"Friend Request"

by Kay Heitsch

Have you ever prayed for something for a very long time, wondering if your prayer would ever be answered? I know that I have many times. 

I try to pray in a way that whether it's answered the way I think it should be, I can still be okay. I tend to think I know what I want. Sometimes we find out what we thought we wanted or needed to know; we wished we didn't. For the last several years, I've told the Lord what I would like, but add, "If this would not be good for me, forget the request." Then I trust the Lord to do what's best for me. If the prayer request comes to my mind again, I say, "Thank you, Lord, for working on my request." 

Many years ago, we had several foster children living with us, eleven to be exact. Over the years, I've wondered how their lives turned out. I've prayed that if it would be good for them and me, that I would hear from them. 

This last week after I came back from my road trip I got on the computer. I was happy to be back in touch with many of my friends that I hadn't talked to while I was gone. I'm on Facebook, and I saw that I had a "Friend Request" from a name I didn't know. I thought I'd see if this person knew someone I knew. Sure enough, I knew someone that she did. I clicked on the "Confirm" button. It wasn't long until I had a note. In this note, Patti wondered if I'd been the foster parent to her younger brother, Brock. Sure enough, I had. A few days later, I heard from Brock. It was wonderful to hear from both Patti and Brock. 

A few days went by, and I had another "Friend Request" on Facebook. This time it was from our first foster daughter, Danyelle. I was overjoyed! I'd prayed many times for all the children, but I had especially prayed to be in touch with Danyelle. I answered back right away. It wasn't long, and Danyelle was sending me pictures of her wedding and her daughter. I sent her pictures of our family as well. I was so happy to see that she was a beautiful wife and mother to a darling little girl. Danyelle sent me a wonderful letter thanking us for the "unselfish act" of bringing her and her siblings into our family. She told me she was thankful for the many things we showed her, and our "influence" still sticks with her today. I don't have to tell you how happy I was to know that our "influence" had helped her.

Danyelle was around eight when she came to live with us, and now her own daughter is around 8 years old. As you can see, this prayer seemed to take a long time to be answered, but suddenly it was and came as a "Friend Request."

The Road Trip

by Kay Heitsch

When Bill opened the door of the cab of the 18 wheeler, I had no idea what adventure would lie ahead of me in the next 12 days covering 4,773 miles. I struggled to climb into the front seat. Wow, I was sitting up a lot higher than I expected. Bill told me there wasn't much room inside the cab, so I shouldn't bring too much stuff. I got the necessities, in my opinion, and of course my knitting and Dr. Peale booklets.

We started out in Ohio after visiting our darling grandbaby Noah and went to Kentucky for an 11:00 pm pick-up. Right away, I decided I shouldn't drink my morning coffee. Then I thought I shouldn't drink very much water either because I knew I'd have to stop and use the bathroom. I usually drink 3 cups of coffee in the morning, so I had a splitting headache before too long. We stopped, and I had the bright idea to buy Excedrin because it had caffeine in it. Believe it or not, this worked. Yay, I was on a roll.

I put my knitting bag on the floor in front of me and grabbed the needles, and started to knit another cell phone sack. I planned to put a Bible verse in the bags and give them away to people on the journey. Since we'd lived in Kentucky many years ago, I was really excited to see some areas that were familiar to me. I love the horse farms and beautiful racehorses. Kentucky looked as pretty as I had remembered.

That night at 11:00 pm, we pulled into the plant where we were supposed to pick up a load of windshields. There was only one small problem...they were still manufacturing them. As they finished one, they'd put it in the trailer. Around 3:00 am Bill asked me if I needed to use the bathroom. Not all, but some plants will not allow drivers to use their bathrooms; of course, this plant was one of them. Bill unhooked the trailer from the cab, and we drove 3 miles down the road to a Wal-mart only to find they would not allow trucks in their parking lot. We parked about a block away, and we both ran, holding hands to the bathroom. I don't know if it was because I wasn't fully awake or what, but this experience almost seemed fun for some reason. We were both laughing at the craziness of it all.

The next night I woke up with a sudden urge that I had to go to the bathroom. I reached over, which wasn't far as we were on a twin mattress, and told Bill I had to go to the bathroom right now. He sat up and put his clothes and shoes on, and rushed me into the truck stop. I wanted Bill to go with me as we were in a parking lot with many other trucks. I felt kind of uncomfortable walking alone between many (sometimes as many as 100 or more) semis to use the bathroom...I soon got over that. As much as I didn't want to admit it, I knew I had a UTI (urinary tract infection). I was in real trouble, and I knew it.

The next day we stopped at Wal-Mart, and I bought some over-the-counter pills, which helped with the discomfort, but they were not going to take care of the infection. A day or so later, I was really getting sick. I called my friend Cindy, and she looked up the phone number of my doctor. I gave the office a call, and it wasn't long before my doctor called me back. My doctor was able to call in an RX to the Wal-Mart in Grand Blanc, and I could pick up my RX at any other Wal-Mart we happened to stop at along the way. I was very relieved to start taking the antibiotic. Bo, my doctor, who is also my friend, asked if I was allergic to any antibiotic. I told her I didn't think I was, but wouldn't you know I was allergic to this. I broke out all over with a rash.

I wondered what I'd do without my daily walks, but on most days, I did get to take some walks. Most plants aren't exactly located in the best areas, but I walked around anyway. We stopped at some nice rest areas, and I was able to walk around there while Bill caught a few minutes of sleep. I'd take a break and sit at a picnic table with my knitting, and people would walk over and talk.

I found some names of towns interesting on the trip: Coolville, Ohio, Guysville, Ohio, Promise Land, PA, and last but not least was Purgatory, MA. When we were driving through Purgatory, Bill was making some funny remarks about the town's name. All of a sudden, we saw flashing lights come up next to the truck. Oh my gosh, we were being pulled over. The police officer came up on my side of the car. There I sat, knitting away. By the look on his face, I don't think he was expecting to be seeing Ma and Pa Kettle by the look on his face. *~* He asked for Bill's logbooks and went back to his car. He wasn't gone long, and he walked around. He said he hadn't found any violations. Bill asked why he was stopping him, and he said he didn't need a reason to stop anyone. I'd just finished making a cell phone sack, so I slipped a Bible verse inside and handed it to the police officer. I told him it was for his wife, and I hoped he'd have a nice day. He gave me a big smile and thanked me. When we were pulling away, Bill said, "Well, satan sent out one of his angels to get us in Purgatory, but he couldn't find anything wrong." We both had a laugh, but we were happy to be on our way. We were about half an hour from our next stop, and praise the Lord, we made it on time.

I found the people I met on this trip to be amiable. I told Bill how surprised I was that all the truckers were so friendly to me. He said, "Do you know why?" I said, "Well, no, do they think I'm a "Lot Lizard" (hooker)?" Bill said, "No, it's the way you smile and look at them in the eyes. Most people don't make any eye contact, and you do." I started to pay attention, and it was true. I wanted to be kind and friendly, especially after knowing how hard it was living on the road. We all can use a smile.

I gave out several cell phone sacks plus dishcloths and, of course, Dr. Peale's booklets. Every person I gave one to was an exciting story. I felt terrific inside to see the smile on their faces when I would tell them I wanted to provide them with something I had made. I thanked the women who cleaned the bathrooms at the rest areas and gave them a dishcloth. I really appreciated their hard work, believe me. I gave a cell phone sack to the lady who cleaned the showers at the truck stop, too. You don't know how good it feels to take a nice hot shower in a clean shower room.

I gave a cell phone sack to a woman I assumed was a "lady of the evening," if you know what I mean. She was an interesting person who had some serious mental issues. She was amazed. I wanted to give her something for free. She thought this little bag would be suitable for her cigarettes and lighter, and who knows what else. I hope she saw the little Bible verse I put inside.

I saw very few women traveling with their husbands. One night we were sitting in the truck watching what I call "the dance" (truckers maneuvering to park) when I saw a woman walk by with her husband. For some reason, I told Bill I would go in and give her one of the tiny cell sacks. I jumped out of the truck and went into the bathroom... there she was, brushing her teeth. I never have too much trouble talking to strangers, so I just started to talk to her. I don't know what I said, but she asked me this question. "Do you know why I started to ride with my husband?" Of course, I didn't. She went on to tell me how her teenage son had died in a motorcycle accident in 1988. I told her my teenage son Todd had been killed in a car accident in 1988 too. Mary went on to say how hard it had been for her to ever talk to anyone about her son because no one understands. She was in awe that I had come in that bathroom, and after all these years, she had found someone she could talk to who would understand. We hugged each other, knowing the pain we both had been through. I gave her the cell phone sack with the Bible verse inside. Mary's husband was waiting for her, and she told him how very grateful she was after all these years to meet me. They both agreed it was no accident; we were brought together.

Our trip covered MI, OH, KY, WV, VA, MD, PA, NY, CT, MA, RI, and NC. Every state had its own beauty and exciting roads in an 18 wheeler. It's quite a ride climbing up a mountain road, going 25 mph, and flying down. Bill called them dragonfly hills, dragging up and flying down.

On my final trip home, I stopped at a McDonald's to get a cup of coffee. I met a fascinating man. We ended up sitting together and talking for about an hour. We both shared stories about our lives, and we had a prayer. Somehow meeting Paul just made the trip complete.

I'm sure I'll take another trip. My doctor already told me to take an RX with me next time, just if I need it. I'd like to go out west and see the Rocky Mountains. Oh my, can you imagine the view I'll have sitting up high in that cab?

The Snowsuit

"Can you tell me if anyone in our store does community service?" Bill asked. A person spoke up and said," I know that Rose does. She helps the homeless at her church."

My husband Bill had recently been transferred to this store as the Store Manager. Bill liked to recognize employees who worked in community service. He met with Rose and learned about the outreach program in her inner-city church. Bill told Rose that he thought that I would enjoy helping her.

When Bill came home that night after the two-hour commute, he told me about his conversation with Rose. I was excited at the idea of helping in such a program. I started to spread the word that Bill had an employee helping the homeless out of her church. I asked if anyone wanted to help by donating usable items. The response was terrific.

We lived in a small community where homelessness was unheard of. We had our share of poor people, but no one lived on the street.

Word spread like wildfire. Churches were calling, offering clothing and food. Once a week, I stopped by a church in a nearby town. Each week, I loaded the back end of our van with the things the people in their congregation dropped off.

An older couple from our congregation gave us a check and told us to use the money to buy Bibles and inspirational materials to take to the mission.

On several occasions, I came home and found bags of clothing sitting in front of our garage. Every day when Bill drove to work, his car was loaded with help for people experiencing homelessness, given by total strangers.

I took this opportunity to clean out the closets in our home, too. Bill had an overcoat he seldom wore. I put the overcoat in, along with clothes our children had outgrown and several articles of clothing of my own.

Occasionally, Rose would stop in Bill's office and tell him stories about the mission. One day, she talked about an overcoat that her minister had taken from our donated clothes. As Rose described the overcoat, Bill knew it was his. He was happy that he had been able to provide this young minister with a warm coat.

One cold day, I walked by our downstairs closet. I noticed a snowmobile suit that had been our oldest son, Todd's. The thought of putting this snowsuit in for the mission immediately came to my mind. I dismissed the idea as I saved this snowsuit for Brandon, our youngest son.

Todd had died in a car accident a few years before, and for some reason, I had held this snowmobile suit for Brandon. This was one of the very few things I had kept of Todd's. I couldn't believe the LORD would want me to give up this "special" snowsuit I had saved all these years. The thought came again, "Put the snowmobile suit in." I walked over and took it off the hanger. I looked at the tag inside. It was a man's size small. When Todd died, he was six feet tall. How long had I been keeping this? Brandon wasn't quite three years old when Todd died. Even now, he wasn't big enough for this suit.

I decided it was time to part with this "special" snowmobile suit I'd been saving. I took it off the hanger and laid it lovingly on top of a bag of other clothes for the mission.

Bill's old store was closing. Almost everything in the store was gone. Now, they were getting rid of the racks. We knew the mission could use the shelves to hang the clothes on. We rented a Ryder truck and loaded several racks in. We stopped by another church to pick up clothes before heading to the mission two hours north.

Since we'd rented this truck, I decided to ride along. Usually, Bill took everything to his store. Then Rose's husband would come in and pick the things up.

We drove the truck to the store that day and met Rose's husband there. He jumped in the truck to give us directions to the church where the mission was.

It was a cold day in Cleveland. The wind was blowing, and the snow was beginning to fall as we drove into the area where the mission was. Looking around, I saw that this neighborhood differed from the one I knew. As we pulled up in front of the church, I noticed all the windows had bars. The front door had a huge chain going through the handles.

We stopped the truck in front of the church and opened the door. As we left the Ryder truck, a small black man with a big, toothless smile greeted us. He ran over to the truck and offered to help. I looked at this man, and I looked at Bill. I couldn't believe my eyes. This little man had Todd's snowmobile suit on! Tears filled my eyes.

Rose walked into Bill's office the next day and asked, "Did you see the man in the snowsuit at the mission?" When Bill said he had, Rose said, "You know Bill, there's a story behind that snowsuit." Rose went on to tell Bill how this little homeless man was always around to help. Rose said that the day this snowsuit came in, he had picked up the bag, and the snowsuit fell at his feet. He picked it up and asked if he could try it on. Rose told Bill that she thought it was "rather foolish" that a grown man would want a one-piece snowsuit like this, but she told him to go ahead and try it on. When he tried it on, it fit perfectly! He told Rose that he had wanted a snowsuit like this all his life, and now he finally had one.

When Bill came home and told me this story, the LORD spoke to my heart and said, "Kay, you were wondering why you were saving that snowmobile suit all these years; now you know!" All these years, I'd thought I was saving this special snowmobile suit for our son, Brandon. I knew I was saving it for a unique child of God who had always wanted one.