By Patricia Hudson –
It was Divine Intervention. Darrin and Suzanne Lewis met at church, when Suzanne was invited to attend by her terminally ill patient, and Darrin headed the Sunday school. “When we married, I was 24 and he was 25. When Darrin proposed, he gave me three gifts. The first was a Precious Moment figurine of a bride and a groom. The second was a board game; he said he wanted us to be able to spend our life, enjoying our time together. The last was an envelope which held an insurance policy. At the bottom, was my name, as his fiancée. He said, ‘I want to make sure that if anything ever happens to me, that you’ll be taken care of.’ That is how he let me know that he wanted to marry me,” recalls Suzanne.
Darrin is a Business Analyst with Alight Solutions. “I am the in-between person with the client and our technology group. I oversee the changes, updates and fixes that need to be completed to the client’s system. I have been with the same company for 24 years.” A 30-year veteran of the healthcare field, Suzanne began her career as a Combat Medic in the Army Reserves at Ft. Sam Houston. “I am board certified as an Acute Care Nurse Practitioner, and a Certified Health and Wellness Coach. I also work in Corporate Health and provide Primary Care Services and Wellness Education. Darrin and I own Avery Integrative Healthcare Services. We provide community education, Holistic Patient-Centered Care, Health and Wellness and Mindset/Behavior Change Coaching.”
A family move from Wisconsin to Texas in 2012, resulted from Suzanne’s diagnosis of an Inflammatory autoimmune disease. “The cold winter months and the added stress from completing my Nurse practitioner program created the perfect storm for a flare up of the disease processes in my body,” she explains. “This sparked my journey into Integrative health and wellness, as well as our journey to warmer weather.”
“When we moved to Texas, one of our biggest concerns was whether we would have the community that we had back in Wisconsin/ Illinois area. To our surprise, we had that, and more. When our kids started high school, they became a part of the band. While we had been actively working in ministry, our goal was to find a ministry in which our kids could be engaged. Our communities came as a result of our engagement with their school band, as well as our local church. Many of the lasting friendships that we have- we don’t even call friendship anymore, we simply refer to them as family- started with the connections we had with some of the band parents. Our church home played a big part. We began to attend Community of Faith Church because our kids were so engaged in their youth program. We did what was natural for us; we begin to serve. In serving, we found more community, more connection, and Cypress quickly became our home. We love the diversity of Cypress, and that people are authentic. We quickly learned that Texans will tell you how they feel in a second, and be there to support you in a heartbeat,” surmises Suzanne.
Darrin and Suzanne have two adult children: Demetrice, 24, and Justin, 23, graduates of Cy Ranch High School. “Demetrice attended Lonestar College and is currently living and working in Spring, TX. He has a love for cooking, different genres of music and music production. Justin recently married his high school sweetheart, Hannah, in February. Justin and Hannah are May 2021 graduates of Stephen F. Austin. Justin is a Youth Pastor for Fairfield Baptist Church, and Hannah will be teaching chemistry at Cy Woods High School. We are so proud of all of them as they begin their adult journeys. We look forward to watching them grow and developing our relationships with them as adults,” comments Suzanne.
“So, we are now empty nesters. We laughed and chuckled the other day, and gave each other a high five, realizing that we had successfully put two humans out into the world. We are excited and thankful to be a part of their journey. One of the biggest lessons we’ve learned as parents is that it’s not ours, but God’s plan; we trust that He has good plans in store for them.”
“Our Faith, our Family and our Relationship are the most important factors in our lives,” asserts Suzanne. “Darrin and I have grown individually and as a couple in the past 25 years. We’ve navigated through difficult times and have learned to enjoy and be present in the sweet moments that life brings. Along the way, we have picked up some bits of knowledge and wisdom. The most important things for us is to share our journey, our growth, our life lessons. We truly believe in service. One of the things we love that we’re currently doing is teaching and mentoring young couples as a part of a pre-marital program.” Darrin adds, “We have a heart for people, seeing them fulfill their purpose. We enjoy supporting and seeing them blossom and grow. We simply want to provide the tools and knowledge to help people be the best version of themselves.”
After celebrating their 25th anniversary, the couple had decided to save up and to go on a “dream trip” to Hawaii. Suzanne explains, “We didn’t make it! Instead, we exchanged it for a trip for four to Jamaica. We gifted our son and daughter a honeymoon/graduation trip. We were able to celebrate and be a part of the wedding of one of the couples we mentored in our pre-marital class!”
“Our hope in life is to leave a legacy of faith and service for our children and our family. Our greatest joy is to see others grow and walk out the call and purpose on their lives. For us, healthcare and education are tools we use to equip people with the foundation to transform their lives. Even in our imperfections, we are capable in Christ. We encourage, support, and motivate to help others see their own potential. So, whether it’s caring for patients, serving in ministry, teaching a class, or having a simple conversation on a porch, we hope that our lives in some way reflect God’s love,” concludes Suzanne.
