Later

IT JUST SO HAPPENS that sometimes life is stranger than fiction.

It just so happens that sometimes life takes dramatic and unexpected turns.

It just so happens that, though God may not give us more than we can handle, life will.

It just so happens that tragedies are endured everyday.

It just so happens that an unexpected turn of events cast a family into a tragic situation that provided no exit. Just when the events showed signs of hope, any relief provided by it was snatched away by another twist of fate. Cancer does that to people.

It just so happens, it did it to us. Wes, our 21 year old son, was inexplicably diagnosed with leukemia while being treated for a case of the sniffles. The next year provided trials we thought unendurable. That's not to say that hope didn't loom on the horizon or that humor couldn't find a way into the mix because they did. It's just that cancer patients live their lives in installments between tests. Once the "all clear" is received, hope fills the void; until, just before the next test, when fear shoves hope out of the way. Later is a story about the struggle between hope and fear and how we treat each during the battle.

It just so happens that life is what it is and that hope is eternal.

Come take this journey with us and see why it proves that nothing "just so happens". W. E. "Bill" Smith is an Atlanta native and retired in 2000 after spending 30 years in the automobile business. He received his undergraduate degree and masters degree from Georgia State University. During his time in the automobile business, Bill was active in trade associations on both the local and state level and was a frequent public speaker at association events and affiliate meetings. He and his family are long time members of Smoke Rise Baptist Church in Stone Mountain, Georgia where Bill has served as a deacon, held various committee assignments and frequently is asked to teach adult Sunday School. He and his wife, Claire, live in Duluth, GA with their Australian Shephard, Doodle.