Let the SON Shine!

It's All A Balancing Act

2010-06-10T08:41:00.005-04:00

by Kay Heitsch

I put the sprinkling can in the car. I was heading over to Lapeer to help my in-laws and I thought I'd go up to the cemetery to water Todd's flowers when I finished. As I was ready to leave, my mother-in-law said, "I don't know why you're going to go and water the flowers when it's supposed to rain tonight." I knew she was right, but I headed for the cemetery anyway.

As I drove in the cemetery it was very quiet. As usual, no one was around. I got out of the car and started to walk towards Todd's grave. When I got there I knelt down and started pulling some weeds.

A few minutes went by when I looked up and noticed a couple walking around from stone to stone. They appeared to be in their 20's. The young man had long straight hair that hung out under a knitted stocking cap. The girl who was with him had long, curly hair. She was dressed in all black. At first glance I should have been uncomfortable being alone with them in the cemetery, but somehow I wasn't. I watched as they knelt down in front of several headstones.

Before I knew it this couple was standing by Todd's headstone. I stood up and we started to talk. They said they were reading the words on these old headstones trying to find the oldest one. I told them that Todd and I had done the same thing before he died. I started to fight back tears, remembering the special times we had.

We began to make small talk. During our conversation I found out that Ayden was visiting from Australia. Ayden was a soft-spoken young man. Sara, his friend, was kind with a sweet smile. It wasn't long before I thought, "You can't judge a book by its cover."

I started to tell them about Todd and how the Lord had turned his death into something positive. I choked up a few times sharing with them several amazing things that had happened. As tears filled my eyes, Ayden said, "I know the pain that death can cause. I'm a twin and when I was 8 years old my father shook my brother to death. He is serving a life sentence in prison in Australia." I was stunned! I immediately walked over and gave Ayden a hug. He held on to me a long time. I knew it was a hug we both needed.

Now our conversation took a new turn. We started to talk about life. We spoke about "things" and how "stuff" really was not important when it's all said and done. Life was about relationships and LOVE. Ayden made the statement that the "Kingdom is within us." I totally agreed. I told him I had learned that years before from reading the Bible. The Bible states over and over that, "The Kingdom of God is within you." Ayden said he felt life was a "Balancing Act." I told him I believed that also because we overcome evil with good. I shared how on Feb 6th, the day Todd died, I try to do something positive. Ayden said that on his birthday, which would also be his twin's birthday, that he goes to serve a meal at a homeless mission. "It's all a balancing act", he'd say to overcome evil with good.

It was getting late and I felt a few sprinkles of rain when we were about to part company. Ayden and Sara said they were going to stop by Todd's grave whenever they were at the cemetery. I smiled and told them Todd would think that was cool. We hugged good-bye. I knew right then that I hadn't come there to water the flowers after all, but to have a Divine connection.

"Friend Request"

2009-06-04T08:34:00.003-04:00

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 have a tendency 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 been helpful to 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

2009-05-31T10:36:00.002-04:00

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 brought 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 normally drink 6 cups of coffee in the morning so before too long I had a splitting headache. 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 the beautiful race horses. Kentucky looked as pretty as I had remembered.

That night at 11:00 pm we pulled into the plant where we were suppose to pick up the 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 for some reason this experience almost seemed fun. 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 lots of 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 a RX to the Wal-Mart in Grand Blanc and I was able to 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 was wondering 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 name of the town. 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 truck. 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. *~* He asked for Bill's log books and went back to his car. He wasn't gone long and he walked back. 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 a 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 very friendly. 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 I knew 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 interesting story. I felt really good inside to see the smile on their faces when I would tell them I wanted to give them something I had made. I thanked the women who cleaned the bathrooms at the rest areas and give 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 who 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 very surprised I wanted to give her something for free. She thought this little bag would be good 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 was going to go in and give her one of the little cell sacks. I jumped out of the truck and went in 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 died 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 interesting 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 very interesting 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 in case 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

2009-01-11T14:02:00.008-05:00

by Kay Heitsch

"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." Bill, my husband, 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 found out about the outreach program operating out of 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 who was helping the homeless out of her church. I asked if anyone wanted to help by donating usable items. The response was amazing. We lived in a small community where homelessness was unheard of. We had our share of poor people, but to the best of my knowledge, no one was living 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 the homeless, 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. Every so often 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 the clothes we had donated. As Rose described the overcoat, Bill knew it was his. He was happy that he had been able to provide this young minister with at 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 to put this snowsuit in for the mission immediately came to my mind. I dismissed the thought as I had been saving this snowsuit for Brandon, our youngest son. Todd had died in a car accident a few years before and for some reason, I had saved this snowmobile suit for Brandon. This was one of the very few things I had saved of Todd's. I couldn't believe that the LORD would want me to give up this "special" snowsuit I had been saving 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 racks 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 we headed two hours north to the mission. 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. Since we had the truck, we were going to drive to the mission and drop the items off. Rose's husband met us at the store and jumped in the truck to give us directions to the church where the mission was located.

It was a cold day in Cleveland. The wind was blowing and the snow was beginning to fall as we drove in the area where the mission was. As I looked around I could see that this neighborhood was certainly not like the ones I knew. As we pulled up in front of the church I noticed that all of the windows had bars on them. 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 were getting out of the truck, a small black man with a big toothless smile came out to greet 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.

The next day Rose walked in Bill's office 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 all his life he had wanted a snowsuit like this, 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. Now I knew that I was actually saving it for a special child of God who had always wanted one.

Fran's Silent Night

2008-12-19T09:12:00.003-05:00

by Kay Heitsch

I will never hear "Silent Night" and not think of Fran*. No matter where Fran was you could always hear her humming the first two bars of "Silent Night." To be honest, this constant humming of only the first two bars of this beautiful carol, could be quite annoying. Knowing that Fran had Alzheimer's helped me forgive her repetitive humming. However, the other patients living there were not quite as forgiving as I was.

I remember Fran when she first came to live in the "Memory Care" unit. She was a tall, nice looking woman. Fran walked a lot, like most of the residents do, always humming "Silent Night."

Fran had quite an eye for any man who came in the unit. I would always tease her and tell her to let me know if any "good-looking" guys came in. Fran and I developed a special friendship.

You never know how long the progression of this disease will take. For Fran it seemed like she went downhill very quickly. It wasn't long before she stopped talking and only hummed the first two bars of "Silent Night."

Fran started having trouble finding her way around. When she was directed to the bathroom she didn't know where she was, or what to do. It was sad to see her lose her abilities so quickly. It wasn't long before she was unable to walk. She went from a regular wheel chair to a wheel chair that would recline, as she was unable to sit up any more. My heart would break to see her reclining in the chair staring up at the ceiling, but still humming the two bars of "Silent Night."

Whenever I would walk by her I would stop and give her a little kiss on her forehead. I would also give her hand a small squeeze. There would never be any response.

About a week before Christmas I walked over to Fran as she was reclining in the wheel chair. I kissed her on the forehead, as usual, and took her hand. She turned her head, looked me right in the eyes, and said, "I love you. And I like you too." I was stunned! Fran hadn't spoken in months. Tears filled my eyes as I told Fran that I loved her and liked her also. The following day, Fran passed on.

Christmas was only a couple of days away when I stopped by the funeral home for Fran's calling hours. As I walked in I noticed her family had a small Christmas tree sitting on a table. There was a note asking each person to decorate the tree with some tinsel they had in a box sitting on the table. The family said Christmas had been Fran's favorite holiday and she always had a tree with tinsel on it.

I was unable to attend Fran's funeral but her family shared with me that the carol "Silent Night" would be playing as people passed by her casket to pay their last respects. I know Fran would have been pleased, and I'm sure she was humming along in Heaven.

* Name has been changed.

Christmas Prayer

2008-12-10T18:37:00.000-05:00

by Kay Heitsch

As we slowly drove down the street on that cold December evening we spotted the porch light. "This must be the house." I told our "Positive Teens In Action" group.

We pulled up in front of an older home with the porch light glowing. We gathered up our song books, walked up the steps, and knocked on the door. We heard a faint voice from inside say, “Come on in. The door is open." We opened the door.

There in a rocking chair sat an elderly woman with a big smile on her face. "I've been expecting you." she said weakly. Ruth was one of our Meals On Wheels stops I had arranged; along with the usual church members who enjoyed carolers.

We handed Ruth the basket of goodies the teens had assembled earlier that evening. Then I asked Ruth what carols she would like to hear. Ruth's face was beaming as she joined in singing each song.

As we hugged Ruth good-bye she said to me with tears glistening in her eyes, “The day you called I was still in bed. I had just finished praying. I asked God if it would be possible to have some Christmas Carolers come to my home and sing this year. Thank you for being the answer to my Christmas prayer."

Wow, what an awesome experience to have the opportunity to be the answer to someone's Christmas prayer.

Bible Text: When you pray, go to your room, close the door, and pray to your Father who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what you do in private, will reward you. Matthew 6:6

Make Good Memories

2008-12-03T09:05:00.001-05:00

by Kay Heitsch

"Make Good Memories!" (quote from Grandma Z.)

My husband Bill's Grandma Z. was in a nursing home when we moved back to Michigan. Grandma had been unable to walk for quite some time; now her eye sight was almost gone.

Over the years Grandma Z. and I had exchanged many cards and letters. I knew how she enjoyed staying in touch with people. Since I'd come back to Michigan, Grandma Z. thought I should be her "personal secretary." Trying to jog her memory I said, "I guess you've forgotten how bad my handwriting is." Grandma Z. acted like she didn't hear me. Grandma would have me write letters to go in the cards she would send. She would dictate; then I would do my best to write down what she said. Grandma would always have me read what I had written back to her. Grandma didn't have a problem hearing then because she was always telling me, "That is not exactly how I said that!" I would then rewrite whatever I wrote in her exact words.

Since I had some extra time before Christmas, I asked Grandma if she would like to send out some Christmas cards. Grandma readily agreed. I rounded up several different kinds of cards. I knew she had friends and family who all had different interests. I would take each card and describe in detail the front of the card, then I would read the verse inside. After thinking it over Grandma would tell me who she thought would like each card.

After a while I looked up and I noticed that we had several nursing home residents standing in the doorway. I started to notice as I read each card, the look on their faces and Grandma Z's face, too. Each one had a faint smile and a far away look in their eyes, as they were seeing the scenes in their minds' eye.

I thought when I went over to do the Christmas cards I would be doing Grandma Z. a favor, but it turned out that she did me a big favor. I'll always cherish this special memory of bringing some Christmas joy and pleasant memories to Grandma and her fellow residents.

Thanks to Grandma Z. I made a "good memory" that I'm now passing on to you.

Be Thankful And Say So

2008-11-24T17:32:00.002-05:00

by Kay Heitsch

This week of Thanksgiving I'd like to share two stories.

How thankful are you for the ability to talk and to eat? I really never thought too much about this until my Aunt Ruth had a stroke and was unable to speak or eat. Before her stroke she would call me, or I'd call her, and she would always ask me what I was planning to make for dinner that night. I could see how important our daily talks and eating were to her. When Aunt Ruth had her stroke she was not able to talk or to eat at all; she was given a feeding tube to keep her alive.

For many years I worked in a memory care center. Ken was a resident at the memory care center. When he first arrived, Ken also had a feeding tube like Aunt Ruth. Ken was able to have his feeding tube removed and was able to start eating pureed food. The first day when the pureed food was put in front of Ken he immediately started to eat nonstop. After he was finished eating, I noticed tears in his eyes. Ken then bowed his head and started to pray out loud. I'll never forget Ken's prayer. "Our Father who art in heaven, thank you for this delicious food I have already eaten." I was moved by Ken's prayer, knowing that I would no doubt complain if I had to eat this pureed food; but Ken was thankfully praising God.

This Thanksgiving I'm remembering Aunt Ruth and Ken. I pray I'll never take for granted the many blessings I have, and especially the ability to talk and to enjoy a delicious meal.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO EACH OF YOU!

"I will proclaim with the voice of thanksgiving. And tell of all Your wondrous works.
Psalm 26:7

"Happy Birthday, Todd"

2008-11-17T10:00:00.000-05:00

by Kay Heitsch

It was November 17th, Todd's birthday. It didn't matter how many years had gone by since Todd's death, his birthday was still a special, but sad day for me. I slowly walked down to the mailbox at the end of the driveway. I was feeling pretty low even though I was trying to keep a positive outlook. I took out the mail from the box and walked up the hill towards the house.

As I sorted though the mail I saw a letter from The Peale Center. "What on earth could this be?" I wondered. I opened the letter and read, "Dr. Peale would like permission to print your letter "In Loving Memory of Todd" as the Introduction in a hardback edition of "Have A Great Day-Every Day!"

I could hardly believe it! I'd given the paperback book "Have A Great Day!" to Todd's friends and family in memory of him after his death. This book was very special to me and to Todd. After Todd's death I'd found several of the daily readings from this book in a journal he'd kept for a class project.

The timing of this letter was perfect! Here it had arrived right on Todd's birthday. What better gift could I ever give Todd than to continue to allow the Lord to bring something positive out of his death. Thank you Lord, for yet another opportunity.

* "Have a Great Day-Everyday!" was the Loyalty Month book in 1991. This hardback, positive thought for the day book can be ordered from:

The Peale Center
66 East Main Street
Pauling, NY 12564
(1.866.713.7278)

The letter that I wrote about my son, Todd, is written as the Introduction in this book on Page 8.

The Mistake

2008-11-13T15:56:00.000-05:00

by Kay Heitsch

"The way we choose to respond when others make mistakes can cause them to feel ashamed or can allow them to remember our kindness and share our stories with future generations."
-- Michelle Sedas

When I read the above quote I couldn't help but think of Doris.* Doris was a little lady who lived in the memory care unit. She had been a science teacher by profession, but she also was a very creative person. All around her room were dolls that she had made. They were the most interesting dolls I'd ever seen; each was very different from the other.

From what I gathered from talking to Doris she'd taken a class in doll making. One day while I was in her room she took one of the dolls out of the case to show me. She said that this was the first doll she had ever made. This doll was very unusual with fine artistic work. The ceramic skirt was made of delicate ruffles. I was amazed that anyone could do such unique work.

As Doris was holding the doll very carefully she turned the doll in such a way that I could see a slight break in one of the ruffles on the skirt. Then she said, "Would you like me to tell you about this?" Of course, I was curious to know what happened. Doris said that on the way to class she bumped the side of the skirt. She said she was devastated and almost didn't go to class at all. When it came her turn to show the doll to the teacher, she had to point out the break in the skirt. Doris felt for sure that the doll would be rejected because of it. Much to her surprise the teacher told her she was just going to ignore this break and grade the doll on the other good qualities it had. Doris said this remark and attitude from the teacher changed her life. She said she knew if that teacher hadn't forgiven that small mistake she would never had made the rest of the dolls.

The quote at the beginning expresses what happened to Doris. This teacher could have made Doris feel ashamed by her mistake. But because of her willingness to ignore the mistake, Doris was sharing her kindness to the next generation.

*Name has been changed.

A Better Plan

2008-11-03T12:45:00.000-05:00

by Kay Heitsch

"Hello, is this Kay Heitsch?" These were words I started to get used to hearing when I answered the phone after "In Loving Memory of Todd" went into print. I was thrilled to hear from people from all over the United States who had read the letter in Plus Magazine.

Dr. Peale's staff continued to stay in touch with me too. I enjoyed hearing from Ann, Dr. Peale's secretary, and Ric, the editor of Plus Magazine. We had developed quite a friendship. I still remembered the prayer I'd prayed asking the Lord to meet Dr. Peale or his staff. I felt the prayer had been answered. However, the Lord had something else in mind, too.

One day I received a brochure in the mail from the Peale Center. It was announcing Positive Thinking Seminars. I saw that one was being held in Cincinnati, Ohio. I lived in Dover, Ohio at the time so I felt this would be my perfect opportunity to meet Dr. Peale and his staff in person. I laid the brochure on the counter in the kitchen and prayed over it many times. The Positive Thinking Seminar in Cincinnati came and went, but I was unable to attend. I was very disappointed.

One day I went out to the mailbox, not expecting anything special, when I saw a letter from the Peale Center. I could see this letter had a regular stamp so I knew it wasn't bulk mail. I ran inside and opened it. I couldn't believe my eyes when I read the letter. The words, "Kay, you have been chosen by Dr. Peale to receive his Norman Vincent Peale award for Positive Thinking. Dr. Peale will be presenting you with this award in person. You will be receiving the award at the Positive Thinking Seminar in Atlanta, Georgia." What? I ran and grabbed the old brochure and sure enough, right under the Positive Thinking Seminar in Cincinnati, Ohio was Atlanta, Georgia. I hadn't even seen Atlanta, Georgia; I was too focused on Cincinnati, Ohio.

This taught me a valuable lesson. Sometime we get our hearts set on something we think we want (Cincinnati, Ohio) when the Lord has a much better plan (Atlanta, Georgia).

"Lord, You Know I Can't"

2008-10-27T08:53:00.000-04:00

by Kay Heitsch

"Hi Kay, this is Dee. You know why I'm calling and what I'm going to ask you again." I sighed.

"Dee, you understand very well I can't come over and talk at your church." I did write the letter, "In Loving Memory of Todd," but quite frankly the Lord helped me write it. I can't come out and talk about Todd's death in public." There was a short pause.

"Kay, our minister and several people have read the story and we believe the Lord wants you to share your testimony. I'm going to keep calling until you agree to come. I'll talk to you soon. Good bye." I hung up the phone.

"You must be kidding, I can't believe Dee will not accept "No" for an answer," I mumbled to myself.

I'd known Dee for years. In fact, Dee had given me the baby shower for Todd. Back in those days neither Dee nor I were Christians. In fact, we'd spent a few nights in bars together. We hadn't seen each other in years though. Bill had been her boss when we lived in Norton, Ohio. We had moved several times, even out of the state, and now here we were back in Ohio. Dee was working for Bill again, sixteen years later.

I hadn't been a Christian very long. In fact, I wasn't a member of any church when Dee kept calling. I'd heard about her church from other people, though. They were this "Spirit filled" bunch. I wasn't sure what that all meant, so I didn't even know what to expect if I ever did go.

I started to talk to the Lord about Dee's constant calling and insistence on me coming to share my testimony. "Now listen, Lord, You know very well I can't go over to Dee's church and talk. I don't want to cry in public, for one thing. I don't even know what I would say. You know better than anyone I haven't even been going to church. I can't do this and You know it." From deep within me I heard a still small voice, "I know you can't Kay. You couldn't write either, remember? If I helped you write, I'll help you talk."

I have no idea where they came from, or who sent them, but I began receiving Christian magazines in the mail. One magazine arrived shortly after my last conversation with Dee and the Lord. On the front cover was a cartoon of Moses. Inside of the magazine was an article about the different excuses Moses gave the Lord for why he could not do what the Lord wanted him to do. I started to see that I was doing the same thing Moses did. I was even coming up with some of the same excuses.

The phone rang again. "Hi Kay, this is Dee. I'm not calling to ask you if you'll come and talk this time." Oh good, I'm off the hook!" I felt relieved. "No, I'm calling giving you a date and time when we will be expecting you to come over to our church and share your testimony. We'll be seeing you on Super Bowl Sunday night." Well, after the magazine article I'd read, and the Lord's message to me, I thought I'd better go. After all, I figured no one would be there anyway, because it was on Super Bowl Sunday night.

Boy, was I wrong. There were lots of cars in the parking lot when I arrived. To be honest, I really don't know what I said that night. All I remember is that after I talked, people came forward giving me lots of hugs, which I needed. This "Spirit filled" group was exactly the group I needed to begin sharing my testimony with. They were loving and kind and not afraid to show their feelings; I felt blessed by the experience.

"Hi Dee, this is Kay. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to come and share my testimony." There was a pause.

"Kay, the Lord and I both knew that He would give you the strength you needed to do it."

Ask And You Shall Receive

2008-10-13T18:28:00.000-04:00

by Kay Heitsch

I was standing in the bathroom putting on my make-up when the phone rang. I answered it. "Hello. Is this Kay Heitsch?"

"Yes," I replied.

"Hi Kay, my name is Ric Cox. I'm the Executive Editor at the Peale Center for Plus Magazine. Dr. Peale received the letter you recently sent him and asked me to call. First I need to ask, are you a professional writer?"

"No," I replied.

"Well, we were wondering because of the way the letter was written."

"I didn't write that letter," I blurted out.

"What?" was Ric's response.

"Well, I did write it, but I wrote it so fast I truly believe the Lord wrote it though me."

"Oh, I understand what you're saying now." Ric went on, "Kay, Dr. Peale was wondering if you would give him permission to print your letter in Plus Magazine."

I was shocked. "Certainly I will give my permission to print this letter. I would be honored to have my letter printed in his magazine," I said.

"We'll be sending you a printout of how your letter will appear in the magazine and some other papers in a few weeks," Ric explained, before he said good bye.

Just that morning during my Bible study and prayer time I'd made a request to the Lord. I'd asked if it be His will that I might meet Dr. Peale or one of his staff. I felt meeting Dr. Peale would be a great motivator for me to stay on track. However, I told the Lord to forget the idea if I was going to be disappointed. I've found that I don't always know what's good for me. After hanging the phone up I remembered my prayer. Wow! "Ask and you shall receive," came to my mind.

A few weeks later I received an envelope in the mail from the Peale Center. I took the envelope in the house, put it on the counter in the kitchen and opened it. As I pulled the papers out I was stunned to see that the Peale Center had given my letter to Dr. Peale a title: "In Loving Memory of Todd." I felt overwhelmed at the sight of those words. I could see the Lord had also answered another prayer. A few months earlier, when I gave my life to the Lord, I'd asked the Lord to bring something positive out of Todd's death. Now I could clearly see He was doing just that.

Singing As We Walked Along

2008-10-03T08:37:00.000-04:00

by Kay Heitsch

When I called the number, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I saw the ad in the phone book and it looked like something I would enjoy: "Non Medical In Home Care." The ad stated that I would be helping people, I assumed elderly, stay in their own homes. This sounded like the job for me. I love older people. I'd spent a lot of time volunteering in nursing homes. This ad said these people were well enough to still be at home. Well, that's what the ad said anyway.

I called the number and then went over for an interview. I was asked if I minded going to the hospital and sitting with a woman who was a patient there. Boy, this doesn't sound too bad. Was I ever in for a surprise!

My first client, Marian* was definitely not able to be home alone. In fact, when she left the hospital she went right over to the rehab center to learn to walk again after a hip replacement from a fall. Marian's physical therapist was from India. One day she looked at him, then she looked at me, and demanded, "Take me back to the United States!" The therapist and I both looked at each other and smiled.

From the rehab, Marian went to a memory care center. This was not what I had in mind when I answered the ad. But for some reason I was able to connect with Marian. I felt the Lord had brought us together.

Dealing with all of Marian's problems, and there were many, was not easy. Just keeping her calm was a huge ordeal. I didn't know what to do, so I would pray and ask the Lord to give me some ideas.

One of Marian's many problems was her repetitive words, phrases, or noises. After hearing the same thing over and over, I really started to pray for suggestions. One day I had the idea to sing. It wasn't long before Marian was singing with me. When we didn't sing, I had the idea to give her gum to chew. The chewing seemed to help with the repetitive sounds, too. After some time all of the repetitive sounds stopped.

It wasn't very long before other residents started to follow us when we walked and sang. It wasn't uncommon for visitors to walk along and join in singing, also. On one occasion, a few women were walking with their mothers. Some were also wheeling them in their wheelchairs. We were all in a line walking and singing. All of a sudden one of the girls who worked at the memory care unit came around the corner. Without missing a beat she said, "Well here come the holy rollers." We all started to laugh. We thought that was a cute name for us, as we were rolling our loved ones and singing hymns at the time.

I was with Marian for almost six years before she died in December 2007. I have a lot of good memories of that time. Even though this sure wasn't the job I thought it would be, I knew it was the job the Lord had for me to do.

*Name has been changed.

A Very Special Gift

2008-09-23T15:37:00.002-04:00

by Kay Heitsch

"Help me Lord, I need help!" How many times have I called out to the Lord for help and He's sent help just in time. It would be hard for me to count the times. Sometimes the Lord helps me directly with ideas, but other times He sends me gifts, who are special people. One very special gift is my friend, Diane.

Diane and I went to high school together. She was a couple of years younger than I was in school. We attended a boarding school in Michigan and lived in a dorm. I was good friends with Diane's roommate Marcia; so I would see Diane whenever I went in their room to visit.

I was only at this boarding school six weeks my senior year when I was expelled. Among the reasons for my departure, some people felt I had a "bad attitude." That's right, the woman who was given the Norman Vincent Peale Award for Positive Thinking was kicked out of high school for a "bad attitude." How funny is that?! I ended up going to another state and graduating from a boarding school there. I guess they didn't mind my "bad attitude" so much in Illinois.

Over the years Diane and I lost touch with each other. I married and moved many times over the years from state to state. Now our youngest son Brandon was in high school and we were back in Michigan.

Brandon's girlfriend at that time was Lydia. I'd given Lydia one of the Plus Magazines that had my picture on the cover. This was the magazine telling how I had won the Norman Vincent Peale Award for Positive Thinking. Lydia had the magazine laying out when Diane came to visit Lydia's Mom. Diane noticed the picture on the magazine and told Lydia she thought she knew who it was. Lydia informed her that the person in the picture was her boyfriend Brandon's Mom. I would have really liked to have seen Diane's face when she introduced Diane to Brandon.

Brandon got on the phone and called me. He said that there was someone over at Lydia's house who wanted to talk to me. I was surprised to hear Diane's voice. I asked if she could come over since she wasn't from Grand Blanc and was only visiting. Diane came over for a short visit.

It had been a very long time since we'd seen each other. I found out that Diane had also been expelled from the same boarding school. After talking, it was clear we both had walked many wrong roads in life and had made some bad choices, but we were both on the right road now. We exchanged email addresses and I gave Diane the Plus magazines and the book "Have A Great Day - Everyday!"

We started to email each other on a regular basis.

For a long time I'd known the Lord wanted me to start writing out the positive experiences I'd had on my faith journey. I enjoyed writing, but I felt I needed someone to look the stories over before I did anything with them. I called out to the Lord once again. "Lord, I think I need help. Would you please send someone?"

I wrote out a story and emailed it to several friends, including Diane. I asked them if they would read it over, and if they saw anything wrong, to please let me know. Diane read the story and emailed her comments. When Diane emailed me she told me something she hadn't shared with me before. She told me in college she had started out as a Journalism major. She went on to tell me that she would be happy to look over any story I wanted to send. WOW, an answer to prayer, big time!

I don't think Diane knew what she was getting in for when she told me she would be happy to look my stories over; I've sent her many over the years. Another gift that Diane has been to me is a "nudge from God." There have been times when I haven't sent Diane a story for a while and she'll send me an email reminding me to write.

I've been blessed beyond measure for all of Diane's expert help and encouragement. The good Lord, once again, sent me help just when I needed it.

Thank you Lord for the Divine connection and the very special gift of Diane.

Thanks Diane for being such a wonderful friend and answering the call for HELP.

You'll Need To Take Him

2008-09-14T12:20:00.002-04:00

by Kay Heitsch

The phone rang, it was the school calling. "Would you please come and pick up Brandon? He seems to be sick." What could be wrong, I wondered? I drove right over to the school and picked him up. We drove home and he went upstairs to lie down. Brandon slept for a long time, but woke up very sick. It was now quite late and nothing was open; I wasn't sure what I should do. I called Bill and he told me I should take Brandon to the Kaiser Clinic by the mall.

We had just recently moved and I wasn't familiar with the area. We hadn't even gotten our insurance cards yet. I had a vague idea where the mall was, but I had no idea where the clinic could be. I headed for the mall. I could see Brandon was feeling worse and worse; I had to find this clinic fast. I found the mall, then started to drive down the side streets. There it was, the Kaiser sign! "Thank you Lord," I whispered.

We walked into the clinic. Since it was late, no one was in the waiting room and we were taken right back to a room. The doctor examined Brandon, then looked at me and said, "You'll need to drive Brandon to the hospital yourself. He needs surgery right away. We don't have time to wait for an ambulance."

Wait a minute, I have no idea how I even found this clinic, now I was supposed to find a hospital, at night, when I had no idea where I was going? The nurse wrote out some directions. "I have no sense of direction, so drawing me a map is useless," I franticly tried to explain to the nurse, but all she said was, "You can do it, there's no time to waste." I started off not knowing where I was going.

While Brandon was moaning and trusting me to get him to the hospital, I told him that we needed to pray. As I drove in what I thought was the right direction, but feeling lost, I prayed, "Please Lord, help us find this hospital. We need someone to show us the way."

There was no one on the streets; everything looked deserted. It appeared we were in a bad end of the city. We pulled up to a stop light on the one-way street we were on. An old beat up car pulled up next to us. The people inside of the car looked rough. I felt uneasy at first. But then I remembered that I had prayed that the Lord would send someone to help; I had to trust Him. I looked over at Brandon and said, "I'm going to roll down the window and ask these people for help." Brandon gave me a look like he seemed to think it was a good idea. I rolled down the window. "We're lost--could you please help us find the hospital?" I said half crying. "No problem, just follow us," was their reply.

I felt I had no choice but to follow them. However, as we went up and down one street after another, I started to wonder if these were the people the Lord had sent to help us. I felt we were on a wild goose chase. After what seemed to be a long time and many turns, I could see the hospital sign. I was so relieved! I kept following this old beat-up car right to the emergency room door. With a wave of their hand out the window, they were gone, back into the dead of night.

I rushed Brandon into the emergency room. After several doctors had examined him they agreed he needed surgery right away. Even though we didn't have our insurance cards yet, the bill was completely paid and Brandon came though the surgery with flying colors.

To this day, I've often wondered who those people were who came to our aid that late night years ago. To Brandon and me they were angels that the Lord sent to help us find our way.

Fix Your Focus

2008-09-10T12:17:00.000-04:00

by Kay Heitsch

When I first became a Christian I bought myself a Bible. Inside of the front cover I wrote "Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from beginning to end." Hebrews 12:2 Of all the Bible texts I could have chosen, I chose this one. I wondered why. Over the years I've had several experiences that have shown me why I chose this text. I'd like to share my first experience.

One day while I was leaning back and relaxing, I started to see a moving picture play in my mind's eye. I'll never forget the experience. I could see a person walking down a dusty, winding road that was lined with trees. Up ahead of the person I could see light. The person was bent over with what appeared to be bricks piled on their back. Each brick had a negative word printed on it; words like fear, worry, anger, sorrow, jealousy, and hatred. As the person continued slowly trudging towards the light, I could see Jesus standing in the light. When the person looked up and started to focus on Jesus, they began to walk in an upright position and the bricks started to fall off. As they continued to walk towards Jesus, I could see what appeared to be butterflies coming towards the person. On each butterfly were positive words like love, joy, peace, goodness and kindness.

My thoughts about this scene have varied over the years. Through this experience it was clear to me that people carry a lot of heavy burdens (bricks). As we walk the road of life, these burdens can be so heavy that they make us feel bent over from the load. But once we look up and see the Light, which I believe is Jesus, and we keep our eyes fixed on Him, our burdens seem to fall off of our backs. In exchange, Jesus sends his Spirit (butterflies) to bring us love, joy and peace.

Like the text says, "Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus." As we keep our focus on Jesus we will be filled with His Spirit and the burdens of life will fall off of our backs.

The Unexpected Compliment

2008-09-01T09:16:00.000-04:00

by Kay Heitsch

I walked up to the big white door and knocked. I heard the door unlock and a large lady with a stern look, opened the door. "Are you here to see someone?" she asked. "Hi, my name's Kay, I'm here to see everyone," I answered in a friendly voice. There was an uneasy pause as she looked me over. Then she introduced herself as Bessie* and invited me inside.

To tell you the truth I can't remember how I knew about this Girl's Group Home for troubled girls, but there I was standing in the doorway. Once inside Bessie called to the girls, "Someone is here to see all of you." The girls, all teenagers, gathered in the living room. I introduced myself as Kay, and they told me their first names. I expressed to them that I would like to come over every so often to visit. I had no idea what I'd do when I was there, but I wanted to reach out to these girls.

I started to go over once a week. I'd take Brandon, who was about 4 years old at the time with me. The girls loved it when Brandon came. They would play with him and twirl him around. Brandon loved going over to see them too. Once a month we would go over to the nursing home together. I could see how much the girls enjoyed visiting with these older people. I felt there was a special bond the girls had with them. Everyone accepted each other for who they were.

The girls liked to bake me goodies when I came to visit. I'm not crazy about chocolate. However, the girls loved to bake chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and chocolate sprinkles. They would be so excited when I arrived, and couldn't wait to show me their latest chocolate treat. Of course, they wanted me to try some. I didn't want to hurt their feelings, so I always took a piece and thanked them.

One day the girl's tutor stopped me when I came to visit and asked to talk to me. I was wondering what this could be about. After we were alone in a room she said, "The girls came to me and said, 'You know, Ms. Kay is a Christian.' I asked what you had told them to make them think that you were a Christian. They said you hadn't told them anything, but they knew you were a Christian because you loved them." I was stunned! I didn't know what to say.

Over the years I've thought about this conversation with the tutor many times. When I went over to the Group Home I wasn't going over there to "do" witnessing. However, by loving the girls, with no strings attached, I was "being" a witness not even knowing it. How awesome is that!?

*Name has been changed.

A Real Connection

2008-08-29T13:39:00.001-04:00

by Kay Heitsch

"How would you ladies like to come over to my house and make some cookies?" I asked three of my favorite nursing home ladies.

I talked to the staff and made arrangements for our big outing. I think I was as excited as these ladies were to have them over to our home. I felt especially close to each one.

I told my husband, Bill, about the fun day I was planning on having with my company. I expressed to Bill that I had a "real connection" with these three gals; and in my opinion they were really "with it." Because of a bad experience in my childhood, I had an unnatural fear of anyone who I felt might not be "with it."

We all piled into the van and headed over to our home. Everyone was excited, especially me, to have these ladies over for a visit. After a quick tour of the house the ladies had a seat at the kitchen table. We were all enjoying this cookie-making day.

The ladies were all talking. I was listening to their conversation as I put the cookies in and out of the oven. The conversation turned to where they had spent most of their lives. I was expecting to hear Ohio, Michigan, or some other state, but to my shock two out of the three said that they had spent most of their lives in mental institutions.

When I heard the words "mental institution" I felt the old fear come over me! What had I gotten myself into? "How on earth did I feel a "real connection" to them?" I asked myself, feeling my heart begin to race. After a couple of minutes I calmed myself down.

It was through this experience that I could see the Lord was teaching me I had a "real connection" and I was to show love to everyone. I didn't think I would feel comfortable, let alone connected, around anyone who wasn't "with it" in my book; but the Lord showed me that He had connected me to them.

What's interesting is that for the past 6 years I worked in a "Memory Care" facility. Had I not had this experience 15 years before, I doubt very much that I would have been able to work there.

Little Acts Of Kindness

2008-07-24T18:00:00.000-04:00

by Kay Heitsch

"Could you come in here for a minute?" I heard Martha* ask as I rounded the corner.

"Sure, what do you need?" I replied.

Opening her closet this 80+ year-old lady pulled out an outfit. "I'd like you to take this. I think it would look cute on you." I didn't know quite what to say. As you might well imagine, this outfit was not something I would ever think of wearing. However, I took it and thanked Martha very much for thinking of me. I put the outfit in the laundry room of the facility and asked the staff to put it back in her room in a few days. Since this was a memory care unit I was sure Martha would forget she gave it to me; and she may even start accusing someone of stealing it.

Martha liked gum. I chewed gum quite often and Martha would usually comment about the gum. It was funny how she would comment, but not come right out and ask for any. I'd normally say, "Would you like a stick of gum?" Martha would always reply, "Sure!"

It wasn't long and hospice was called in because Martha was dying. Over the years I've been with several people as they were dying and all are not the same. Martha was having a very hard time. I walked by her room and I could hear the hospice nurse trying to calm her down. It was obvious nothing was working. My heart went out to Martha and the hospice nurse. I said a quick prayer and walked in the room. I quietly walked over to Martha's bed and put my hand gently on her chest. I bent down close to her and whispered her name. Martha immediately became calm. Her breathing relaxed and she stopped yelling.

I looked at the hospice nurse and asked her what happened. The nurse said that Martha, though she didn't know my name, recognized my voice, my touch, the smell of my perfume, and the smell of the gum. These were things that she recognized, and the sound and smell of them brought her comfort.

I've found that it's these little acts of kindness that mean so much and add meaning to life. Showing care and compassion to someone, even if they don't know your name, brought comfort that day to a dying friend.

*Name has been changed.

Our God Is An AWESOME God!

2008-07-19T19:16:00.001-04:00

by Kay Heitsch

If you're like me, most of your days are uneventful. I never expected when I went to South Broadway Nursing Home, for my weekly visit, that this night would be any different. Boy, was I wrong!

I walked into the nursing home that evening at 7:00. As always, I had my basket full of candy for the residents and the staff. Each evening I would start by leaving my coat and purse in Bertha's room. I'd met Bertha several years before when she lived in the old section of the nursing home. Bertha and I had developed a close relationship.

To be honest, when I first started to go to South Broadway I didn't go into Bertha's room. When I peeked in the dimly lit room I saw a bed with the sides up. I wasn't sure what condition this person was in and felt uncomfortable with the situation. As time went on I began to feel a nudge from the Lord to go in the room. To my surprise, I found the person in the bed to be a very pleasant little lady. Bertha had broken her hip and by the time I came in the evening, she was already in bed.

Over the years Bertha talked to me about her family and her life. She was especially proud of her granddaughter, who Bertha said was a Christian counselor in a nearby town.

On this particular evening I headed right for Bertha's room as usual. I walked in with a big smile and said, "Hi" like I normally did. I quickly took off my coat and hid my purse underneath the coat. I knew Bertha would keep an eye on it as she always had. I was going about my regular routine; then I walked over to Bertha's bed with the basket of candy.

For some reason Bertha didn't look quite right. In a very quiet voice she whispered, "Kay, I've been waiting for you. Would you please give me a sip of water?" I saw a glass of water with a straw in it on her tray. I put the straw up to her lips. When Bertha took a sip of water she started to cough, then she started to slightly throw up. Yikes! I didn't know what to do. I took off like a streak of lightning out of the door!

I ran to the nurse's desk and told them Bertha had started to throw up. The nurse remained calm then said, "Kay, Bertha's been waiting for you." Looking down then slowly looking at me the nurse continued, "Bertha is dying. She's been waiting for you so you could be with her when she goes." I felt stunned by her words.

Together the nurse and I walked back down to Bertha's room. I walked over to Bertha's bed and gently took her hand. The nurse took Bertha's blood pressure and checked her heart, then quietly walked out of the room.

I wish I could say that I had said something profound to Bertha, but I have no idea what I even said. I know I told her everything was going to be all right; and that I truly believed. I was holding Bertha's frail hand and still rubbing her arm when she stopped breathing. This was the first time I had ever been with a person when they died. I walked out to the desk and told the nurse Bertha was gone.

As I was walking back, I could see the other residents from the home looking at me. One of the staff said, "Kay, the other people are all waiting for you." I knew she was right. I don't know how I did it, but I went back into Bertha's room, picked up the candy basket and went about my normal visit, giving hugs and passing out the candy.

Years later my dear friend Ruth Ann died. I'd moved to another state by this time and I started to email Ruth Ann's husband, Ed. Ed told me that he was getting remarried. Ed talked about his new wife, Connie.

After Ed and Connie were married for a while I remembered Ed had told me that Connie was a Christian counselor. I thought of Bertha and how she had talked about her granddaughter who was also a Christian counselor.

I emailed Ed and asked him if Connie's grandmother had been in South Broadway Nursing Home. Sure enough she had. I told Ed that I had been with her when she died. Connie emailed me. I sent an email in reply, sharing with her my friendship with Bertha. Connie was very happy to know that I had been with her grandma when she died.

After all these years I am still amazed to see how the Lord was involved in this whole situation. Even years later, after I had moved to another state, God was able to bring closure to Connie, a woman I had never met.

Our God is an AWESOME God!

"AVAILABLE"

2008-07-14T13:01:00.001-04:00

by Kay Heitsch

When I made the choice to become a Christian, I told the Lord I wanted to be "available" whenever and wherever He needed me. Being "available" has taken me to some unusual places.

One such place was an old, white-framed, two-story, nursing home. The rooms in the home were large with uneven floors. To get to the rooms on the second floor, you had to carefully climb the long, narrow, winding stairs. After going up and down those stairs a few times, I wondered how any of those elderly people could climb them.

Every Thursday evening at 7:00 I would find myself "available" to visit at this nursing home. The management said I was more dependable than the staff. I always brought a basket full of wrapped candy each time I came to visit. I asked the staff who was diabetic so that I could make sure to have some sugar free candy for those folks, too. I didn't want anyone to be left out.

I walked in every room and greeted each person. Most people were friendly and very happy to see me. Others were gruff, and acted like they weren't sure what to think of me. One elderly man was in this latter category. Henry* would hardly look up when I walked in. In fact, he seemed almost irritated that I stopped by.

Every Thursday evening I would hesitate outside of Henry's door thinking, "Lord, do I really need to go in here? This man doesn't even like me!" Every week the Lord seemed to say, "Go in."

I had gotten started later than usual this particular Thursday evening when I walked up to Henry's room. I peeked in, hoping he was asleep, so I wouldn't need to feel like I was bothering him.

Just my luck, Henry was sitting on the edge of the bed. "Oh joy, I guess I should go in and get rejected again," I thought. To my surprise Henry glanced up at me and said in his usual gruff manner, "Will you help me?" I was startled by the question. "Yes, I'll help you. What do you need?" I responded, wondering why I would have said such a thing. "Good grief, I don't even work here. Maybe I should go find someone who does," ran though my mind.

I was used to just talking to these people. I had never been asked to "help" anyone. I wondered what Henry wanted. Henry was sitting on the side of the bed in a pair of long underwear. These long underwear had seen better days. I noticed there were several holes in them and the color was not exactly what it was when they were new. I noticed a pair of old pajamas he had beside him on the bed.

Henry lifted his head and looked me straight in the eyes. I could see that he was a proud man who had probably had a hard life. I was sure he had always taken care of himself. Asking for help would have been out of the question. He didn't want to ask for help, but now he was old and feeble and needed it.

"What can I do to help you?" I asked. He pointed to the old pajamas. In a voice that was gruff, but soft he said, "Would you help me put these on?" as he glanced at the pajamas. "I would be happy to." I responded. I had never helped a stranger put on clothes of any kind, let alone pajamas. "Well, there's a first time for everything." I figured.

I did my best to help Henry slip his thin arms in the pajama top. The material was so thin that I could almost see my skin though them. I carefully lined up the buttons to the holes and buttoned each of them. I gently straightened the wrinkled collar so it was in place. All the while, Henry sat very still and remained silent.

As I picked up the pajama bottom I found myself kneeling in front of Henry. I felt a strange sense of peace as Henry lifted each of his feet so that I could slip the pajama leg on. I noticed how difficult it was for Henry, even with my help, to put them on.

With my mission complete I stood up to leave. Henry slowly lifted his head. When his sad eyes met mine he whispered, "Thank you." I felt tears filling to my eyes. I bent down and gave him a small hug and whispered, "You're welcome."

As strange as it may seem, this was one of the most spiritual experiences I have even had. How could something so humble, have such a profound impact on me, I will never understand? All I did was help someone with a small need.

I may not have understood what happened, but I knew without a doubt, I had just been kneeling on holy ground.

Thank You, Lord for the opportunity to be "available" once again.

* Name had been changed.

A Brief Explanation

2008-06-29T21:45:00.003-04:00

The following two stories, "The Boxes" and "God Will Provide" actually go together. I felt they could be two seperate stories so I wrote them in that way. They both were an amazing experience of God's care for Sue and also for me. Blssings, Kay

The Boxes

2008-06-29T21:43:00.005-04:00

by Kay Heitsch

It wasn't long after the "For Sale" sign went up on our front yard that they started arriving in our mailbox; post cards. Each one asking to provide service for our impending move. As I sorted though the array of cards, I selected three and called the first number. A man answered the phone and stated that he would be happy to come out and give me a free estimate. He went on to explain that he was planning to go out of town for the weekend, so he would come the following week. We set the appointment, and I called the other two numbers.

The next week at the time agreed upon, he arrived. He introduced himself as Roger. As he walked through our four-bedroom home, with all the extras, he calculated everything on a handheld computer. When he finished, he handed me the printed estimate. Then he told me that to help save money on boxes, I could call down to his office and ask if anyone had turned in their used boxes. He said if anyone did, those boxes would be free for the taking. Little did he know that saving money on boxes was exactly what we needed.

Moving was nothing new for us. We had moved many times in the 27 years my husband, Bill, was with his former company. We had lived in 4 different states. But now Bill was not with this company anymore and we were paying for this move ourselves.

Our family had been through a lot over the years. The worst being the death of our 16 year old son, Todd, in a car accident. I'd witnessed God bring triumph out of tragedy through his death. I had even written Dr. Norman V. Peale about some of these triumphs a few years before.

When Roger was about to leave I told him I wanted to give him something for coming out. He was surprised when I handed him the book "Have A Great Day-Everyday!" written by Dr. Peale. I told him about Todd's accident and I explained the special meaning this book had for me.* Roger thanked me and said his wife was a big fan of Dr. Peale's, and he knew she was going to love this book. Roger went on to say that the weekend trip he had been on was with his wife. He said she had just found out she had cancer. As Roger walked out the door he said, "I know God sent me here today."

I had not forgotten Roger's offer of the used boxes, so I called every few days to check to see if any had been turned in. Although the office girls were pleasant, the answer was always the same, "Sorry, we do not have any used boxes at this time."

The days seemed to be flying by. I kept calling asking about the used boxes, but still the answer was the same, "No boxes."

When Todd died I had been given an insight. I told myself I never wanted to forget it. The insight being that what really mattered in life were two things: our relationship with God, and our relationship with others. I had not forgotten this insight, so as the day of our move came closer I wanted to go back to the town where Todd had spent his last days of life. I'd made many close and personal relationships with the people there. I would be moving to another state and may not see them for a long time, if ever.

Bill had started a new job in our home state of Michigan. He was staying with his folks until we could be moved. He called and said, "Have you started packing yet?" Well, no, I hadn't; in fact I didn't even have any boxes. I told Bill that I was heading to Dover for the weekend to visit and I was sure that when I came back, God would have the boxes ready. Bill was less than enthusiastic about my trip, but he didn't put up too much of a fuss.

It was wonderful going back to Dover and seeing friends again. There was a sadness too, not knowing if I would ever see them again. With the IMPORTANT job done, I headed home ready to start packing.

On Monday I called about the boxes. "No boxes" was still the answer. I called our church secretary, Jennifer, and she suggested I go around behind stores and look in dumpsters for boxes. "Oh, this is just great!" I thought. It's only been raining for days now. Just what I want-soggy boxes. "Lord, You need to help me here!"

The following day I called bright and early in the morning. Much to my surprise a man answered the phone instead of the usual girls. When I asked about boxes he said, "Yes, we did get some boxes back." I told him I would be right down to pick them up.

I called Brandon, my youngest son and told him to get ready, we were going to get our boxes. I was so relieved that I wouldn't have to go through dumpsters for boxes.

When I walked in the front office, I finally could put a face to the voices I had talked to so many times. When I told the girls who I was, and that I had come to pick up the used boxes, they looked at each other with wonder. The girls said they had no idea what was going on, as they did not have any used boxes that they knew of. They suggested I go downstairs and see the man down there. When I got downstairs, much to my surprise there was Roger, the man who had given me the estimate. He remembered me and asked why I was there. I explained to him what was going on. Roger told me to go outside and pull around to the warehouse.

As I got out of the van at the warehouse a man walked out on the loading dock. He asked if I was the lady who had called about the used boxes. When I told him I was he said, "I'm sorry, I'm the man who answered the phone. We did have boxes, but now they're gone." My heart sank. Roger was walking up overhearing the conversation, and immediately he said, "Yes, we do have boxes for her." The man on the dock started to tell the story again when Roger interrupted, "I want you to give her all the NEW boxes, tape, and packing materials she will need for her move, on us. I also want you to make sure she has the best men we have to do her move. I want this to be the best job we've ever done."

I was SHOCKED!! I didn't know what to say or do. I stammered out an expression of gratitude though my tears and gave Roger a big hug. After that he simply walked away.

As the man on the dock looked up what I would need on the computer, he looked at me and said, "Who are you? How do you know Roger?" I told him I wasn't really anyone special; I honestly didn't know Roger except that he had come out to our home to give the estimate on the move. With a look of puzzlement on his face he said, "Are you sure? Roger doesn't go out to homes and give estimates, he's the owner of the company." I answered, "Well he came out and took the estimate on moving us."

There was no way that Roger could have known how much we needed this gift of boxes after looking at the home we lived in, but he offered them anyway. God had everything worked out, right down to the number of boxes that was needed. I believe it was a Divine connection that brought Roger, who didn't make house calls, to our home that day. When Roger said, "I know God sent me here today," I knew he was absolutely right.

*A letter that I wrote about my son, Todd, is written as the Introduction in "Have a Great Day Everyday!" on Page 8.

This book may be ordered from:
The Peale Center
66 East Main Street
Pauling, NY 12564
(1.866.713.7278)

God Will Provide

2008-06-29T21:30:00.000-04:00

by Kay Heitsch

It was another beautiful day in the neighborhood. I started out on my daily three mile walk. As I normally did, I asked the Lord to bring anyone who I may help, to the road.

On my walk this day a women was waiting at the end of her driveway for me. As I walked closer she said, "How did your house sell so fast?" I responded, " I put it in God's hands." I immediately added that putting things in God's hands doesn't always mean fast results. Our last house we sold in Dover, Ohio took two years to sell; and I also had put that one in God's hands. She smiled and then I noticed a "For Sale" sign in her yard, too.

We talked awhile and Sue told me that she was going through a divorce. She was apprehensive about her future. She expressed her fears about several things; one being where she would get boxes. From out of no where I heard myself say, "Don't worry about boxes, God will provide you with the boxes you need just like He is going to provide them for me!" I was stunned! Where on earth had those words come from. Sue looked at me and said, "You know I have faith, but not like that!" I wasn't sure I had that much faith either, but the words were out and I was going to believe God now.

A couple of weeks later on my walk I noticed a new family had moved in. Seeing their packing boxes piled out by the curb got my attention. The thought, "These are Sue's boxes" came to my mind. I walked right over to Sue's house and told her about the boxes. Excitedly I said, "Let's go over and ask if they are throwing these boxes away. If they are we can ask them if you can have them." Sue was somewhat hesitant, but I was insistent. Sure enough, the people were happy to give the boxes to Sue and they said she could have any others they put out. We both drove over and loaded them in. There, God had provided Sue with her boxes, but now what about mine? Sue suggested I take these boxes since I would be moving before she her, but I said, "No, I believe these boxes are for you." In the back of my mind I was wondering if I should take Sue up on her suggestion.

Deep in my heart I knew the Lord was going to provide me with the boxes we needed too. A week before we were to move, the Lord did provide all the boxes we needed for our move. In fact, when Sue came down to say, "Good-by" I noticed that we had a few boxes left over that we didn't need. I asked the guys who were packing us if I could give Sue these extra boxes. They said, "If Roger gave them away once, he won't mind giving them away again."

Sue called me when she finally moved. She told me it was amazing that she had the exact number of boxes she needed for her move, with the extra ones I gave her.

That day when I said, "Don't worry about boxes, God will provide you with the boxes you need just like He is going to provide them for me!" I couldn't believe I said those words. However, the Lord gave me the faith to keep believing, and the results were amazing.

Just Looking

2008-06-18T16:24:00.000-04:00

by Kay Heitsch

There was a lot of new home construction going on in our neighborhood. As you might well imagine, this construction was quite fascinating for little boys.

One day I was taking my daily walk when I heard a young mother yell, "Joey, what are you doing?" I looked around to see if I could see the little guy. Lo and behold I did see him. Joey was standing on top of a mound of dirt looking down into a newly dug basement.

Joey yelled back, "I'm just looking, Mom! I'm not looking for trouble!" Now seeing Joey standing on top of this mound of dirt, Joey's Mom ran out of the house to help him come down, before he fell in the hole.

I smiled at Joey's response. He didn't think he was "looking for trouble," but his mother could see that it was very possible that Joey may be in trouble with just a slip of his little foot.

How often do we think we are "just looking" when in reality we may be "looking for trouble?"

In the garden, Jesus said to the disciples twice to "Pray that you will not fall into temptation." Luke 22:40 and again in Luke 22:45. Jesus knew that the disciples were about to be standing on top of a situation where they might fall. Jesus wanted them to pray that they would not fall into temptation. Why? Because Jesus wanted to save them from the hurt that the fall would cause.

I think we all know the story. Peter denied Jesus, and the others ran away when they were on top of the situation. They did not pray ahead of time, but fell asleep instead. The emotional hurt they felt was very real.

We may not think that trouble could be around the corner when we are on top of the hill. We may think we are "just looking," not knowing that there could be trouble if we fell.

I believe that if we are wise, we will remember the words of Jesus: "Pray that you will not fall into temptation," even though we may think that we are "just looking" and "not looking for trouble." What do YOU think?

Yes He Can!

2008-06-17T11:02:00.003-04:00

by Kay Heitsch

I was hurrying around Friday morning getting ready for a trip to Michigan. We'd received a call that the headstone for Todd's grave was ready. Todd's headstone had been a special order because we wanted his picture put on it. We also asked that his running shoes be carved in the front. I was anxious to see how the stone turned out. Then the phone rang.

When I answered the phone a woman introduced herself as June.* During our brief conversation June told me that she'd read the story, "In Loving Memory of Todd" in the Plus Magazine. June said she'd also shared the story with her eight daughters.

June explained the reason for her call was to let me know how inspired she and her daughters were with the story. June said they were amazed to see how the Lord had taken this tragedy and made something positive out of it. Then June made the comment that she didn't know what she would do if anything ever happened to one of her children. I assured June that God would be with her, just as He had with me, no matter what may happen.

I thanked June for her call and encouragement. I explained that I was sorry I couldn't talk very long because we were getting ready to leave for Michigan. I told June I'd be happy to talk to her more when I came home.

Sunday afternoon we drove back to Ohio. We were pleased with the way the headstone had turn out.

Early Monday morning the phone rang. When I answered the phone I recognized June's voice, but she sounded different this time. In a quiet voice June asked, "Did you read the newspaper on Saturday?" "No, I didn't," I answered. I heard June take a deep breath. June started to cry softly and said, "My only son, Jason* was hit by a big semi truck on his way to Florida. Jason is dead." There was a pause. "Oh, I'm so sorry to hear this," I replied, feeling half sick to my stomach. June continued, "I can't tell you how thankful I am that my daughters and I read your story. Because of reading, "In Loving Memory of Todd" we know that the Lord can bring something positive out of Jason's death too."

I asked June what funeral home they were using for Jason's calling hours. That evening I went over to show my condolences. To this day the picture of June and her daughters standing around Jason's casket still stands out in my mind. With tears filling my eyes, I walked over to June and her daughters. After introducing myself, I gave each one an understanding hug. Words were not necessary; because they knew from reading the story, that the Lord could bring something positive out of Jason's death, as He had in Todd's.

*Names have been changed.

"In Loving Memory of Todd" can be read in the May Archive

The Greatest Day Of My Life!

2008-06-16T09:48:00.002-04:00

by Kay Heitsch

When I woke up I didn't realize that this would be the greatest day of my life!

A few weeks had passed since Todd's death in the car accident. People had been very generous bringing in food for our family. But the time came when I had to venture out to the grocery store.

My first experience grocery shopping did not go well! I had Brandon, our two-year old son, in the grocery cart. I'd gone down several aisles when I came to the cereal section. Without thinking, I reached up to grab Todd's favorite cereal. I broke out in a cold sweat, realizing I didn't need to buy this anymore. I jerked my hand back. I felt stunned for an instant. All of a sudden I thought I was going to burst into tears. Since I didn't want anyone to see me crying, I grabbed Brandon and left the shopping cart right in the cereal aisle. With tears burning my eyes I drove straight home.

The next week I was completely dressed and ready to go back to the grocery store when I felt panic grip me. I started to think, "What will my reaction be if I reached for one of Todd's favorites again?" I was feeling out of control.

Before Todd's death, life seemed pretty easy for me to control. But Todd's death had been very hard on me. Quite frankly, I really didn't want to go on living without him. Now the fear of being "out of control" was making me feel paralyzed to even leave the house. Another thought came: "What are you going to do?" I knew I couldn't go on living with this paralyzing fear and grief. I knew drugs, alcohol, food, or anything else was not going to take this kind of pain and fear away.

My mind went back to the last few years. I'd been reading books about people who had overcoming lives. I needed that kind of life now. The kind of life where no matter what happened, I would be able to handle it. Of course, I wanted to live this life, on my own, without God's involvement. I'd been doing pretty well staying positive, until Todd's death. Now I was beginning to see that this wasn't possible anymore.

Deep down I knew what these "overcoming" people had that I didn't. I recognized that they had a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ. I wanted this overcoming life, too. I understood that I desperately needed it to go on for my family.

I had finally come to the end of myself. I couldn't muster up enough positive thinking on my own anymore. I could see that this kind of overcoming life wasn't possible without God's power. I fell to my knees right where I stood. I admitted to the Lord-- and to myself--that He was the power, and I needed it right then. Immediately, I felt this flood of peace and "liquid love" filling me. My panic and fear were gone.

When I woke up that morning I didn't realize that this was going to be the greatest day of my life, but it sure was!

The Phone Call

2008-06-13T11:30:00.003-04:00

by Kay Heitsch

When the phone rang I rolled over and looked at the clock. "Who would be calling at this hour?" I mumbled. I answered the phone. When I put the phone to my ear, all I could hear was a woman sobbing. "Oh Lord, who is this? She must have the wrong number," I reasoned, as I tried to shake myself awake.

Finally, through her sobs I heard her say, "Kay, my name is Sue.* You don't know me. I need someone to talk to." There was a pause as she caught her breath. Sue began to sob again, then cried out, "My little boy is dead! It was a horrible accident. I ran over him today with the tractor." WHOA! My mind was having a hard time taking all of this in. I started to think, "Am I awake or is this a bad dream?" For a few seconds, I wasn't quite sure. Sue started to calm down a bit; then went on to explain exactly what had happened that afternoon.

As best as I can recall, Sue had decided to mow their big yard with a tractor. Her young son Bobby* wanted to ride on her lap while she mowed. For some reason he fell off her lap and landed under the blade. Bobby was killed!

To tell you the truth, I have no idea what I said when Sue shared the details of the day. I've learned that words aren't necessary when a person is grieving. The grieving person needs to talk about what happened; sometimes repeating the story many times. I don't understand this, but I've seen that talking about the situation seems to help with the healing process.

Sue and I talked and talked. Other than talking about the accident, she shared with me that she was married and had an older daughter, Lisa*, who was about eight years old. Sue said that Lisa was having a very hard time dealing with her little brother's death. During the next few days I prayed many times for ways to help Sue and Lisa.

The day arrived for Bobby's funeral. I knew I needed to be there for Sue. While I was getting dressed for the funeral, I had a Divine inspiration. A thought came to me to buy Lisa a stuffed animal. I left the house early and stopped at a local store and bought a cute stuffed animal. I didn't have time to wrap it, so I bought a pretty gift bag and some colored tissue paper. I put the stuffed animal in the bag and topped it off with the tissue paper. I knew this thought to buy the stuffed animal must be from the Lord, since I'd never done anything like this before, or even thought of it, for that matter.

When I walked into the funeral home I saw little Lisa sitting with her head hanging down. I walked over and handed her the pretty gift bag. Lisa looked up with tears in her eyes and gave me a faint smile. She removed the stuffed animal from the bag and held it close throughout the service. I could see that holding this stuffed animal was bringing comfort to Lisa.

To this day, I still don't know who gave Sue my phone number, but I know the Lord does. I was in the grieving process myself when the phone call came. As I prayed and allowed God to show His love through me, I also received God's healing balm of love, healing my wounded heart.

* Names have been changed.

Shaken Faith

2008-06-11T15:23:00.003-04:00

by Kay Heitsch

I was wondering what kind of response I would receive when the local newspaper in Dover, Ohio asked to reprint, "In Loving Memory Of Todd."

A few days after the reprinting of, "In Loving Memory Of Todd" a letter came from a young woman who had been a high-school classmate of Todd's. She wrote that when she heard that Todd had been in a car accident, she prayed that "the Lord would do what was right for His kingdom." She felt the right thing would be that Todd would live.

Later, when the young woman learned that Todd had died, she was devastated. She could not understand why God had allowed Todd to die. Because of this, she almost lost faith in God.

Then, in the newspaper, she read the headline, "Dover Mother Finds Triumph Through Tragedy." As she read the article, Todd's young friend realized that the Lord had answered her prayer.

Her letter made me do a great deal of thinking. How often have I allowed my faith to be shaken, when I did not see immediate answers to my prayers? I have learned to trust God more, remembering that He will do what is best for His kingdom.

* The letter "In Loving Memory of Todd" is listed in the May Archives.

The Unreasonable Request

2008-06-10T21:48:00.002-04:00

by Kay Heitsch

Carolyn had been through a tough time. It all started with a bad cough that wouldn't go away. She went to the doctor and he ran some tests. Lo and behold, the tests showed there wasn't a problem with her lungs at all; but a mass was found on her kidney. The doctor told her that this needed to be taken care of right away. Carolyn had never had a problem with her kidneys before. So his indication of surgery, right away, was a scary thought. She decided to go home and think about it.

A couple of days went by and all of a sudden Carolyn noticed swelling in her toes. Then her foot and ankle began to swell. Quickly the swelling moved up her leg. She knew she needed to go back to the doctor immediately!

At the office the doctor stressed that they couldn't wait much longer. She would need the risky surgery as soon as possible. He then suggested that Carolyn have the surgery at the University Hospital a couple of hours away.

When the doctor suggested the University Hospital, Carolyn's heart began to race. She hadn't been to that hospital since her husband died there several years before. She did not want to go back there. Unrealistic thoughts rushed into her mind. She kept quiet though; because she knew the University Hospital was one of the best.

Carolyn told her five grown children about the upcoming surgery. However, she didn't share her negative feelings with them. She knew she was being unreasonable, but she still didn't want to have the surgery at the University Hospital.

Finally in desperation Carolyn decided to pray. She expressed to the Lord this dread she was feeling. She told the Lord she knew she was being unreasonable. Then she ask if He would make it possible for her to have the surgery at another hospital.

The doctor scheduled the surgery for Friday. On Thursday Carolyn's daughter called her. "Mom, the doctor has been trying to call you. Your surgery has been rescheduled and is now going to be done at the City Hospital." Carolyn couldn't believe her ears. No one knew, except the Lord, that she didn't want to have the surgery at the University Hospital.

Hearing this welcomed news, a flood of peace came over her. The dread was gone. Carolyn still didn't know what the outcome of the surgery would be, but it didn't bother her. After seeing how the Lord had answered her prayer, Carolyn knew that He had everything under control.

*I'm happy to report that Carolyn came through the surgery with flying colors and is now doing very well.

The Parking Space

2008-06-07T12:36:00.004-04:00

by Kay Heitsch

It had been a long day at Cedar Point, an amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio. Ruth Ann and I were there with our church's youth group. We were exhausted as we made our way to the van after the fireworks. However, the day was not over for us. We still had to find our way to the Lakeside campgrounds several miles away.

My sense of direction was not good that night; even though I had lived in Sandusky 15 years before. After missed turns, we stopped and asked for directions several times before we finally found our way to the campgrounds.

When we arrived at Lakeside Ruth Ann said with a sigh of relief, "I'm sure happy we're finally here. But it's so late now I doubt that we'll find a parking place anywhere near the hotel. I'm afraid we'll have to carry our luggage a long way."

I was beyond tired so I said, "I'm going to pray and ask the Lord to give us a close parking spot." Ruth Ann started to laugh and said she wasn't so sure it was proper to ask the Lord for a parking spot. To let Ruth Ann know I was meaning business I said, "I'm not only going to ask for a close spot, I'm going to remind the Lord I can't parallel park so He needs to give me a double space." Ruth Ann really started to laugh now and told me she had never heard of anyone praying like this.

While I was still driving I started to pray out loud, "Lord you know how tired Ruth Ann and I are. We could sure use a nice double parking space in front of the hotel. I don't need to tell You Lord, the trouble I have parking this big van."

I had never been to Lakeside before, but Ruth Ann had. She knew the odds of finding a parking spot anywhere near the hotel was going to be slim to none, especially this late at night. As we turn down the road to where the hotels were located I asked Ruth Ann which hotel was ours. In amazement she answered, "The one with the double parking space in front." I know it's hard to believe, but it was true. A double parking spot was waiting for us right in front of the hotel.

I started to think back about our trip. Maybe all of our missed turns weren't missed turns at all. Maybe the Lord was making sure we were delayed long enough for Him to show us a sign of His goodwill and favor.

Our family moved to Michigan after this experience. Ruth Ann and I remained close friends until her untimely death. In the last card I received from Ruth Ann she wrote about our parking space experience. Ruth Ann referred to it as "a miracle," and indeed it was a welcome miracle for two weary travelers.

Angel's By The Tracks?

2008-06-05T17:31:00.005-04:00

by Kay Heitsch

Have you ever had an experience that left you wondering if you actually saw what you think you saw? I had one such experience on a hot summer day years ago. I was driving my husband Bill's little sports car with a sunroof. I didn't drive Bill's car that often, so I was enjoying driving with the sunroof open.

I'd called my friend Dimple, right before I left the house. I was on my way over to her apartment to play her a tape that someone had given me. I had the tape playing, no doubt louder than it needed to be, when I came upon an old railroad crossing. I had crossed these tracks many times before, but I had never seen a train on them. There were no flashing lights and I assumed trains no longer used these tracks.

As I approached the tracks, I was singing along with the music. Up ahead I saw three young boys looking to be about 10 years old standing on the other side of the tracks facing me. I couldn't help but notice them, as they were dressed in old fashioned clothes. Their long white sleeve shirts and long beige baggy pants with suspenders looked quite odd. Each boy had on a hat with the earflaps down. "Why on earth were they dressed like this on a hot day?" I wondered.

I was almost ready to go over the tracks. The music was cranked up and I was singing at the top of my lungs. All of a sudden I saw the boys each put their hands over their ears. For some reason, I slammed on the brakes. I turned my head to the right and there was a train. I broke out in a cold sweat. I stopped singing and sat in silence as the train clamored by. "Lord, I would have been killed had I not stopped!" I muttered out loud. I drove over the tracks; then I remembered the three young boys. I looked in my rear view mirror, but there were no boys anywhere. Where had the boys gone? They couldn't have disappeared that fast.

I was still quite shaken by my near death experience when I arrived at my friend Dimple's apartment. I shared with Dimple what had just happened. "Gee, maybe I've lost my mind. I know I saw three oddly dressed boys. They saved my life. But when I looked back, they were gone."

Dimple was a wise woman in her 80's. Dimple gave me a faint smile and said in her Southern drawl, "Kay, did you ever think that the dear Lord was watching over you and He sent these boys. They could have actually been angels by the tracks." Wow, I hadn't thought of that.

Maybe Dimple was right and they were angels. I never heard the train whistle blowing, even though the sunroof was open. Had these boys looked normal, I wouldn't have even taken notice of them. When they put their hands over their ears I did put the brakes on. I may never know who those boys were or what happened that day. One thing I do know is that Dimple was right--the dear Lord was watching over me.

Get On The Ball!

2008-06-05T16:53:00.003-04:00

by Kay Heitsch

When the box arrived, I wondered what could be in it. I waited a day, then I asked my husband. "Oh, this is for you; I sent for it," Bill replied. I tore open the box. In the box were some videos, a pump, and a deflated ball. "What on earth is this?" I said. "Oh, it's some videos to exercise with. You do the workouts on the ball," my husband explained. "Well, I don't know who's going to use this, unless you are. I certainly get enough exercise every day," I responded in an irritated way. In my mind, I was thinking, "I certainly don't need this. Good grief, I only wear a size 6 petite. He should be happy I look this good for 54 years old."

Over the past 5 years I had been having terrible pain in my fingers, wrists, arms, and shoulders. I had worked at a job displaying jewelry and had quit because of the pain. At night, I cried out in pain if I moved wrong in bed or bumped my hands or shoulder.

Several people were sure I had carpal tunnel. On their suggestion, I wore a wrist brace for a while. It didn't help. I took massive doses of vitamins and Advil. I went on the Internet and found some exercises for the hands and arms. Over and over people would share stories of family and friends who had had surgery, but they still were in pain. Then I developed a sciatic nerve problem in my hip. I prayed many times about this. I needed some relief from this constant pain. I didn't seem to be receiving much help in what I had been doing.

The ball sat in the box for a few days. Out of curiosity one day, I decided I would "get on the ball" and take a look at one of the videos. "This looks like it may be fun. After all, good money had been spent on this so why waste it," I told myself.

I worked out on the ball for several weeks. I found that the more I worked out on the ball the better I began to feel. I found that the stretching at the beginning and the ending of the workouts seemed to bring relief, not only in my arms, wrists, elbows, shoulders and hands, but also in the pain in my hip.

As time went on and I worked out faithfully on the ball. I was able to start holding a book and using the computer with less pain. Then it dawned on me, my prayers for healing had been answered. Little did I know that the Lord would answer my prayer for healing by using a ball, but He certainly did.

Can I Help You?

2008-06-04T18:31:00.002-04:00

by Kay Heitsch

As I turned to go down the aisle in the grocery store I spotted him... an elderly man appearing to be lost. As I walked closer I could see a sad look in his eyes. I felt an urge to say something to him. "What should I say?" I wondered to myself. "Can I help you find something?" I heard myself saying. "Thank you, I really need some help," he answered. "Tell me what you are looking for and I'll try to help you find it," I said.

"Why did you stop and talk to me? You don't work here, do you?" he asked. "Well, I could see by the look on your face that you seemed to need help," I answered. With that, he introduced himself. "Hi, I'm Albert.* This is the first time since my wife died that I've been to the grocery store. My wife always did the shopping and I'm really lost in this big store. Thank you for helping me." I leaned over and gave Albert a hug. I told him that only a few weeks earlier my son, Todd, had died in a car accident. We shared a faint smile knowing that we both had been through a tough time.

As I pondered what had happened I realized that going though this grieving time had brought something out in me that wasn't there before. My eyes seemed to be opened and I noticed other hurting people. I'm sure the year before I would have been like the other people in the store, who walked by and didn't see the hurt in this man's eyes. In II Corinthians 1:4 it reads: "He helps us in all our troubles, so that we are able to help others who have all kinds of troubles, using the same help that we ourselves have received from God." God had helped me though this terrible tragedy of Todd's death, and now He was enabling me to see the hurt in others and reach out to help them.

* Name has been changed.

A Wink From God

2008-05-21T19:33:00.003-04:00

by Kay Heitsch

Since it was getting close to Memorial Day I wanted to get the flowers planted at home, as well as at the cemetery. I knew I had bitten off more than I could chew, but I started out with enthusiasm. But my enthusiasm was in low gear by the time I had finished putting in the last of the flowers at the cemetery.

Hot and exhausted, I gathered up the sprinkling cans and started over to the water faucet. I was about half way there when I noticed a sign hanging on the handle. As I got closer I read, "Water available at the north end of the cemetery. Sorry for your inconvenience." I have no sense of direction, but it was clear; I wasn't at the "north end" of the cemetery.

With a super pail in one hand, and a sprinkling can in the other, I headed for my car. As I walked, I started to whine to the Lord about my situation. In jest I said, "Boy, it would sure be nice Lord, if someone would show up here with some water."

As I was about to put the pail and sprinkling can in the car, a van drove up. A man got out with two sprinkling cans and a big smile. He looked at me and said, "Here I am at your service!" I stood there speechless. Since I wasn't responding the man said cheerfully, "Well, where do you want me to put this water?" With tears in my eyes I choked out the words, "Up on my son Todd's grave would be wonderful. Thank you."

Today I was watching Joyce Meyer's "Enjoying Everyday Life" program. Joyce called these moments "Winks from God." I certainly felt God had given me a wink and a smile that day.

Something Good Is Bound To Happen

2008-05-19T19:43:00.002-04:00

by Kay Heitsch

It has been many years ago that I had this experience. Yesterday when I talked to the eighth grade boys SS class this life-changing event came back to my mind.

After the story "In Loving Memory of Todd" went into print, I received a phone call. The call was from a woman I had known for 17 years. Dee actually had given me the baby shower for Todd. We had moved to other states and finally were back in Ohio when Todd died. Dee knew me pretty well back in the old days, so she knew what a total transformation my life had taken. Dee also had developed a personal relationship with the Lord.

Dee was calling to ask me to come and speak at her church. Talk about freaking out, I immediately told her "NO." There was no way I could ever get up and talk about this experience. I tried to explain to her that actually I didn't even write the letter. I knew there was "Someone" guiding me as I wrote. I hadn't even attended church in years. How on earth could I get up and speak? Dee would not take "no" for an answer, and continued to call.

After Dee's continued calls and my excuses, I received a magazine in the mail. I have no idea where it came from, but on the cover was a cartoon drawing of Moses. On the inside of the magazine were all the excuses Moses gave to the LORD for not being able to do what God was asking him to do. Boy, did this hit home. I was giving all the same excuses.

The next time Dee called she told me that she had talked to her minister. She said that they had come up with a date that I could come over and talk. The date was going to be Super Bowl Sunday night. I agreed to go, but only because I thought no one would be there; I assumed that they would stay at home to watch the Super Bowl.

I was a total wreck the day of the talk. I started to pace around the house like a caged animal. I felt sick. My hands were sweating. In fact, I was sweating all over. The more I paced the worse I felt. Thoughts were darting in and out of my mind. Finally it was about time to leave. I felt something running out of my nose. I put my hand up to see what it was. It was blood! What is going on?

I ran into the bathroom and put my head into the sink. The blood was pouring out of my nose. I couldn't get it to stop. I sent up a quick prayer, "Help me Lord." At that point a Bible text came to my mind, "I did not give you a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind." What? It took me a few seconds to understand, but finally I started to get it. This fear was not coming from the Lord. He wanted me to have power, love, and a sound mind. As funny as this seems, the words of an old country song also came to my mind: "Something good is bound to happen, cause the devil's working overtime."

I stood up, grabbed a hand full of Kleenex, and went out and got into the van. When I arrived at the church, the parking lot was full. Somehow the large group of people didn't bother me. I knew my strength was going to come from the Lord because He was giving me His, power, love, and a sound mind. I also knew something good was bound to happen, and it did.

Bible text: For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. II Timothy 1:7

It's Not All About You

2008-05-18T21:10:00.004-04:00

by Kay Heitsch

I looked over at the clock. It was my normal time to get up and spend quiet time with the Lord. Since it was Sunday the thought to stay in bed came to my mind. After all, I was going to church wasn't I? I would be spending time with the Lord there. Over time, I've learned not to always listen to myself, so I got up.

I spent some quiet time alone with the Lord and started to get ready for church. I'd turned the phone off in the bedroom, but I thought I heard the phone ring. Who on earth would be calling?

I answered the phone. On the other end of the line was an old friend of mine. I hadn't talked to him in a very long time. Dave told me that he had been talking to his wife about his eighth grade boys Sunday School class. Dave expressed to her the trouble he was having trying to talk about "witnessing." Cynthia shared with him the blog I had started less than one week ago. The last story on the blog was about witnessing. I listened, and then Dave asked if I would be willing to come over to his S.S. class and share some of my story. I thought for sure Dave meant maybe sometime in the future, but he meant that morning, in a couple of hours.

I started to kind of freak out. What would I say? I hadn't talked about Todd publicly in a very long time. I certainly would have to say something about him. It was because of Todd's death that I had entered into this personal relationship with the Lord. I didn't want to cry and make these eighth grade boys uncomfortable. Thoughts started to race around in my mind.

I totally believe it was because I had spent time alone that morning that this thought came. "Relax, it's not all about you. I'll give you the words you need to say. Don't miss this opportunity."

I told Dave I would talk to his class that morning. I gathered up a bunch of "In Loving Memory of Todd" handouts and left. I talked to the boys. I'm not sure what all I said, but I remember saying something I had never said before. I kept saying, "It's not all about you."

This phrase, "It's not all about you," was something that I'd learned over the years. Whenever I was asked to do something I didn't feel comfortable with, or I felt inadequate with, I had to tell myself "It's not all about you." I knew my strength to do anything worthwhile was coming from the Lord. It was all about Him and His ability. I knew I needed to allow Him to do His witnessing through me. I just needed to be myself.

Dave passed out the "In Loving Memory of Todd" stories. Wouldn't you know I had taken the exact number that was needed!

After the talk, I walked over to the church. The service was about over when I got there. When I walked into the sanctuary I heard the minister say, "It's not all about you. It's about Him." That's it!

Whatever the plan God has for our lives we need to remember, it's not all about us. It's about Him.

Where Do You Get Your Energy From?

2008-05-16T12:56:00.008-04:00

by Kay Heitsch

Do you ever wonder how you can be a witness to other people? I know I have. Personally, I didn't feel comfortable with the traditional way people seemed to do witnessing. I knew I wanted to share how the Lord was working in my life, but the traditional way wasn't for me. When I became a Christian I told the Lord I wanted to be used by Him. How He was going to use me has taken several different paths.

Several years ago I had an interesting encounter on the road where I walked in my neighborhood. I had asked the Lord to bring people out to the road who needed a touch from Him. Because of this request, the Lord has given me several "Divine connections."

There was a lot of construction going on in our neighborhood. I would always wave at the guys working on the homes as I walked by each day on my daily power walk. I felt like I half way knew these construction workers because I saw them every morning. This particular morning I smiled and waved like always, when one of the men yelled, "Wait a minute, we have a question to ask you." I was surprised and wondered what they could possibly want to ask me. I stopped and waited. A burly man walked out to the street and said, "Hi, my name is John. The guys and I have been talking about you. We want to know where you get all your energy." I felt John was no doubt expecting me to say something like, "From all the coffee I drink." Although I did drink coffee, I knew exactly where my energy came from. "Do I dare tell him the truth?" I quickly thought.

I looked John straight in the eye and said, "Do you really want to know where my energy comes from?" John said he really did, so this is what I told him. "Well, you see, John, I spend one on one time with the Creator of the Universe before I come out to walk each day." John looked like I had hit him with a ton of bricks then said, "How would that give you energy?" I explained, "The way I see it is that God keeps the whole Universe energized. If I spend one on one time with Him, I'll be energized too." With a look of enlightenment, John said, "I can see that it's working. I'll have to give it a try."

I thought our conversation was over when John said, "When you are spending time with the Creator, will you talk to Him about me? I have cancer." I certainly wasn't expecting this. I told him that I would pray. I then walked back home and found some Christian pamphlets that I thought would be helpful. I drove back to the site and gave them to John. Later on in the week, he came out to the road again when I was walking by. John told me that he had gone down to the VFW and shared what I told him with the "boys at the bar." John said he had even given out some of the pamphlets I had given him.

I know the way I did witnessing that day wasn't the traditional way, but it got the job done. I could see that the Lord not only used me to share His love, but He also used John, who didn't even know that he was also a witness for the Creator of the Universe, where all energy comes from.

God's Perfect Timing

2008-05-15T11:14:00.017-04:00

by Kay Heitsch

The following story was published in Positive Thinking Finding Joy & Fulfillment Every Day April 2002

No one can put you in the right
place as well as He can.

"I don't understand, Lord! How could this be a part of Your plan for our lives?" Over and over again, these words whirled around in my mind as I drove home from work that afternoon. I couldn't believe that we were going to be moving again. "Don't you care about us, Lord?" Tears burned my eyes as they rolled down my cheeks.

Down the road I could see a long line of traffic. "Now what? What's going on? How long am I going to be stuck here?"

I sat, for what seemed an eternity. I managed, through my frustration and annoyance, to calm myself down by praying. More than ever, I needed God's guidance. Eventually, the cars ahead slowly began to move. Finally, I was on my way.

All of a sudden, in my rearview mirror, I saw an older woman stumble into a ditch on the side of the road, and then walk out of it. Something was obviously wrong, but no one stopped to help. So I went back.

Though frightened, she came over when I called out to her. She said she was lost, that she had gone to a convenience store for a paper and had become disoriented. I offered to help her re-trace her steps so she climbed into the van and we soon discovered that she had taken a wrong turn at a three-way street.

Together, we located her daughter's apartment, where she was staying, and her invitation for coffee soon led to a long conversation about her own life and the recent events that had affected her.

Now relaxed and in familiar soundings, Mary introduced herself and told me that her husband had died recently and that she was visiting her daughter in order to figure out what to do next.

As Mary shared her apprehensions about her future, I did the same.

When I got ready to leave, I experienced a flash of insight. God did care and understand. Look at what just happened: I was delayed in traffic, I saw a total stranger at the exact instant she tumbled into the ditch, and then I went back to help when no one else seemed to notice.

As I said good-bye, I hugged Mary. If the God of the Universe cared enough to put me where I could help her at the exact instant she needed help, then neither one of us should have any fears about the future. God would send us the help we each needed, at the perfect time, just as He had done this day.

In Loving Memory of Todd

2008-05-14T14:39:00.009-04:00

by Kay Heitsch

The following is a personal letter I wrote to Dr. Peale after Todd died. Dr. Peale published the letter in Plus The Magazine of Positive Thinking in 1990.

Dear Dr. Peale,

I became acquainted with your writing strictly by accident. If I had known you were a minister, I would not have touched your books with a ten-foot pole. I was searching for something; I wasn't sure what.

During my search, I had gone to the psychology section of our public library and selected your book You Can If You Think You Can. I was inspired by what you had written. Although I had picked up books by other authors, they left me cold. I returned to the library to find more of your books. In the card file, your books were also listed under "religion." This was not to my liking. But I was so inspired by the first book I had read that I checked out more.

You see, I was brought up with a religion that had left me bitter; I wanted nothing more to do with it.

As I began reading your other books, I would skip over all of the Bible texts, feeling the power of my own mind was enough. I typed pages of your tips from several books. After a while, I started to put, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13) at the bottom of my typed pages. This amazed me!

I showed many of these pages to my teen-aged son, Todd. He was also inspired, and encouraged me to continue my reading and sharing.

Then, on a cold February day in 1988, one of my son's friends called. There had been a terrible accident. My son, Todd, had been killed.

I could not believe this had happened. Todd was so positive! He had goals. He loved life.

But it was true, My son was gone.

Because my husband, Bill, always worked long hours and we were transferred frequently, Todd and I had developed a close relationship. Todd had found that making close friends in a new town inevitably led to painful good-bys. So he made it a practice to be casual friends with everyone. We had been in Ohio less than three years when he was killed. I remember wondering if anyone would come to pay respect.

To my surprise, the funeral home was packed. People were lined up outside in the bitter cold. These teen-agers and teachers had loved Todd. They said that he was always happy and a friend to everyone. One teacher said he had never known Todd to have a bad day. This was because of you, Doctor Peale. Each morning, we read your book, "Have A Great Day."

At the funeral home, I felt as though I were the comforter. I told all of the kids, after giving them a big hug, that they could come over and talk anytime. Several of them told me that Todd had always said I was easy to talk to and that they should visit me anytime. I was surprised.

Kids started coming over to my home. They asked why Todd was always so happy, and I told them about positive thinking. I was even talking to them about the Lord, I started buying copies of "Have a Great Day" for everyone. On the inside, I would write, "In loving memory of Todd."

I began seeing the Lord in a different way. This didn't happen overnight, however. It had been eight years since I first read "You Can If You Think You Can." I knew that my strength was coming from the Lord, but I was still holding on to my own strong will.

Then one day, that all changed. It was just another day, but I couldn't muster up enough "positive thinking" on my own to face the day. I felt shaky and was afraid that I was going to fall apart. I knelt down and prayed. I finally admitted to the Lord-- and to myself--that He was the power, and I needed it right then. I felt such peace and love. This is what I had always been looking for! I felt as if He were saying, "What took you so long? I've been by your side all along."

Sometime later, the phone rang. When I answered the phone, I recognized the voice of a good friend of Todd's. She was having trouble accepting Todd's death, and needed some answers. I told her I did not know how or why this terrible accident had happened, but that I would ask the Lord and get back to her.

That night, I held the Bible and prayed that I could help this girl find her answer. I asked the Lord to speak to me throught His word. I told the Lord that I had totally accepted this tragedy. Now, with His help and guidance, I wanted to make something positive out of it. I then asked the Lord to please help me with this girl's problem.

I hadn't read the Bible much in 20 years, so I did not know where to turn for the answers I needed. Randomly, I opened the Bible to John 15:13. It read: "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends."

Was this the answer Todd's friend was looking for? I called her and read John 15:13

There was a pause. Then she said, "That was just like Todd. This is something he would have done."

Shortly thereafter, the meaning of that Scripture bacame clear. Nick, the friend who had been the passenger in the car Todd was driving, told me details of the accident I had not previously known. Nick said he remembered the day as very cold. Sections of the road were quite slippery.

All of a sudden, the car began to slide. Nick could see a tree coming closer and closer toward him. He remembered yelling. At that, Todd turned and looked over at him. Immediately, Todd turned the wheel with such force that it turned the car around. This caused the tree to come through the window on the driver's side rather than on the passenger's side The tree forced Todd to the back seat, killing him instantly.

Gradually, John 15:13 took on greater meaning. You see, I, too was Todd's friend, and he laid down his life for me that day also. If this accident had not happened, I would no doubt be going down the same road, relying on my own power.

I knew then why I had been typing the works, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." months before Todd's death. The day I had knelt down and surrendered my life to Christ, I also had died. Now I have His power and not my own.

Nothing has been the same since I surrendered my life to God.

Shortly after Todd's death, an advertisement asking for positive people to serve as Boosters for troubled kids appeared in our local paper. My husband and friends urged me to respond. I'm so glad I called that number. I could write a book on the wonderful blessings that have come from my experience as a Booster.

I recently spoke before our church and community leaders, explaining how positive thinking had changed my life and the lives of the children with whom I was working. It has been a miracle. Several people, including me, were crying when I finished.

My son had been a cross-country runner, and in November 1988, the boy and girls decided to dedicate their season to Todd, They began training without a coach, so I gave each of them the condensed edition of "The Power of Positive Thinking." Both the boys' team and the girls' team made it to the state finals! It was the first time in our school's history that either team had gone so far. I even entered a local running contest, and won the "gold."

I began starting the each day by talking to the Lord, thanking Him for another day, and asking Him what we should do with it. This prayer has led me to some unusual places.

Doctor Peale, at all times, I carry several different booklets you have written. If I believe that someone would benefit from reading one, I give it to him. I have heard some wonderful stories because of this!

I have distributed your booklets at our jail, at the laundromat, in doctors' offices and hospital wards, and at group homes for troubles teens. I also visit a nursing home every Thursday night.

Around six months after Todd's death, my younger son Brandon (then three) began stuttering. You see, Brandon and I went for a walk each night, and about this time we saw a dead, decaying bird lying on the side of the road. Brandon referred to the bird as being "dead, just like Todd." He spoke of Todd often, and many people suggested that he needed professional help to deal with Todd's death. I took the problem right to the Lord.

As I prayed about Brandon's problem, it seemed that the Lord was telling me to bury the bird. But I argued against this. After all, I did not wish to have to bury every dead animal we might see; I did not even want to touch this one!

Finally, I gave in. We scooped up the bird in a bucket and brought it home. We dug a hole in the yard, and we talked. I told Brandon to shake the bird and call it; I did the same. I then told him that only Jesus could wake the little bird. I quoted the Bible and told him that one day Jesus would come back and call with a loud voice, and all who loved Him would come alive again. I said we would see Todd the minute Jesus woke him.

The next morning when Brandon woke up, he did not stutter, and he has not stuttered since that date--the six month anniversary of Todd's death. A miracle? Yes, I believe it was, and I knew then that the Lord really did understand the problem.

Last November, our high school played the biggest football game of the year. It was dedicated to Todd, and, of course, our team won. The night before the game, I gave each player and coach one of your booklets in which I had written, "Believe , In loving memory of Todd Heitsch."

Because of Todd's death, hundreds of people have been touched by the positive power of the Lord. I thank the Lord each day that he has seen fit to use me to reach others. Todd would have been a senior this year. In his memory, I am giving each of his classmates a copy of The Power of Positive Thinking.

Dr. Peale, I started this letter by saying that I had become aquainted with your writings by accident. We both know, now, that it was no accident.

Do You Want To Get Well?

2008-05-14T13:49:00.006-04:00

by Kay Heitsch

"Do you want to get well?" This was the question I kept hearing every morning when I spent my quiet time with the Lord. I wondered why the Lord kept asking me the same question. Of course, I wanted to "get well," or did I? These last few months since my son Todd's death had been unbelievable. The pain of losing Todd was unbearable. Because of the tremendous pressure I had on my chest, there were times when I felt that if I took another breath, I would die. I now understood what the words "a broken heart" meant.

Todd's death had not been completely in vain because, as the result of his death, I gave my life to the Lord. I just couldn't handle his death on my own. I was spending time every morning alone reading the Bible and talking to the Lord. Now, from out of no where, was this same question: "Do you want to get well?" Sure I wanted to be healed of this pain. But what would happen if I actually did "get well"?

I was enjoying all of the attention people were giving me. Would all of the special attention end? Would people think I didn't love Todd if I moved forward? I also asked myself, "Would sitting in my closet, in the dark, bring Todd back?" Would anything bring Todd back? These were just some of the questions I asked myself when I finally faced the question, "Do you want to get well?" head on.

Since nothing was going to bring Todd back, I knew I had a decision to make. I could hold on to my grief; and ultimately pay the consequences of that choice. Or I could "get well" and allow the Lord to work through me to bring more positive things out of Todd's death. I finally made the decision to "get well." My choice was to trust the Lord to help me, let go of my grief, keep my good memories of Todd, and allow Him to work through me to bring even more positive things out of Todd's death.

In John Chapter 5 in the Bible I read a story about a man who had been sick for 38 years. Jesus saw him and asked, "Do you want to get well?" The man gave Jesus several excuses, just like I did. Finally Jesus said to him, "Pick up your mat, and walk." The man made a choice to "get well" and move on.

Sometimes it's hard to ask yourself the tough questions. It's hard to face the fact that you just might not want to "get well" for many different reasons. The decision was mine to make. Like the man at the pool I chose to"pick up my mat" and move on. I believe we both made the wise choice, don't you?

Silent Witness

2008-05-14T13:35:00.010-04:00

by Kay Heitsch

The following story was published in Positive Thinking Finding Joy & Fulfillment Every Day October 2002

"Do you know who that woman was?" I asked. "No, we thought you did," was the reply. Someone suggested that I look on the bottom of the dish of food she had just left. But no name was there. How will I return her dish? I wondered. This was the least of my worries. Our sixteen-year-old son, Todd, had been killed in a car accident only a few days before. My neighbors had come over to help when this stranger had knocked on the door with food in hand. Who was she? What would make a stranger come and leave food, I thought. Since I didn't know who she was, I would have to wait for her to come back and claim it. But now I thought, what will I say to her? I must know her, but from where?

Weeks went by. And then she once again appeared at my door. This time, to pick up her dish. Through our conversation, I learned that her son, Benjy, had run cross-country with Todd. This was so kind of her, I thought. I certainly would not have done the same. Yes, I would have taken food to someone I knew personally, but not to someone I didn't know. When I thought about it, I'd been noticing a lot of behaviors I didn't really understand. What makes these people tick? was a nagging question going around in my mind. I was not a Christian. I knew I was searching for something, but "religion" was not it.

Every Sunday morning, I would see my neighbors driving down the road. Probably going to church, I thought. That's nice, but not for me. I don't need "religion" in my life. But now I could see it was these same neighbors who were helping me though my crisis. In my search for meaning in my life, I had gone to the public library looking for answers. There, I discovered Norman Vincent Peale. I thought he was a psychologist but soon learned he was a Christian minister. In The Power of Positive Thinking and his other books, Dr. Peale told stories about people who had found what I wanted. They were able to move beyond themselves. They had power to overcome situations in life that were overwhelming. Up to that time, I hadn't come up against anything I couldn't handle. Being strong-willed, I always managed to muster up enough strength to move on. I couldn't even remember the last time I had cried. Now, everything had changed. My son, Todd, was dead. How could I ever live my life without him?

I was doing my best to move on. I was trying to think positively, easy to do before Todd died, but not now. Even a simple trip to the grocery store almost destroyed me when, out of habit, I automatically reached for Todd's favorite cereal. As I touched the box, the reality of his death set in. Overwhelmed with grief, I ran from the store before anyone could see the tears. I wanted to die. I knew I could not go on like this. We had two other children: Shannon was twelve and Brandon was almost three.

In his books and tapes, Dr. Peale would say, "Do you want this overcoming life? It will cost you. All of you!" I hated those words. I didn't like the sound of "Cost you. All of you!" business. But today, I thought, what do I have to lose? I've tried everything else.

I dropped to my knees and told the Lord I was giving up. I wanted this "overcoming life" Dr. Peale talked about, but I couldn't do it on my own. I needed His help. If He could use me to make something positive out of Todd's death, I was available. A flood of love and peace seemed to fill me at that instant. I stood up and somehow I knew I was going to start living this "overcoming life."

Many things began to happen. For one, we started going to church. One week, I took notice of a woman who walked into our Sunday School class where we were discussing the subject of witnessing. I thought I recognized her, but couldn't remember from where. Then it dawned on me. This was Sandy, the woman who had brought food when Todd died. As each of us expressed views of what witnessing was, Sandy spoke up. "I don't do witnessing." She expressed an inability to talk openly to strangers about her faith.

I could not keep quiet. Tears filled my eyes. You could have heard a pin drop when I said, "Oh, yes you do! You witnessed to me." Sandy had been a silent witness, as were my neighbors, who quietly witnessed to me each week as I watched them drive off to church.

I've learned many things through the years since Todd's death. One of which is that sometimes we are the only Bible some people will ever read. The way we live our lives can be the best witness of God's love to someone in need. There's something else. I was right in that I was not looking for "religion". What I was looking for was a personal relationship with God. And through this relationship, I've found the "overcoming life." Now I can witness God's love to others as others witnessed, through their actions, to me.

God Moment

2008-05-14T12:26:00.004-04:00

by Kay Heitsch

As I put on my walking shoes and sunglasses I didn't know I was about to meet a new friend. Every morning I enjoyed going out for a walk in my neighborhood, after spending time with the Lord. Somewhere in my devotional time, I always ask the Lord to help me touch someone with His love during that day. It wasn't sunny this day when I put my sunglasses on to go out for my daily walk. I didn't wear the sunglasses because of the sun, anyway. I wore the sunglasses because I wear contact lens and the wind dries out my contacts. As I was walking in my usual fast manner, I saw another woman up ahead. It wasn't very often that anyone was out walking, so I was surprised to see her. I noticed that she also was wearing sunglasses. Since it was cloudy I said, "I see you're wearing sunglasses too, even though it isn't sunny." In a quiet voice she replied, "I'm crying behind mine."

WHOA, I wasn't expecting that! I stopped right in my tracks. I don't remember what I said, but I found out that Julie* was going through a divorce. This was a very painful time for her. My husband, Bill, had just lost his job of 27 years. This was a time of loss for me, too. I wasn't sure what was going to happen.

Julie and I started to meet every day to walk. We decided that we would look for ways that the Lord was leading us and showing us His love each day. When we would meet to walk we would share these "God moments." One day she shared the following "God Moment" with me.

Julie had three teenage daughters. They were very active in sports. She would attend their sporting events and so would her soon to be ex-husband, Tom*. One night after one of the basketball games Julie walked to the gym door to leave. She looked out the door and she could see that it was raining hard, and her umbrella was in the van. She started to walk to her van without her umbrella. The rain was cold as it hit her face. Julie pulled her coat around herself trying to stay warm. All of a sudden a car went whizzing by splashing water from a puddle all over her. She looked up and saw that the driver of the car was Tom. He never even stopped to offer her a lift to her car. Thoughts of the past came to her mind. How well she remembered Tom picking her up at the door of the gym. She remembered their high school years when they were sweethearts. How had it come to this?

When Julie finally reached the van she looked at the gas gauge. She could see that she was low on gas. The gas gauge wasn't any lower than she felt that night. She felt unloved. Then she asked, "Lord, do you love me? If You still love me, give me a sign." Julie pulled out of the parking lot and headed for the nearest gas station. She pulled up to the gas pump. As she opened the door of the van and put her foot on the ground to get out, she looked down. There on the dirty, wet, pavement was a beautiful pink rosary. Julie picked the rosary up and held it to her chest. Here was her "sign" that the Lord did care and loved her. She shared this "God Moment" with me the next day when we walked. I was awestruck on how the Lord used this rosary to express His love for her.

Julie was a Catholic and I was a Protestant. This experience taught me that God does know each of us personally. He knew that a rosary would bring comfort to Julie, right when she needed it most. God gave her a "sign," and used a rosary to do it, a "sign" that she would recognize. The Bible says in Matthew 10:30, "The very hairs of your head are all numbered." If God knows the number of hairs on our heads, He certainly knows how to show us His love when we need it.

* Names have been changed.

Does God Still Speak To People?

2008-05-13T14:55:00.004-04:00

by Kay Heitsch

It was a delightful morning. The birds were singing and the chipmunks were chirping in between eating their morning meal of acorns on our front steps. "Oh, life doesn't get any better than this." I said to myself as I sat in my usual spot on the sofa reading my Bible and talking to the Lord.This quiet time was a daily habit for me. I never knew when I sat down exactly how long I would be there. I was always excited to see what the Lord would be teaching me each day. I looked forward to this quiet time alone with God.

This morning as I sat holding my Bible on my lap reading I heard this inner voice saying, "Get up and go to the corn stand at the Antique Mall." "What?" I found myself saying. "Lord, this is our time together. Is this really You?"

Actually, I wasn't sure there was a corn stand by the Antique Mall. If there was one, I certainly had never been there. I heard the words again this time loud and clear, "Kay, get up and go to the corn stand at the Antique Mall."This was very strange and in a way I felt foolish acting upon this thought, but finally I said to the Lord, "You know my heart and I really want to do what You tell me. If this is You telling me to go, I want to obey; if this is not You, You know my heart is right." This was going to be between the Lord and me. If there was no cornstand there, I wouldn't even tell anyone about this conversation.

I got up and left everything as it was and got into the van. I drove to the Antique Mall. I slowly pulled into the parking lot wondering whyI was there and what I would find. Lo and behold, there was a little produce stand. I stopped and parked the van. Then I thought, "Well, now what do I do?" The thought to get out and buy some corn came to me. GOOD IDEA!

After I selected a dozen ears of corn, the first corn we'd had this season, I handed the young lady behind the counter the money and returned to the van. I was still confused to why I was there.

As I opened the door of the van to put the corn in, I noticed the inspirational booklets written by Dr. Peale sitting in the basket between the seats. I always kept a supply of these booklets with me to give out to people when I felt directed to do so.

The thought to give this girl who was selling the corn a booklet came to my mind. I reached in and picked up a couple of booklets. I got out of the van and walked over to the stand again with the booklets in my hand. There were several people milling around looking over the produce. I walked over in front of where this girl was standing and handed her the booklets and said, "I thought you might enjoy reading these today."

Without hesitation she came out from behind the counter and took the booklets, then asked "Who sent you?" I was stunned! Much to my own surprise I answered, "God." I went on trying to explain what had happened that morning. I told her that the request to go to the cornstand at the Antique Mall was so strange I felt it must be the Lord, so I came. By this time the other people who were around the stand were listening to our conversation with looks of astonishment on their faces. To tell you the truth, I was a little astonished myself.

All of a sudden this girl began to cry and threw her arms around me. She told me that she had received some devastating news about 20 minutes before and had prayed that God would send someone to be with her. I told her it had been just about 20 minutes before that I'd had the thought to go there.

By now we had everyone's attention who was shopping at the stand. Turning around seeing everyone looking at us hugging, this young women with tears running down her cheeks said, "The Lord sent this lady here today, just when I needed her."

I walked back to the van and opened the door and got in. As I was pulling out of the parking lot I looked back in the rear view mirror. I saw this young women with her hands raised to the sky saying, "Thank you, Jesus."

I was also thanking Jesus for this delightful day and what He had taught me by answering my question, "Is this really You?" Do you think I believe God still speaks to people? You bet I do!