Halfway to Each Other

Susan and Tim Pohlman are in Florence with customers to help grow his business. As soon as they return to Los Angeles, they will start getting on with their divorce and new lives. Susan recalls her Bible reading chosen at her wedding: Matthew 6:25-34, the one in which Jesus reminds us that God takes care of the lilies of the field and the birds of the air. Clearly, that is not workng for Susan’s marriage. Yet, as she and Tim spend the day in Italy before their flight, she is nudged to make a last effort… and so is Tim! Susan feels God pushing her to make this decision. They take their children, 14-year-old Katie and 11-year-old Matt, to live for a year in the Italian Riviera. While it sounds glamourous, their year in Italy involves taking buses everywhere, shopping in small stores rather than supermarkets, and a slower lifestyle. With humor, honesty and faith, Susan describes the family members turning toward one another as they rely on each other for entertainment—cards and puzzles replace driving to friend’s houses in Los Angeles. It is not always easy, but slowly, they discover how to be a family again.