He knows our beginning and our end. There is a familiar song and a fitting scripture that sums up our relationship to God and each other. The song asks the question: If it had not been for the Lord on our side where would we be? The scripture found in Romans 8 asks the question: Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? (Or even from each other). Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril or sword? We say nay, none of these things.

Rete, I thank God that we were more than conquerors through Him who loved us. Rete, I thank God for leading you down the path to meet me but most of all I thank Him for leading us down the path of righteousness for His namesake. "I am blessed in knowing that our love will never end, but it will one day transcend when we both meet our Lord face to face."

Love,

Calvin

MY FOREWORD

(2023)

This revised edition of Love Leaps Forward, Time Tilts Backward", (Until Death Do We Part) is dedicated in loving memory of my husband, (James Calvin Ezell), who not only shared in writing the chapters in our first edition, but lovingly supported me in the revised edition, which covers the final seasons of our lives together, as husband and wife. After fifty-two (52) years of marriage, the leaves continued to turn and the seasons were forever changing. And in spite of all of our ups and downs, we managed to enjoy a happy and fulfilling life through our faith in the living God, and our daily communion with Holy Spirit.

We continued to face each day in love, joy and hope, peacefully waiting in heavenly anticipation, for that day when the chapters of this book of our life together would be closed. Though we both knew it was inevitable, I must admit, it happened a lot sooner than I expected. But I know it was according to God’s will and plan for our lives. I truly believe on Thursday, September 14, 2023, when my husband restfully closed his eyes in peace, we had fulfilled God’s plan for His Creation (Genesis 1:27-28) through our lives, as husband and wife according to His covenant of marriage, Until death do, we part.

I count it a blessing, that my husband and I were able to take our last leap of faith and love as we journeyed together, in revising our book. As I sat typing, I showed him the first edition, he held it in his hand, and smiled. I am sure, even in his illness, he understood. Being in the same room with me, he listened to and heard most of my conversations with the publishing consultants. He heard the names of Trisha and Jess many times, he was aware of the cost, and even knew the name, Reader’s Magnet, which by the way is an amazing publishing company!

Throughout my husband’s illness, by the grace of God, he was by my side, inspiring and encouraging me, as I toiled over finishing the last revisions of our book. From beginning to end, he has always been an integral part of this journey. During his illness, he graciously provided me space. Even in his last hour, through his endearing love, long suffering, perseverance and humble spirit, and through his faith and life testimonies, I Peter 5:6-11 I was able to make all the necessary revisions needed to make our story complete.

Throughout this journey, he lovingly supported me from his bedside, or sometimes, as he sat at the computer in a chair, beside me. One night, he even picked up the pages and began to read them. Early mornings, as I typed, he would pass by and gently pat me on my shoulder, and give me a few words of love and a vote of confidence, gently speaking, You’ll make it!

On September 7th, just a week before he passed, as I knelt praying, he sat up in his bed. I felt his arms around me and he began to pray a very long and powerful prayer filled with love and thanksgiving. He was thanking God for His goodness, and me for all I had done for him, especially, during his illness. His last words were whispered very softly, pausing after every word, Listen, You… have… done… a… great… job…! You… will… be… fine…!

Immediately, he laid down, closed his eyes and slept peacefully. The next few days, the family gathered around his bed and watched in glorified hope, as he very quietly eased into his eternal rest. Unequivocally, he had lived out his favorite quote It is well with my soul!

I had just finished my last chapter of the revision of our book, as he closed out the last chapter of his life.

Over the years, I am convinced more than ever that love does leap forward and time does seem to tilt backward, on occasion. For as I look backward on December 11, 2012, I wrote: When I closed out my last chapter of our first edition, of Love Leaps Forward, Time Tilts Backward", my mother (Rosa Lee Napier Evans) very peacefully closed her eyes and entered into eternal rest. Now, interestingly enough, over a decade later, when I closed out the last chapter of the revision for the second edition, of our book, my husband closed his eyes and very peacefully entered into his eternal rest. Assuredly, life and death are in the hands of God.

Providentially, the day after my husband’s death, I picked up our first edition of Love Leaps Forward, Time Tilts Backward and as I opened it, I was drawn to the last words of his foreword, (Rete…) "I am blessed in knowing that our love will never end, but will one day transcend when we both meet our Lord face to face." I became so excited, because after ten years, those written words became alive to me, and I was able to gain strength and comfort at the very time that I needed it most. That day, I felt my husband’s love and his presence, as the glory of God filled the room. So, today, I say, with eternal love, I now wait patiently, until that day when I meet our Lord face to face. Matthew 22:23-32

DEDICATION

Doc and Grannie Goo

This book with its revision, is dedicated to the church of the living God, and to our wonderful children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, as it relates to God, and this generation and end time revelation.

Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord,

The fruit of the womb is a reward.

Psalm 127:3

All your children shall be taught by the Lord, and great shall be the peace of your children.

In righteousness you shall be established… Isaiah 54:13-14

Revs’ Antonio Donzaleigh Ezell, Sr. & (Crystal White) Ezell

Antonio Donzaleigh