Celebrating 35 years of grace...

*I told "our story" on here two years ago.  I thought it was worthy of republishing today, our 35th wedding anniversary~not because we are anything special, but because it truly is a story of God's grace and love.

September 25, 1976 was a beautiful, sunny fall day, with a hint of summer still lingering in the air. It was also our wedding day, and rather unconventional as far as wedding days go. We were a little older, being 27 and 28, and both of us had been pretty disillusioned from previous relationships, and so when we decided we wanted to get married, we set out to do it simply and "our" way.

We had been high school friends, but had gone our separate ways for almost a decade before we dated seriously for two years. Our little secret is that one Friday night while enjoying pizza, we started playing "footsie" under the table, and, well, the rest is history.

We gave our families exactly 12 days notice of the time and place. We found a preacher, a Reverand Jacobs, who we were told would "marry anybody". He was connected with Kent State University's campus ministry somehow, and we had friends who had used him. We had exactly one pre-marital counseling session with him, which consisted of a little questionnaire he gave us to see if we were compatible. Then we talked about what we wanted the ceremony to look like, and he showed us several formats from a collection in a notebook. As we leafed through them, he told us if we found one we liked but it had "too much God" in it, he could always customize it more to our liking.

We ended up writing our own, changing the traditional vows that say we would stay married "till death do us part" to "as long as our love shall last". We threw in some familiar scripture verses, including the passage from I Corinthians 13 about love. Then we found a friend of a friend who would play some guitar music, and sing some songs from the '70's like "Morning has Broken" and "The Wedding Song". I stopped at a florist on the way to the ceremony and bought some flowers and candles, we had the marriage license, the rings, and we were all set.

Our immediate family and a couple close friends were the only guests in attendance. My parents hosted a small reception in their home, and at my request, my mom made us stuffed cabbage rolls and mashed potatoes, and I can't remember where the cake came from.

We were in the middle of real estate training classes at the time, so we didn't even go away on a honeymoon. Instead, Bob moved into my apartment, which he tolerated for exactly one week, and then we put an offer in on our first little house.

Thus began the journey of our lives together. While we started out thinking we were in full control of our destiny, little did we know that God had a plan for us. Because as you can see from the above description of how we started out, even though we knew better, we were not really acknowledging God's presence in our lives or inviting Him into our marriage. Neither of us were living our lives to God's glory. We just wanted to live happily ever after, but we had no clue how to achieve that.

Looking back, it was really nothing but a recipe for disaster! It always is when we try to put ourselves at the steering wheel. I share all of this because today we can look back and see God's amazing grace has been at work in us in spite of ourselves.

During the first year of our marriage, God put some friends in our lives who invited us to church, a different denomination from the one I had grown up in and felt alienated from, and it was there that God wooed me back to Him right away. It took Bob another year or so. I'll never forget the night the pastor called him and asked if he could come and visit at our home. Bob's answer made me want to crawl under the floorboards: "you're welcome to come and visit, but don't expect me to join your institution." But this faithful minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ came anyway, and he and Bob hit it off right away. Before long, we were attending an"inquirer's class", which was a non-threatening way of saying "Basic Christianity 101".

Bob began reading the Bible from cover to cover, literally. God was at work in both of our hearts. We were surrounded by a group of people from the new church who loved us and taught us. We began to grow spiritually. By the time we were expecting our first child, we drove a stake once and for all that we were committed to living not for ourselves, but for the One who died to save us from ourselves. We received God's gift of grace in our lives and have never looked back. Scripture tells us that God's paths are beyond tracing out. (Romans 11:33) We don't know how He accomplished this in our lives, but we know that He did it. Left to our own devices, our marriage most certainly would have failed. We are so grateful that He saw fit to save us.

The Wedding Song (There is Love)

by Paul Stookey

He is now to be among you at the calling of your hearts
Rest assured this troubadour is acting on His part.
The union of your spirits, here, has caused Him to remain
For whenever two or more of you are gathered in His name
There is Love,
there is Love.

A man shall leave his mother and a woman leave her home
And they shall travel on to where the two shall be as one.
As it was in the beginning is now and til the end
Woman draws her life from man and gives it back again.
And there is Love,
there is Love.

Well then what's to be the reason for becoming man and wife?
Is it love that brings you here or love that brings you life?
For if loving is the answer, then who's the giving for?
Do you believe in something that you've never seen before?
Oh there is Love,
there is Love.

Oh the marriage of your spirits here has caused Him to remain
For whenever two or more of you are gathered in His name
There is Love,
there is Love.

How does Jesus get into your heart, Grandma?

I babysat the two grands yesterday. They have been so stir-crazy lately, with the Ohio winter keeping them cooped up inside the house. We've been watching too many DVDs and cartoons, I'm ashamed to admit. They haven't wanted to nap much, probably because they just aren't getting enough physical activity lately. But the groundhog saw his shadow yesterday, so six more weeks of winter...groan...

So I was pleasantly surprised when after lunch they both actually went down at the same time and slept at the same time. The little guy's nap lasted exactly 20 minutes, long enough for me to catch up with my mom on the phone. Babydoll slept for a whole hour. So 14 month old Ethan got some special one-on-one with me and seemed happier for it. When four year old Elylah got up, she seemed like a truly transformed little girl. I mean, I haven't seen her that calm since before the holidays. An hour's rest did her wonders.

We played with some toys for a little while, and then it was time to get the coats and boots on them and take them home.

While driving across town, Ethan was totally in a trance and sat quietly in the car seat happily covered with his favorite dinosaur blankey. Elylah was so cheerful I didn't want to say or do anything to break the spell. So whatever she wanted to talk about was fine with me. I asked her if she wanted to sing. Yes, she did. The song about the stable. So we sang "Away in a Manger" a couple times. Then she reminded me that it was almost Spring, and that God made all the seasons.

Out of the blue, she then posed the question with the innocense of a child: "How does Jesus get into your heart, Grandma?"

"Well," I said, "you just pray and ask Him to come in, and then He will always be with you to help you. He will never leave you. Then you tell Him you are sorry for all the bad things you have done, and He forgives you."

"But how does He get in?"

"Well, you can't see Him. He comes in by His Spirit!"

"I'm going to do that as soon as I get home."

"You can pray to Jesus anytime. He always hears you. You can pray to Him right now in the car if you want."

So I watch through my rear view mirror as I'm trying to drive. She quietly prays. "Dear Jesus, please come into my heart. I'm sorry for all the bad things that I've done."

Then she announces to me: "I saw Jesus when I was born."

"You did?"

"Yes. He knew me before I was born!"

"For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.

My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,

your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be." Psalm 139:13-16

What an awesome privilege to witness this precious moment. What a blessing straight from God to me. So like Him to seek out His little lamb and whisper His love to her longing heart. No wonder Jesus told us we needed to become like little children.

"...the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"

He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me."

Matthew 18:1-5

Amazing Grace

This afternoon my (just turned) four year old granddaughter said to me, "Grandma, I'll play this horn while you sing "Amazing Grace". So she did. And I did. Priceless.

But God's amazing grace is exactly what has been on my mind for about the past 24 hours. In the midst of my own self-pity as I have been working through the family issue that has pained me so much, He has taken pity on me and picked me up and dusted me off, and set my feet back on the Solid Rock!

It never ceases to amaze me that when God takes over, things can happen really fast! In just a few short days I have gone from a lot of anger and a whole lot of other volatile emotions and sleepless nights, to a real sense of peace and trust in the One who knows me inside out.

When I started blogging about 11 months ago, I made a decision that I wanted to be "real" in what I wrote. There is a lot of power in the pen, so to speak, and I determined that I wanted the blog to be an accurate account of my "life between the buns". That doesn't mean that I feel the need to say things that would be unnecessarily hurtful to others. Sure there have probably been a few things I've said that would have been better left unsaid. But for the most part, I have tried not to just portray the mountaintop times of my life, but also record things that, if I had a choice, would not be part of my "history".

Still, the temptation is always present to put the best foot forward at all times and not to air the dirty laundry. I'm human just like everyone else, and I want people to think good things about me. I don't want them to see my struggles or my doubts.

I took a big risk when I posted about my inner turmoil over the upcoming "wedding" of my niece and her girlfriend. All kinds of questions went through my mind: How will my blogger friends react? What will they think of me now? What will my family and friends say when they read it? And perhaps the most pressing -- Why do I have to be so intense all the time???

I'm not digging for comments on this post or looking for a pat on the back. I just want a chance to say to each one of you who have commented and/or prayed for me that I felt it. I have felt it big time. And I want you to know that God has used YOU to transform me and help me regain some clear thinking. I mean it when I say I am now at peace over this whole thing. No, I still cannot support the decision of the people involved. But I am no longer thinking about me, and how this has affected me.

There is something so much bigger going on. For the first time in my life, I think I have a handle on what I've always thought to be a very difficult teaching of Jesus. It is found in Matthew 10:37-38. "Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me."

Conflict is an inevitable result of following Jesus Christ. The battle is between light and darkness, between eternal things and things that are temporal. The Gospel continues, "Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." (verse 39) Jesus is simply stating that if we think that the life we live in the here and now is all there is, and we love it's (sinful) pleasures more than we love Him, all those things will eventually be lost. But if we let go of that kind of thinking and living for the sake of allegiance and obedience to Him, His perfect will, and His perfect law, we actually will discover what REAL life and living is.

In a few short days I have literally gone from praying, "Lord make this all go away--don't let it happen" to praying "Lord, change me! Work in me! Make me respond in a way that best represents YOU".

No, it's not about me at all. It's all about HIM and His amazing grace. All I have to remember is how I too once was lost, but now I'm found. I was blind, but now I see. Remembering helps me to pray for those who are still confused, hurting, lost, blind. Those who, because of continued rebellion, are still living outside of the amazing grace that is offered so freely. The grace that helps me be more concerned about their souls than about my righteous indignation.

I'm certain there will still be days ahead where the circumstances will be distressing. But I think I have more perspective now. My blogger friend, Shirley said this to me and I appreciated it so much:

"...we have to remember that all sin, including our own, is equal in the eyes of God--it is all about disobedience to Him and what He declares to be best for us. That puts all of us on a pretty level playing field..."

Amen!

"You've Been Gifted" follow up...

On December 4, '09, I wrote about the initiative our church did during the month of December called "You've Been Gifted". (story here) There were so many stories that came in of random acts of kindness, and were posted on our church's website, though now they are gone. I wanted to share one story with you that was sent to our pastor. It is particularly touching.

"I was in the Super Walmart in Streetsboro this weekend and asked the Lord before entering the store to lead me to someone who needs a blessing. I really felt the presence of God while choosing a check out aisle. I ended up behind a woman in one of those wheelchair type carts the store offers and she was with her adult daughter. They were having trouble paying for their purchases and were trying to use different credit cards. It was obvious that this was the person God has chosen for me to "gift".

I stepped next to the lady and said " Merry Christmas why don't you let me pay for you today." The cashier overheard me and said " you can't do that" and I asked "Why not?" and she turned the cash register's monitor toward me that showed her total bill was $192. I said "that's OK our church asked us to look for opportunities to bless others this Christmas season" I then handed her the "You've Been Gifted" card.

The lady in the wheelchair began crying really hard and her eyes were red; she grabbed my face in her hands and said, "thank you very much-- I didn't think kindness like this still existed." She then said "the reason I am shopping today is to buy clothes for my husband's funeral this weekend!"

The cashier heard this and raised her hands in the air (and held them there) and said "praise God!" she then asked where our church was and said she would like to go to a church where people are as nice as me.

At this point I was feeling awkward about all the attention and started to babble phrases like "its not a big deal" and " I have a lot of money" --how embarrassing is that!

However, after all was said and done it really felt great to "team up " with God and be a part of blessing some else."

My random act of kindness didn't cost nearly as much in terms of money, and I don't know what the outcome was because I was able to do it anonymously, but I know I was just as blessed. I also did the Christmas Jar that I wrote about here. In fact, we had friends over on Christmas Eve (before all the excitement started with my mother-in-law and the ER) and our friends had also done one, so we got to excitedly share our stories with each other. I don't want to go into any more detail in fear of being "found out"!! But it sure was a lot of fun, and who wouldn't like to be blessed with an unexpected jar full of money on Christmas Eve from a secret friend or even from a stranger? I'll be starting to fill a new jar this week for next Christmas. I wouldn't miss out on this for anything!

I stumbled into a blog that a young gal, Katrina, is writing and she has determined to do a random act of kindness every day. You might like to check it out here. I have found it to be quite inspiring! But the best news is that when I went to read her post today, I found out that she committed her life to the Lord yesterday! If you feel so led, go over and give Katrina some encouragement. The angels are rejoicing and so am I!

God bless us, everyone!

First Sunday of Advent Meditation

What is Advent?

Advent is the season in the Christian calendar that precedes Christmas. It is a time of anticipation and waiting to celebrate the Nativity of Christ. It is at once a time of joy and penitence, as Christians prepare their hearts to remember the incarnation of their God. It is also a time to anticipate the second coming of the Lord, a future event that Christians believe is just as certain as His first coming. The first time He came as a babe in a manger, born of a virgin, God in human flesh. When He comes again, He will come in power and great glory and His kingdom will reign forever.

Love Comes Down

"I love the house where you live, O Lord, the place where your glory dwells." Psalm 26:8 (King David)

In Old Testament times, the glory of God dwelled in the Holy of Holies in the Temple, a most sacred area that was behind a curtain. Only the high priest could go in there and only once a year, on the Day of Atonement, to offer a blood sacrifice for the sins of the people. So sacred was that place where God's glory dwelled, that the High Priest had a rope tied around his ankle in the event he would drop dead, so that he could be pulled out.

"The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us...

For years, the ancient prophets foretold of One who would come to be the Savior of God's people, Israel. His name would be called Emmanuel, which means, "God with us". God Himself would come to dwell among the peoples of the earth...not hidden behind a veil but as a man who would live and die as one of us.

... We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. " John 1:14

John's Gospel records that he and other eye witnesses of Jesus Christ had seen and recognized the glory of the One who was begotten of the Father. At just the right time, God intervened in human history. The glory of His grace is demonstrated in His condescension. The purpose of His coming was to die. Simple, yet profound. Long expected, yet rejected. Mysterious, yet revealed. Emmanuel, God with us. Love came down.

"Savior of the Nations, Come"
by Martin Luther, 1483-1546

Savior of the nations, come,
Virgin's Son, make here Thy home!
Marvel now, O heaven and earth,
That the Lord chose such a birth.

Not by human flesh and blood,
By the Spirit of our God,
Was the Word of God made flesh--
Woman's Offspring, pure and fresh.

Wondrous birth! O wondrous Child
Of the Virgin undefiled!
Though by all the world disowned,
Still to be in heaven enthroned.

From the Father forth He came
And returneth to the same,
Captive leading death and hell--
High the song of triumph swell!

Thou, the Father's only Son,
Hast o'er sin the victory won.
Boundless shall Thy kingdom be;
When shall we its glories see?

Brightly doth Thy manger shine,
Glorious is its light divine.
Let not sin o'ercloud this light;
Ever be our faith thus bright.

Praise to God the Father sing,
Praise to God the Son, our King,
Praise to God the Spirit be
Ever and eternally.

Angels unaware...

Angels Ministering to Christ in the Wilderness

by Thomas Cole

When I was a child back in the '50's, I remember reading a little book by Dale Evans Rogers called Angel Unaware. It is the story of the little daughter of Dale Evans and Roy Rogers, named Robin Elizabeth, who was born with Downs Syndrome and who only lived 2 1/2 years. The title of the book is taken from the biblical passage Hebrews 13:2, "Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares".

A description of the book from Amazon.com:

"Though Robin's time on earth was short, she changed her parents' lives and even made life better for other children born with special needs in the years to come. Angel Unaware is Robin's account of her life as she looks down from heaven. As she speaks to God about the mission of love she just completed on earth, the reader sees how she brought her parents closer to God and encouraged them to help other children in need. This book...changed the way America treated children with special needs..."

I think that was probably the first time I really thought much about angels, and not only has the story stuck with me, but the belief that angels are real and can take on many forms to perform their duties. Angels are referred to throughout the Bible, and I find them to be quite intriguing creations.

It's probably really hard to know for sure when we have had an encounter with a real angel sent from God. I'm certain there are many instances that we have been helped by an angel that we have been totally unaware of. But here is a story of something that happened to me and my husband a couple of years ago. I do believe it was a real life angel encounter!

Our older son and his family live in South Carolina, and especially now that we have grandchildren there, we try to run down from Ohio to see them several times a year. Unfortunately, I'm not recalling the exact date of this particular visit, but I know it was over a Labor Day weekend, and I'm thinking it may have been in 2004.

In any event, we set out to leave for home right after breakfast on Tuesday after the holiday weekend, which was approximately a 10 hour road trip. We knew the weather forecast was calling for rain because there was a hurricane moving from the Atlantic across the region (Frances?). We hoped to get a head start and head north as quickly as we could.

To back up just a bit: I am a very good traveler under perfect conditions. That means no rain, sleet, snow, fog, and no darkness. One of the demons I fight is my fear of the combination of highway speed and bad weather. It's just a big issue with me and I have no idea why. But I can have a serious anxiety attack when the conditions are "wrong". My husband is a great driver in any weather so it has nothing to do with him. (Probably more about my sense of the loss of control!)

We got about an hour up I-77N when the heavy rain started. I have never in my life experienced rain like that. It was coming down like it was the end of the world. Before too long, we could not see a thing in front of us. I was so terrified I thought I was going to die from not being able to breathe. We had to go quite a while with our wipers on full speed, not that it helped. Pretty soon, the rubber part of the driver's side wiper started inching up the metal blade. It was flopping all around and totally unable to clear the windshield to provide the least bit of visibility. Out of my side window, I thought I saw a sign for a gas station at the next exit. My husband somehow got us off the highway and we pulled into a tiny station with a little convenience store.

I was shaking so badly and I didn't even want him to get out of the car into the rain coming down in heavy sheets. But he went into the little store to see if someone had a tool he could use to try to fix the wiper blade. He came back to report that they did not. I just started to cry. I felt so helpless and scared of the long trip ahead of us. Just then, a small pickup truck pulled into the space beside me. I told my husband, "I bet that guy has some tools!"

While the man was inside the little convenience store, my husband tried one more time to fiddle with the wiper blade. Just then, the man appeared before him and asked if we needed some help. Hubby explained about the wiper and the man went to his truck to get a tool and within seconds it seemed, had our wiper fixed. We never had a chance to thank the guy...he was gone as quickly as he had appeared on the scene. All of this happened in what could not have been more than 3-4 minutes.

While I still didn't want to get back onto the highway, my husband wanted to persevere. Gradually we drove out of the heaviest rain, but it did continue to rain the entire way back to Ohio.

I really was too engrossed in the circumstances at the time to think this man could have been an angel. But looking back, I am fully convinced in my own mind. And totally grateful. What do you think?

Have you had an experiences that made you think twice about the reality of angels?

"Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?" Hebrews 1:14

Please meet my friend, Amy

Amy is one of my newer, younger friends. I met her through friends who have known Amy all her life. I'm so happy that our paths have crossed, as Amy is one of those rare people we get to know in life who bless us with their sweet spirit and zeal for living.

Amy grew up in a town next door to mine. She's now a graduate student at nearby Kent State University and lives in a dorm there. She has found her passion, children's library science, and is working hard on her master's degree. She's already written her first book and just needs to get it illustrated and published.

As exuberant as she is and as much as she sparkles, Amy has had some challenges in her life that most of us will never know anything about. When she was just very young, she was diagnosed with cerebral palsy. Most of her life she has been in a wheel chair. She will be the first to tell you how fortunate she is to have a loving family who have cared for her needs and challenged her to develop her skills and talents. In fact, Amy's mom is a special education teacher, so she has unique insights and gifts that have undoubtedly helped tremendously.

In the past few years, Amy has been attending our church with our mutual friends, (Hudson Community Chapel, www.hudsonchapel.org). She has chosen, as a young adult, to become a follower of Jesus Christ, and she desired to be baptized now that she has come to a living Christian faith of her own. This event happened on September 20 of this year. Because Amy desires to share with others how God has worked in her life, she was agreeable to my posting her personal testimony, which she gave to a large congregation that day, as well as some pictures.

Amy's testimony:

Hi, my name is Amy Price.

I’m a 24 year old Master’s student at Kent State. I come from one of THE MOST loving families in the world. I haven’t seen the whole world, but anyone who knows us observes the same. My parents were raised in households which practiced opposite faiths. Before having children, they agreed practicing religion would be the choice of the child. Our motto, “Treat others the way I want to be treated!”

I grew up knowing the unconditional love of my family and friends, but still imposing a standard of perfectionism upon myself, I’d think, I know my family loves me, but I don’t know why!

In 2007, I was invited to HCC. I did not know what to expect, but was encouraged remembering a conversation my mom had with me years ago. She told me that as a teacher she sees God in the face of her Special Education students daily. The words of Singer Johnny Diaz became more clear with each visit here to HCC. Johnny reminds us all: “You were made to fill a purpose only you can do! There can never be a more beautiful you!!

After 4 months of attending regularly, I asked to be involved in the Children’s Ministry. One can learn so much through the eyes of a child! Before I started helping, I asked Jesus into my heart; if I tell kids, “Trust GOD NO MATTER WHAT!” I SHOULD KNOW THE SAME JOY!

Since I’ve known Christ, I realize faith is trust and relationship with him, not worry and ritual. I choose to be baptized today to declare publicly, Jesus is my Savior!

Amy reading her testimony during the Sunday morning baptismal service

Just before being baptized, Pastor Paul Wides prays for Amy

Pastor Joe Coffey with Amy after the service

Amy's life long friends, Barbara and Michael Ammirati

HOW BEAUTIFUL IS THE BODY OF CHRIST...

I've thought long and hard about what to say in this post, or if I should say anything at all. Without knowing all the history or having a personal acquaintance with the people involved in this story, I'm fearful that readers might make a quick judgment about the circumstances and not see the point I want to make here. But I'm going to proceed anyway.

This past weekend my hubby and I, along with about 150 other folks, gathered for a most unusual celebration. We drove about two hours to get there, but others came from as far away as Florida. God surely smiled down upon this outdoor event, as He caused the weather to be perfect. We, and most other attendees, didn't even know the people whose house (and yard) we were at. There were even some in attendance who had never met the couple who were the object of the celebration.

So what was this all about and what was the common denominator here?

About five years ago, we attended the marriage ceremony of a wonderful young couple, the groom the son of good friends of ours. The wedding and reception were beautiful in every way--a warm, sunny day, a lovely old church, a brass orchestra, a fairy-tale like reception with a sit down dinner--the kind a guest would never forget. Off the newlyweds went to dreamland to live happily ever after!

Both recent (Christian) college graduates, the newly married couple soon embarked on their careers and settled in a new town, found a good church and made friends easily. Life was good.

But a secret sin was lurking in the background of the new husband. It involved an internet indiscretion, an activity that he had engaged in back in college days. The Federal government calls it a felony, and this young man was arrested at the public school where he was teaching. Literally overnight his life was changed forever. After a long, agonizing judicial process, he began serving out a nearly two year prison term in a Federal facility a state away from home.

We were so close to this situation and there are so many details that are impossible to retrace here, and that would only distract from what I really want to say anyway. What I want to proclaim loud and clear is this: When followers of Jesus Christ take His teachings to heart and put them into action, they are being the true Church, the true Body of Christ. There is nothing like it on earth that can compare to this reflection of His love, His compassion, His forgiveness.

Believers from many backgrounds and many geographical locations joined together unrelentingly for several years as members of that mystical Body, to love and support this young couple and their families. We held the tears of a heart-broken mother and father. We sent monthly checks to help support the young wife who was left alone during her husband's incarceration. We prayed around-the-clock for them. We visited; we sent letters of encouragement. They were ever on the hearts and minds of all of us who had the privilege of taking up this cross and helping to bear this burden.

Finally the day of freedom from prison came. Finally the couple would have a chance to celebrate and meet so many who had been there for them in their time of need. It was a day of rejoicing, a day for prayers of thanksgiving. A day that helped us all remember the unmatchable grace of God.

This precious couple still has a long road ahead of them. There is a time of probation and other legal restrictions. A new career path needs to be found. Trust needs to grow. A myriad of unknowns that may await. But God goes before them as they humbly walk with Him down a new path. And the Body of Christ on earth surrounds them. The way it is supposed to be.

"How Beautiful the radiant bride
 Who waits for her Groom with His light in her eyes 
How Beautiful when humble hearts give 
The fruit of pure lives so that others may live 
How beautiful, how beautiful, how beautiful 
is the body of Christ..." --Twyla Paris 

"Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ."

Galatians 6:2

my dad's glasses

There is an ophthalmologist in our area who is well known for being a leading laser vision correction/cataract removal surgeon,

Dr. Charles H. Davis (http://www.daviseyecenter.com/DrCharlesHDavis.aspx)

Dr. Davis also happens to be a Christian who regularly donates his time and services by going on missions trips through his church, The Chapel in Akron, Ohio. (www.the-Chapel.org)

My brother, Dr. Donald A. Lichi, is a Christian psychologist with Emerge Ministries in Akron (www.Emerge.org) and happens to be a friend of Dr. Davis.

Don knew that Dr. Davis was going to be leading an eye glasses clinic team on a missions trip to the southern African country of Mozambique in the spring of 2008, just weeks after our father passed away. Our mom was happy to send our dad's glasses with Dr. Davis.

Well, that alone would be enough to make this story meaningful, knowing there are willing servants of the Lord giving of their time and talents to go and do humanitarian work in Africa and to think that our dad's glasses went in the box with probably hundreds of other pairs.

But now we add God's miraculous power to the story, and everything takes on a whole new meaning. I need to back up for just a moment, and say that my dad's vision left a lot to be desired. If you've ever heard the saying "blind in one eye and can't see out of the other" that would pretty much apply to my dad. He was basically blind in one eye from a baseball injury he received as a young boy, and the other eye had some kind of strong prescription.

On to Mozambique...While Dr. Davis was examining a long line of people, he very sadly had to tell an albino man that he would not be able to help him. The man walked away in tears. Later, the man reappeared with a prescription in hand that he had but was never able to afford to get the glasses. When Dr. Davis looked at the prescription, he said "wait a minute, this looks familiar"! That's when he found my dad's prescription sunglasses and there was an EXACT match. Putting the sunglasses on, this man was able to stand up straight, because apparently the sun had always hurt his eyes so much he had to walk with his face down.

Dr. Davis never thought he would ever find anyone who would be able to use my dad's glasses since his prescription was so unusual. He was very excited, but he couldn't locate my dad's regular glasses until the next day, when he found them in his briefcase. By then he was afraid he would never see the albino man again. Well, the next day the church people were holding a service and didn't this same man show up! Dr. Davis went running to get his brief case and the glasses and caught up with the man.

Now who but our great God could orchestrate this scenario? Who would have ever thought that an eye glasses clinic missions trip, the dates of which would have been planned long in advance, would shortly follow the death of an 84 year old man from Stow, Ohio, whose glasses would be a perfect match for a man on another continent and would be hand delivered to someone who needed them desperately by the eye doctor friend of the donor's son!

Following the missions trip, my brother and my mom went to a service at The Chapel where they saw a video presentation about the eye glasses clinic in Mozambique. They got to see the albino man who got my dad's glasses! At least 7000 people in the Akron area also got to hear this story that weekend in this mega-church. My mom was given a DVD copy of the presentation, and the music in the background was appropriately "Amazing Grace"...

A few weeks later, my mom was blessed by Dr. Davis' wife Barbara, who had a plaque made with pictures of the man wearing my dad's glasses. The inscription on the plaque is from Matthew 10:42, and reads: "And if you give even a cup of cold water to one of the least of my followers, you will surely be rewarded."