Jim and I were the featured family in the February Greet Camas Magazine in honor of Valentine’s Day.

Below is the article.

It all began with coffee: two hesitant souls, two quiet prayers, one divine appointment.

Shirley Mozena never expected to be widowed twice. After forty years with Bill—half marked by struggle, half redeemed by hard-won connection and shared adventures, Shirley and Bill transformed “married singles” into true partners. They took mountaineering classes, backpacked the Cascades, summited Mt. Hood six times, they even took flying lessons together. When Bill died, Shirley carried no regrets—only gratitude for the work they’d invested.

Her first marriage taught her that broken things can heal. She believed her second marriage to Blair would last decades. One ordinary evening, as they prepared for bed, Blair mentioned a headache. Moments later he was unconscious, never to awaken again. The next day, he was gone. Shirley faced widowhood again, raw and reeling after only seventeen months of marriage. Yet in the silence that followed, one truth anchored her, God is fully trustworthy.

Meanwhile, Jim Mozena carried his own weight of loss. Jim’s marriage to Kathy had navigated blended families and divorces. They purchased a 1922 ramshackle house on five acres near the Gorge in Corbett. With Kathy’s expertise as a master gardener, they transformed their acreage into a beautiful garden some nicknamed, “Butchart Gardens of Corbett.” Jim raised dahlias during that time. Together they served in children’s ministry for many years at their Corbett church, learning that love deepens through service and surrender. For twenty-five years he ran a successful national consulting firm. When his wife Kathy was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis, Jim sold the business without hesitation to care for her full-time. “That final year,” he says, “was the closest we’d ever been.”

After Kathy passed, Jim settled into life as a devoted grandpa. But an advertisement about a matching site caught his eye. He signed up for a “try it for free” but found he couldn’t see any photos, so he joined—at the price of $254. The price seemed a bit steep, but then Shirley’s profile appeared and after meeting her, he thought with a grin, she’s worth $254!

Nervously, Jim made the first call.

Two weeks earlier, Shirley had prayed, Lord, if this site doesn’t work, drop him in my lap, heard herself say yes when the call came.

They met at a Starbucks. Conversation flowed long after the cups were empty. By the time they parted, both knew they had found something rare—a connection rooted in shared faith and parallel journeys through grief.

Both Shirley and Jim had stumbled into ill-fated engagements after loss. Shirley’s was broken weeks before the wedding. Jim’s quietly ended when mismatch became clear. Each emerged wiser, more surrendered to God. Shirley poured her lessons into a book, Second Chances at Life and Love, with Hope.

Jim assumed romance was behind him, but their shared faith in Christ sealed the deal—an essential foundation for both.

Twelve years ago last December, Jim and Shirley married. They settled locally and filled early retirement with adventure: Israel, Turkey, Australia, Europe, a train trip across Canada. One autumn they drove from Vancouver, Washington, to Portland, Maine, and back, with Shirley speaking to women’s groups along the way about hope after loss.

When friends ask if they fear losing another spouse, both answer the same. “We don’t borrow tomorrow’s sorrow. We thank God for today.”

Their lives remain full and purposeful. Jim serves as Board Chair of Hope Learning Center in Washougal, a hybrid program partnering with homeschool families. He teaches Biblical Citizenship, leads a weekly home group, and previously served as an elder at Bethel Community Church. Shirley writes a weekly blog at **www.shirleymozena.com/blog** and speaks to women’s groups nationwide, sharing her journey of joy forged in grief. She has published four books on grief, loss, and hope. Together, Jim and Shirley co-authored a book on remarriage after loss. All are available for purchase.

For over a decade, Jim and Shirley have facilitated GriefShare currently at Bethel Community Church, guiding those grieving toward healing. They intimately know grief’s terrain— the sudden waves, the quiet lulls, the slow dawn of hope. “Grief takes work and attention,” Shirley often says, “but healing does come.”

Every morning begins the same. Before emails or obligations, they sit with Bibles open and coffee steaming. They read Scripture, pray for their large, blended family, and thank God for the gift of another day together. The ritual is deliberate. Gratitude steadies them against memory’s undertow.

Neighbors and friends marvel that two hearts so familiar with loss can radiate such peace. The answer is simple. Jim and Shirley choose contentment over worry, laughter over lament, faith over fear. Their love is not fragile. It’s hard-earned, daily renewed.

It all began with coffee: two hesitant souls, two quiet prayers, one divine appointment. Twelve years later, the cups are still raised, prayers still lifted, the love still growing. Their match, they insist, was made in heaven and sealed over a shared cup of coffee (February, 2026 issue, Greet Camas).

Celebrate Valentine’s Day with your sweetheart, or if you don’t have one, invite a friend to go to dinner with you.

See you next week!

Enjoy a favorite of mine…

 

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