Souvenirs Of God's Grace

This story is about the souvenirs of God's grace written by Betty Jane Olson, my almost-perfect mother-in-law.

Parasailing, anyone? Tennis, yes! Anything like parasailing would not be my chosen sport. However, I had been tempted by this new experience and had some fun. I tried it a few months before.

Popular in resort areas, parasailers are towed in the harness of a parachute over water behind a boat, or along a beach behind a jeep, or elsewhere and least of all in an open field behind a car or truck. I was stuck with the "least of all" simply because, virtuous as they may be in their own right, the ranch lands of Texas are not exactly Acapulco!

The morning had been overcast and windy, but by noon the sun was shining, and winds had dropped to occasional gusts. It seemed safe enough to begin parasailing. This would be my second try. On the ground behind the truck lay the tow rope, the harness, the lines, and the canopy of the parachute.

"Thou shalt not tempt the LORD," came the thought as I was being buckled into the harness. But I could not buck down now! Everyone was waiting and watching! The canopy was lifted and billowed in the ground breezes. The signal was given to the driver, and he pulled slowly forward. A few running steps and a takeoff was the thrill I had remembered. But this time as I went up, the wind increased. At the pick of the ride when I was forty or fifty feet above the ground, a very strong gust broke the inadequate rope!

"God help me!" I prayed allowed as the canopy collapsed and I felt myself falling so fast! My feet met the ground first. Then the re-inflated canopy pulled again by the still strong wind jerked me to my back and dragged me across the field to a fence. Pain told me my back was injured so I played safe and stayed flat as I looked up to panic-stricken faces.

"Call an ambulance!" my husband pleaded of anyone. "No, don't do that!" I cautioned. "This might be just a pulled ligament. Give me a little time, an aspirin and a heating pad." I was stretchered into the nearest house. At the same time, I prayed, "Dear Lord, please don't let this be serious." I reflected on all that God had taught me, especially in the past ten years.  That was when our entire family had been brought to a saving faith in Christ through our daughter who had accepted The Lord during her sophomore year in college.

The radiant change in her, and God's patient leading through her, and then bible studies, had been a witness to each of us. Despite Christian upbringing and my love for the Lord, He showed me my need for something more...to know Him personally. I want to know how to cast my burdens upon Him and to recognize that even thoughts and attitudes which displease God are indeed what He calls "sin." That confession is more than a formality; it is a heartfelt conviction. It is humbling before the Lord and knowing His love and forgiveness. That just being good was not my ticket to heaven. He showed me Ephesians 2:8 and 9 "for it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves. It is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast." (NIV) Whether I had known it or not, I needed that assurance of my destiny. So, by His grace, I stepped across that fine line to accept Christ as my personal Saviour and gave Him control of my life. Now, ten years later, as I lay by the hearth, there was strength and comfort in His indwelling Spirit!

Later, the intense, persistent pain made me give in to my family's urging to let them take me to the hospital. Again, I was stretchered, this time to a board that had been cut to fit the back seat of the car. During the one hour drive, I chatted assuringly with my anxious husband and son, as the Lord gave to me all that I needed of Himself and His Word. "Peace I leave with you; mMy peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." (John 14:27 NIV)

Two hours and lots of x-rays later, we were told that I had a very unstable double fracture of lumbar 1, a vertebra in the small of the back and that statistically most persons with such a fracture would have gone in paraplegic.  I had no paralysis at all! Doctors said it was miraculous! One said, "Darn lucky!" Another knew as we did that God in His infinite love and mercy had chosen to spare me.

I would have to have major surgery, First some decisions had to be made and for one week I was log rolled, two hours on my back, two hours on each side, turned with help as a unit, nose, knees and toes in line to avoid paralysis or further damage.

During the week a close friend asked me if I had yet shed a single tear. I had not...not just because of the medication and that everything seemed to be hunky-dory. There is always a risk in surgery. It was because Jesus had given to me through His indwelling Spirit, the study of His word, and prayer, and His peace which passes all understanding!

This would not have been so for me ten years before. I would have been worried. And guilt could have plagued me for getting myself into this mess and causing my family anxiety! Oh, it is not that I never panic or never worry. It is just that I have more peace in more circumstances than I had ever known before as I had been taught to claim His promises. How sweet it is to know that my hand is held securely in His so that when I do stumble, He can pick me up again!

Surgery was successful. Two 7- 1/2" stainless steel rods are buried in my back. I call them my "souvenirs of God's grace" because they remind me of how gracious He was to spare me from permanent or even temporary disability and of all the blessings He worked from experience.

Romans 8:28 became more meaningful to me than ever before, that "all things work together for good for those who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose."

There was an intercessory prayer for me among friends and family. It had brought many to their knees before Him. I learned more of how our mistakes can be useful to the Lord when we surrender our blunders to Him. My husband accepted a doctor's invitation to attend a more extensive men's Bible study for which he had previously thought he would not have time. God knew exactly what He would do with where I was!  There was the "rest," and God knew I needed that!

Finally, He has enabled me to serve Him and with a grateful heart...share this story...to His glory!

Bible Correspondence Course

Your Guardian Angel - Kurt's Amazing Alaskan Adventure

Do you believe that you have a  guardian angel?  I do!

Photo credit (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.sciencemusings.com/blog/uploaded_images angel-718605.jpg

        1. The Angel will guard you

 God says in Exodus 23:20, "Behold, I send an angel before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared.

This posting is a story about how God sent angels to rescue my son. They became actual humans to do their job.

In the Spring of 2015, our 25 y o son, Kurt, went on a road trip to Alaska.

He snowboarded and did a lot of rock climbing along the way.

 This is the route he took, starting out from Dallas, TX. 

Somewhere in Utah

He went northbound on the Pacific Coast Highway and entered Canada. It is 2500 miles via Alaska Hwy or 48 hrs from the border of Washington State to his final destination which was Homer, AK.

        2. I asked for God's Angels... Not just one but a lot  
    
It was early morning as I was driving to work, when suddenly, I called on God, "Adonai Tsevaot (LORD of Host), please send your angels to rescue Kurt.". I thought, "Rescue from what?"  I trusted God that he would do it. That night, my husband received a Facebook message that Kurt had been stranded in the Yukon.

Yukon, Canada

It happened at 2 am when his car decided not to start while he was at a rest stop.

                   Typical Rest Stop along Alaska Highway in the Yukon (Photo Credit: 

Micaeldavialactea's Instagram image @25.02.2016. (n.d.). Retrieved March 06,

2016, from http://sixmoment.com/m/1192483260414121251_1454506364)

  
     

No Cell phone connection, Att does not work in the Yukon! No Gps. He was all alone. It was -20 below 0 and very dark.  He crawled inside his winterized sleeping bag in his full snowboard gear. 

Kurt made the sleeping bag a few weeks before the trip

He saw the most beautiful arctic sunrise; he was euphoric but had no idea he was dying of hypothermia.

  3.God sent the Angels

After 10 hrs in the cold, three cars passed by and the third one stopped. A man and his daughter rescued him. When he got into the tow truck and started thawing, his fingers were in excruciating pain. They took him to Whitehorse city, where their family lives.

Photo credit: (n.d.). Retrieved from http://yukon-news.com/media/images/2012/january/13/BIZpassivehouse.jpg

The kindhearted family placed Kurt's car in a heated garage, gave him a room with internet connection so he could send us a Facebook message. They fed him and kept him for a week. Kurt had to do a lot of research on the net, to figure out what exactly happened to the car. Together, with his Dad who is in Texas, they brainstormed on every possible cause. After much discussion through Facebook Messenger, they came to the diagnosis that the car had fuel pump failure. He ordered the part from an Audi dealer in Vancouver, and they mailed the part to him. When it arrived after a few days, he installed it himself, and the car started. 

      4.The Angel confirmed His Presence

Before resuming his journey, Kurt wanted to download music from iTunes into his iphone. When he opened itunes, this was what he saw:

     It said" your guardian angel."

He said, "whoa how did it get there? I never downloaded that. It was not his kind of music. Wow, angels must also use technology too.

Meanwhile down here in TX, I was worried that he would travel alone again. There was still 924 miles to go so I talked to God about it. Adonai Tzevaot, pls be with Kurt and surround him with your Angels!

The day Kurt left for Alaska was also the day his host family and a bunch of other people had scheduled themselves to go to Anchorage, Alaska for a conference. The lead angel (The Dad of the family) rode with Kurt while the rest were in the van.  The Angels surrounded him!

Kurt was in Homer, Alaska for four months.

Bishop's Beach Alaska

Golden Sun, Alaska

Matthew, Kurt's Friend Spinning Burning Wool

Mountain Range, Homer Alaska

Kurt found employment with a fishing boat, but he suffered a terrible motion sickness and found it difficult to do the job. He decided to quit, but the boat was already in a different location from where his car was. The only way to get back to his vehicle was to hitchhike. He walked for approximately 20 miles on the first leg. He was thirsty, hungry and tired. It was a 170-mile walk if no one picks him up. Three different cars picked him up and dropped him at certain points along the way. At one particular time in his walked, he had to get rid of some of his baggage to lighten his load. He threw them behind the bush in the ditch. He went back at a later time to retrieve them. The driver in the third car who picked him up took him to Homer, which was about 100 miles away.
Angels can drive cars too! So thankful for these three!

While in Homer, Kurt built a mini-playground for a charter fishing company. God provided a temporary shelter by staying at the site, provided by the owners. This is the handrail that he built: 

        5. Guardian Angels Are Faithful.

                         
Time to head back home. He was passing thru Edmonton, Canada when he became confused and lost in the highway interchange. 

Then he spotted a hitchhiker, a middle-aged, haggard-looking woman. He picked her up and this woman became his GPS. After she had done her job, she got off the car. Kurt went back on the right track, and he came home safely.

For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. 
Psalm 91:11

A Family Wilderness Experience

Once upon a time, my husband and I and our two little boys went on a vacation in Northern Minnesota where there was a big lake, cabins, forest, and bears!

We used to live in Minneapolis, so we had to drive five hours to Whispering Pines Lodge.

Our boys were three and seven years old. How many of you have travelled long distance with children? To keep them from being bored in the car, I invented a wildlife game. Points would be given to whoever spotted an animal first. For rabbits, deer, owl, squirrels, those would get five points but if it's a bear, that would get 10 points. The winner would get a treat! That made our car trip interesting and fun! The kids were so busy looking for animals they forgot to complain. They never asked, "Are we there yet?"

We finally arrived at the place. As we drove down the winding road amidst pine trees and tweeting birds, I spotted an animal who walked like a person walking between the cabins. It was brown and hairy and guess what it was? A bear! I saw it first! Yes, I saw it first! That was 10 points and I won the game! And you know what else? That kept me from worrying what prize to give the winner.

Our vacation had begun. We left behind the noise and the crowds. The Boundary Waters Canoe Wilderness surrounded us! We were guests to the bears, loons, moose, deer and other wild creatures of Northern Minnesota.

We went fishing but the fishes all avoided us! We kept trying. Finally, I caught one on the line, A big fish!!! I was so excited I was rolling it in, then POP!!! The line broke and it got away! That was the end of my fishing ambitions!

We needed our older son to experience the joy of catching a fish so the next day, we asked the resident naturalist to go fishing with him and my husband. He caught a small fish and it made him very happy!

One night, my husband and I were almost asleep when we heard a loud ripping noise outside the bedroom. Our two little boys were in the bedroom next door fast asleep. My husband turned to me and said, " Someone is in the cabin with us." "Could it be the bear?" We wondered aloud. My husband opened the door to the cabin which opened to the porch. He saw the bear reached out for the garbage sack through the torn window screen. The bear quickly disappeared with the garbage.

I handed the camera to my husband and I told him to take a picture. He said he could not find the bear outside, so I went to the porch and searched for the bear looking through the windows. I found the bear eating the trash outside, by the corner window.

I told my husband, "The bear is over here,go take a picture." He was somewhat far so I said to him, "Closer!!!" If you can imagine, my husband in boxer shorts doing this (arms outstretched with hands together on the camera tiptoeing toward the bear)! The animal was too busy eating Filipino left-overs to pay attention to the crazy tourist who wanted to take his picture!

One day, we came back from our excursion, to find a teeny tiny mouse barely able to walk in the middle of the cabin floor! He was probably a hundred years old. We had to take him outside.

When our vacation ended and it was time to leave, we discovered a snake coiled under the water heater that stood inside the bathroom just by the door.

We hurriedly got out of there but I bet you that snake had been with us the whole time we were there! I will not think of all the possibilities that may have happened when going to the bathroom with a snake! I will only thank God of His protection in a seemingly safe but dangerous place!

It was a truly wonderful wilderness experience even if we had to share the log cabin with a mouse, a snake, and a bear!