Glimpses of God's Grace

Days 17-20--For the past four days, we've stepped into the lives of my (Lynn's) older sister, Phyllis, and her family.

Phyl and her husband, Herm, now retired, have lived in various towns in North and South Dakota as well as Nebraska, where Herm has pastored nine churches in his 38 years of ministry.  Phyl has taught in many elementary schools in that time period, in addition to caring for the needs of their four children. The day before we arrived in Sioux Falls, Phyl and Herm celebrated their 48th wedding anniversary.

This is an unusual year in that this is our second visit to South Dakota in four months. Her youngest child, Sarah, was married in May, and Bas, Alisa, Joe, and I spent a delightful six days with the Van Stedum family then.

These past few days, however, we've had leisurely time to talk for hours with Sarah and Alex, about their new life together, their hopes for the future, the decisions that lie ahead for them, the challenges they face with Alex's health. Plus, Alex served us one of his famous breakfasts. 

Sarah also asked me to speak to her fourth-grade class on Friday about my experiences writing and editing books. It was fun to be with her students, sharing how important it is for them to learn to write clearly, effectively, and accurately. During the Q&A time they asked questions like: "How long does it take you to edit a book?" "Did you ever edit a book that didn't have any errors?" "Did you edit James and the Giant Peach?"

I reminded them that when I was in fourth grade, I did not know that I was going to be a writer or editor. I also suggested that someday some of them might be authors. But more important, all of them would be in situations where they would need to know how to write effectively. 

Bas and I also had time with the family of Phyl's oldest child, John. For the past five months John and his wife, Ann, have been on the roller coaster of chemotherapy and hospitalizations after learning that John had cancer. Just a few weeks ago he was declared cancer free, for which we all thank God. 

They are the parents of three active children. The T-shirts the family is wearing in the photo feature a recent fundraiser for their youngest child, Lydia, who has a chromosomal disorder and apraxia. 

Noah, a seventh grader who stars in several sports, ran on the varsity cross-country team in a twilight regional meet on Friday night.  Even though most of his team and competitors are several years older and several inches taller than he is, he ran very well. It was such a treat to be at his meet and cheer him on.

We've had many glimpses of God's grace in the days we were together. We shared stories, prayed together, laughed so hard that at points we laughed tears. It was good for Bas and me to share in the fabric of their lives, even if only for a few days. We ate freshly picked veggies from their garden, Phyl's zucchini bread, her famous yogurt pie.  We listened as she sputtered and muttered her way through learning how to use her new iPad mini, an anniversary gift from Herm. We laughed as Herm tried to fix the many things that Phyl managed to break or disconnect. One night we heard him mutter, "Why can't they ever make anything Phyllis-proof?"

One of the glimpses of grace came during a conversation with Sarah. She was reflecting on key change points in her life. She shared how during her freshman year in college she had read a book that deeply changed her perspective of God and herself. We, of course, asked her the name of the book, and it turned out to be a book I had edited while working for Tyndale House Publishers. When Bas asked her what about the book changed her, she replied, "The questions at the end of the book. I journaled the answers, and that was a turning point for me." 

Amazed, I said to my niece, "Guess who wrote those questions at the end of the book?" I had no idea when I wrote the study questions for that book that they would touch my niece at a difficult time in her life.

Just glimpses of God's amazing grace.