Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Some of my greatest treasures































My brother is DONE with his radiation!! His hair is growing back and he is getting stronger day by day.
We got to see him last week on my way home from Grand Rapids/Battle Creek.
Doesn't he look great?
Doc and Jan are some of the dearest, sweetest, Christ like people I know.
Have you ever been around someone and just felt accepted, loved and cherished?
In 1980, I knelt in my dorm room at MSU and asked Jesus Christ to be my Saviour.
I had been going to some Bible study meetings in their home in East Lansing.
They also led the Fellowship of Christian Athletes group there, in the bowels of the MSU stadium. Friday mornings, at 7 am...donuts fed my college body and fellowship fed my new baby Christian heart and soul.
I blew out my ACL in an intramural scrimmage one cold January night in 1981. Guess who came to see me in Alma as I recovered from surgery?
Doc and Jan.
My Mom did not know Christ yet. You should have seen her jaw hit the floor.
"What are you going to do Bonzo?" they both asked.
"I guess I'm dropping out and going back home.."
I really didn't think I had any other options.
"Oh no you're not, you are going to come stay with us!"

And so I did.

His family loved on me, his girls accepted me like I was part of the family and I got rehab through the women's field hockey coach program. Jan took me to class in her little Dodge Omni horizon, stick shift car. I had a cast on my left leg from my hip to my toes..it was winter but we did it. Jan helped tutor me in Algebra and Doc loved me like a daughter.

Then the match maker Doc asked a young man who had been attending his Bible study class and maybe the FCA meetings, to go and befriend this young lady in her Crop and Soil Science class.
She shouldn't be hard to find, just look for a girl with a full length cast on her leg.

Tim told me years later, my hair was all messed up and he did it just to honor Doc.

HA!

Almost 24 years of marriage can't prove him wrong!!

Fast forward 24 years... While I was coming home, I met with them and their daughter Laura in GR.
Doc and Jan drove in a thunderstorm to see us, took us out to a fabulous lunch and continued to show me and my girls the love of God.
Their daughter is a D.O. and she saw Hannah for her knee..she had surgery last year for a benign brain tumor and had radiation. She lifted her hair and showed me her curls coming in where they zapped her. It looked very familiar!! Giving her a hug was worth more than words to me..

The entire time I was with them I sensed the love of God for me and for my daughters.


Our words and our deeds have a lasting punch in people's hearts and lives.
They can either give life or death, hope or disappointment,
encouragement or despair.
I praise God for these dear treasures, my brother, Doc and Jan, and Laura (I am still kicking myself for not taking a pic of her!!)

Thank you for breathing life and hope and love into my life!

He is faithful,
Bonzo

3 comments:

Sarah said...

Well, you did it this time! Made me cry.
Praise God from whom ALL blessings flow!!
Praise God for Steve's recovery, he does indeed look great!
Praise God for Doc and Jan, without them, you might not have finished school.
Who knows, without the matchmaking, what would have happened.
Praise God, He used them to bring you and Tim together.
I am blessed because He did!
Thank you, Jesus!
I love you, and the fact that you call me "Mom". Mom ;-)

Waitingfaithfully said...

Beautiful post my blogging buddy, and indeed so true. Love the way God used your matchmaker, Doc!

Steve looks great, so happy for him, for his family, for all of you!

Thank you for your sweet comments on my blog. I must say I was having a rough go of it this evening--gave a quick check of my email, and there was your comment from the wee hours! It breathed life into me, it really, really did! Thank you for taking the time to bless me.

Sorry about the Scrabble whoopin'--she's good!

Blessings from Texas~

Tina

Bonnie said...

OH--now you've done it!
Her head will be SO big!

H-E I-S
F-A-I-T-H-F-U-L

Bonnie