Wondering about God?
Reflections of Grace - faith member stories:
My grandmother Lettie Cannon went deaf as a young woman , and during the 1930s she got cancer and was not expected to live. Recently I found a little tablet tucked away in a box. It was the testimony of Grandma Lettie recounting that time, and I would like to share it with you.
I will take this opportunity to give my testimony how God called me to be a Christian. I did not choose him. He chose me for a purpose. I thought that I was a Christian but found that I was just a visitor in God’s house. It was during an illness that I came to the end of the ropes. I began to realize there was something missing in my life . . .
It was at this time a [healing] evangelist came to a nearby town. Of course all we thought was that God would restore my hearing. We all went not once but many times. Then I was prayed for. Nothing seemed to happen at the time, but I had a wonderful feeling when in that tabernacle . . . The minute I yielded to Christ Jesus, the Holy Spirit came to dwell in my heart and God answered prayer. Not in my way, but His. The seed was sown and I felt like a changed person . . . Then one night I woke up and felt God’s power go completely though my body from head to foot like an electric current. I knew then I was healed in body and soul but my hearing was not restored. It was hard to understand. I was going to the doctor every week. After that night . . . I told the doctor I was well. [She was cured of cancer]
Then I began to hunger and thirst for God’s word. I took a big Bible and began to search the scriptures. It seemed like scales falling off my eyes and I was able to understand what I was reading for the first time in my life. I came to Luke 22:11, Jesus said to Simon, Behold Satan hath desired to have you that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you that thy faith fail not. That verse suddenly stood out before me and I actually heard those words spoken.
Shortly thereafter, while I was washing the dishes and looking out the window towards the heavens, trying to figure out certain parts of scripture, Jesus suddenly spoke to me. And oh that voice. Hebrews 4:12, For the word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than a two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit of the joints and marrow, and is a decipherer of the thoughts and interests of the heart. I cannot tell you in words just how I felt when I realized I was standing in the presence of Jesus. I saw no one just heard his voice, but that was enough.
I did tremble and when I came to myself I walked through the house to make sure no one else was there. His voice came over my left shoulder. Ever since that experience I have been conscience of his presence. It was at that time that my cross appeared. He says, ‘Take up your cross and follow me.’ Sometimes we must relinquish something dear to us. With me it is my hearing. We all like to do God’s work in our own way, [but] it is when we surrender our will to his will and let him work though us that blessings will follow.
These years of deafness have actually been a blessing for I have learned to wait on God, and the results are in spiritual growth and into a more mature Christian. Of all Christian virtues none are more helpful than faith and obedience. But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.
—Lettie Cannon (1900-1984)
Since I found this little book of Grandma’s I have shared it with my children and brothers and sisters. We feel truly blessed to have grown up around this very special person. Thank you for letting me share it with you.
Yours in Christ,
—Lynn Erickson
PS. I only hope that someday I can leave a legacy like this for my family.
Finding faith in the Middle East -- that seems like a tall order with the climate of war and loss we see everyday in the headlines. But that is exactly what a group of interfaith pilgrims from Los Angeles, including my husband Harvey and me, found last year in the Holy Land. The trip was life-changing and spirit-filled.
It started with the dream of two faith leaders, Rabbi Stephen Julius Stein and Dr. Mahmoud Abdel-Baset, from the Wilshire Center Interfaith Council to have Jews, Christians and Muslims travel and worship together. Abraham began the worship of one God 3500 years ago; all three religions trace their roots to him. As children of Abraham, they asked, can’t we get along?
The answer was a surprising and resounding YES. In February, 2005, we flew from LAX to Tel Aviv to begin a 10 day pilgrimage of visits, prayers and participation in each others' religious services. At each stop, we had short readings or full services in English, Arabic and Hebrew from the Bible, Torah (our Old Testament) and Qur’an (Koran). We were struck by how similar many words were in Hebrew and Arabic and how all three religions have the same Bible stories and prophets. Our new Muslim-American friends knew them better than most of the Christians and Jews! We found the Qur’an can be as peaceful or as violent as the Bible or Torah.
I kept pinching myself that we were standing at sites I’ve read about my whole life – never did I think I would be in these places. It awed and deepened my faith. My life has been blessed with an interfaith marriage, Harvey is Jewish and we belong to a large Reform temple. This trip gave us a chance to share our faith traditions in an unparalleled way. But the biggest “ah, hah” was how similar we pilgrims from all 3 faiths were in our American lifestyles, hopes for our families and everyday experiences at home. We laughed and teased, then quietly said to our spouse or friend, “Gee, they’re just like us!” – the Jews of the Muslims, the Muslims of the Jews and the Christians of all.
Since the trip, we have shared our interfaith trip at many places of worships and colleges with a DVD and panels from the three faiths. We have potlucks, book group discussions and lectures on some of the misplaced stereotypes even well-meaning religious people can have. I’ve made some new friends with open hearts and minds.
At Grace Lutheran, we recently sang the hymn “Bind Us Together” with the lyrics “Bind us together, Lord/ There is only one God/ Bind us together in love.” Yes, this memorable trip makes me believe we can get along and serve God with kindness and understanding of all people.
—Marilyn Lee Schneider
—Marilyn Lee Schneider
Walking in a forest, up a hill, even just sitting on the lawn of a city park brings fresh revelations of God that help me with my faith. But for me the beach is the place where I feel closest to Him. The roar of the waves dulls my inner monologue and makes it easier for me to talk with God. Seashells and tidepools remind me of the Lord’s shaping hand upon His creation. The immensity of the ocean is all my earthbound mind can grasp of God’s infinite power; the waves remind me of His loving heartbeat; the warm sand is an earthly demonstration of the His caring embrace; the minuteness of sea life, such as the tiny sandpiper in the picture, reminds me that even the hairs of our heads are counted. I know nature is not heaven or Eden, but there’s nothing like spending time in His creation to lift your spirit and help you appreciate the loving care lavished upon us by our Lord.
—Marina Tidwell
Life is hard. Okay, no new information there. And yet, I am thankful. I am thankful for every bump and bruise. I am thankful for every ache and pain. I am thankful for every migraine and stomach-ache. Not so much because in pain I know I am alive. Rather, because I know these things are from Him, our Heavenly Father, or at the very least with his knowledge and blessing. Like Job, I know that I am alive in Him.
After I joined the Navy, and being a huge fan of Patton, the movie, I very much believed that surrender was a step backwards. The only context I knew for surrender was martial or in military terms. I remember George C. Scott saying that famous line of Patton’s, “I don’t like paying for the same real estate twice.” And from a military perspective, that makes sense. However, I have come to see that in spiritual terms it is a step forward. As a matter of fact, it is a crucial step in the walk of faith.
I was first inspired to spiritually surrender after a bad car accident Coleen, Derek and I were in. We had just come to a stop on a rain-slicked highway. I remember as a passenger how my brakes in our little Honda Civic hatchback weren’t working, but we stopped short of hitting the car in front of us all the same. And then an Oldsmobile hit us going about 55mph. Derek was only 36” or less from the initial point of impact. I thought he was dead. He wasn’t, but it became clear that he had sustained a serious head injury. I can tell you that the jaws of life from the inside of a car are deafening. He ended up in Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. We stayed nearby. We were not good visitors. It simply hurt to be so helpless. Derek had suffered a Y-shaped skull fracture on the right side of his head, leaving a 1” lesion as well as leaving him completely paralyzed on his left side. On the 8th day, I went alone to see him. There was a chicken pox quarantine and Coleen, never having had chicken pox could not visit him then.
As I sat with Derek in my arms, I was inspired. It was like someone was re-teaching me the story of Abraham and the sacrifice of his son, Isaac. And so, I bowed my head with Derek in my arms and prayed. I said, “As Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son, so too I give my son to you to do with as you see fit.” It wasn’t moments later that he started moving on his left side. I screamed for the nurse and Derek immediately drank 4 oz of formula. He was reexamined and the lesion, which had been 1 inch long, was now the size of the head of a pin. That was how the doctor described it. I have since wondered how many angels were dancing there? Now in every smile from my son, I see my faith in God manifest and a prayer answered.
My next spiritual surrender came about 3 years later. My daughter, Sequoia, had a difficult time after being born, and had to be revived 3 times. As I sat quietly in the nursery at the hospital, I prayed again, “If you must take her, Lord, please let us know her for a little while, first.” It was two months later that she died of pneumonia. I wasn’t in shock for long though, because the Holy Spirit filled me with His peace. I KNEW where she was. A voice asked me, “If you could have her back, would you take her back?” I was taken aback by the question. And the first image I got was Sequoia in Jesus’ arms. “Remove her from being with Jesus? Take her from her true home? No, I couldn’t.” And with that, my mourning stopped. I miss her with every ounce of my being, but I celebrate her going home.
So am I a tragic figure beset with tragic events and loss? Not at all. I am very blessed. And I am very thankful, because as we are told in John 9:3, when the disciples asked Jesus why a man was afflicted with blindness, had he sinned or had his parents sinned, Jesus said, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him.”
When I am afflicted, it is not for me to ask, “Why me?” but rather to look through prayer and meditation for how God’s works might be revealed through the affliction. And then, embracing the faith that stems from the abundant grace of our heavenly father, I surrender to it.
—Bill Keyser
Life is hard. Okay, no new information there. And yet, I am thankful. I am thankful for every bump and bruise. I am thankful for every ache and pain. I am thankful for every migraine and stomach-ache. Not so much because in pain I know I am alive. Rather, because I know these things are from Him, our Heavenly Father, or at the very least with his knowledge and blessing. Like Job, I know that I am alive in Him.
After I joined the Navy, and being a huge fan of Patton, the movie, I very much believed that surrender was a step backwards. The only context I knew for surrender was martial or in military terms. I remember George C. Scott saying that famous line of Patton’s, “I don’t like paying for the same real estate twice.” And from a military perspective, that makes sense. However, I have come to see that in spiritual terms it is a step forward. As a matter of fact, it is a crucial step in the walk of faith.
I was first inspired to spiritually surrender after a bad car accident Coleen, Derek and I were in. We had just come to a stop on a rain-slicked highway. I remember as a passenger how my brakes in our little Honda Civic hatchback weren’t working, but we stopped short of hitting the car in front of us all the same. And then an Oldsmobile hit us going about 55mph. Derek was only 36” or less from the initial point of impact. I thought he was dead. He wasn’t, but it became clear that he had sustained a serious head injury. I can tell you that the jaws of life from the inside of a car are deafening. He ended up in Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. We stayed nearby. We were not good visitors. It simply hurt to be so helpless. Derek had suffered a Y-shaped skull fracture on the right side of his head, leaving a 1” lesion as well as leaving him completely paralyzed on his left side. On the 8th day, I went alone to see him. There was a chicken pox quarantine and Coleen, never having had chicken pox could not visit him then.
As I sat with Derek in my arms, I was inspired. It was like someone was re-teaching me the story of Abraham and the sacrifice of his son, Isaac. And so, I bowed my head with Derek in my arms and prayed. I said, “As Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son, so too I give my son to you to do with as you see fit.” It wasn’t moments later that he started moving on his left side. I screamed for the nurse and Derek immediately drank 4 oz of formula. He was reexamined and the lesion, which had been 1 inch long, was now the size of the head of a pin. That was how the doctor described it. I have since wondered how many angels were dancing there? Now in every smile from my son, I see my faith in God manifest and a prayer answered.
My next spiritual surrender came about 3 years later. My daughter, Sequoia, had a difficult time after being born, and had to be revived 3 times. As I sat quietly in the nursery at the hospital, I prayed again, “If you must take her, Lord, please let us know her for a little while, first.” It was two months later that she died of pneumonia. I wasn’t in shock for long though, because the Holy Spirit filled me with His peace. I KNEW where she was. A voice asked me, “If you could have her back, would you take her back?” I was taken aback by the question. And the first image I got was Sequoia in Jesus’ arms. “Remove her from being with Jesus? Take her from her true home? No, I couldn’t.” And with that, my mourning stopped. I miss her with every ounce of my being, but I celebrate her going home.
So am I a tragic figure beset with tragic events and loss? Not at all. I am very blessed. And I am very thankful, because as we are told in John 9:3, when the disciples asked Jesus why a man was afflicted with blindness, had he sinned or had his parents sinned, Jesus said, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him.”
When I am afflicted, it is not for me to ask, “Why me?” but rather to look through prayer and meditation for how God’s works might be revealed through the affliction. And then, embracing the faith that stems from the abundant grace of our heavenly father, I surrender to it.
—Bill Keyser