No! Absolutely not!”

[olger]

“No! Absolutely not!”

With a determined slam of the screen door, Lillian Recher dismissed another attempt to buy her property. The young, well-dressed man hastily retreated down the smooth stone steps of the old porch. The real-estate agent was only one in a long line of prospective developers who had cast their eyes upon the 20 wooded acres behind the old house. And like all the rest, he received a clear answer. “No!”

For over 60 years the land had belonged to the Rechers -- and if Lillian had her way it would last another 60. No longer a young woman, she still had strength enough in that slight old body to slam a door now and then. “They never learn” she muttered.

You see, after Lillian’s husband had died in 1968, the property had taken on a new meaning. It was the one thing still left that they had shared together. It was hard for someone else to understand, but Jess had invested part of his life into that place, and to sell it would have been to sell his memory. And that was unthinkable! There was little enough to appreciate in life anyway, she thought. No use selling the little bit that meant something. Now it’s true, there were other things to be thankful for......There was her health, for instance. And Art, her nephew. But that didn’t change her resolve to keep the land just as it was.

Art was the kind of nephew every widowed aunt needed. He was always stopping by to do things for her. Every Saturday, Art would come over and do all the things that older widows need done. Sometimes he would fix a leaking faucet, trim the apple trees, plow the garden, haul the trash out, and there was always lots of firewood to cut. So Art was a big help, and even Lillian had to admit it.

But Art wasn’t perfect. Sad to say he had married a Seventh-day Adventist gal, and as far as Lillian was concerned, he was headed for trouble. Adventists were...well different. They didn’t eat bacon and eggs. At least they didn’t eat bacon. They got their days all mixed up too. They went to church on the Sabbath. On Saturday. There were other things wrong with them as well, but it really didn’t matter. Lillian did not approve, and that was that! “Adventists!” she snorted. Art should have known better.

But as the years went past, she began to notice a change in Art. Oh, she ignored it all right. Yet it was noticeable. Art seemed a little different. No, he wasn’t a member of his wife’s church. Thank God for that! But he would talk to Lillian about the Adventists sometimes. “Some of them are pretty nice folks, Aunt Lillian” said Art. “Some of them really remind me of what Jesus would be like.”

“Hogwash” said Lillian. “Now did you fix the leaking pipes in the basement, or am I going to have to do it myself? I declare, this generation is about the laziest one God ever made. Your Uncle Jess would have fixed it days ago, if he were still alive..”

Art smiled to himself as he picked up his tools and headed for the basement. “Sure Aunt Lillian” he said. “Sure.”

“Adventists!” she sniffed, as he disappeared down the stairs. “If he doesn’t quit hanging around with them, he’ll end up just like them! If he had any sense in that head of his, he would be a Pentecostal, like his uncle. But that’s the way this generation is. Senseless!”

As the years went by, Art began going to church with his wife on Saturday. The Piqua, OH church was close enough to Art’s house and he liked the people. Of course that meant he couldn’t go to Aunt Lillian’s on Saturday mornings, but he found time on Sundays to tend to the list of odd jobs that Lillian would produce during the week. And he still seemed different.

One day in 1990, Art came by to visit. “Aunt Lillian,” he said. “I’m going to join the Adventist church. I decided I want to be one of them, and go where they’re going.”

“Ridiculous!” she snorted. “Why I’d almost rather you be nothing at all, than to be an Adventist.” “If you had any sense, you would be a Pentecostal, like your uncle.” “But that’s just the way this generation is. Senseless!”

Art chuckled to himself. Sure enough, the old lady still loved him. She just had a different way of showing it! Oh she could get her dander up all right! Art had seen it many times. But there was a common bond of something between them. That something was love.

As the last years of Lillian’s life passed, Art was still around, looking after her. He seemed peaceful about his new faith. “I suppose that old Adventist Church has him bamboozled” she thought. Still, she admitted rather grudgingly to herself that Adventists and Art had made a good pair. “But it won’t last” she thought.

In October 1992, Lillian laid on her deathbed. Told that she had only a few brief days to live, she called for a lawyer. All personal belongings and estate went to Art. When asked about the 20 acres behind the house, Lillian looked puzzled. “Why it goes to the church of course,” she said. “What church” asked Art? “Why, your church,” she fumed. “Why is everyone so dumb these days? “Give the land to the Adventist church!”

A miracle, you say? Yes indeed! Moses parted the Red Sea, by God’s power. Elijah called down fire from heaven. Jonathan defeated an entire army by himself. In contrast, Jesus wept at hard, unmoved hearts of people He loved. So, perhaps the greatest miracle of all is a heart changed by God. And it happened right in our midst!

So it was done. The 20 acres went to the Piqua Adventist church. And that’s not all. God continued to show that His great hand was behind the scenes, moving in mysterious ways. The church at Piqua slowly recovered from the shock of receiving 20 acres of prime land in the heart of Vandalia, Ohio. The big question now was “What do we do with it?” Lillian had expressed a desire that the land remain undeveloped. We knew that we couldn’t afford to keep it. Property taxes and liability would soon become a burden. Yet, how could we sell it without feeling that we had disregarded the last request of a fascinating old lady? What should we do?

Fortunately, we had an Adventist friend in the Dayton area who was a Real Estate agent. He gave us good advice, and even offered to represent us in the sale of the property at a reduced fee. As we waited for the property to pass through the probate system, we talked to various land developers in the city of Dayton. “Yes we might be interested” they said. “But only at a cheap price.” They were the kind of people who could tie up a land sale in a year of red tape. If they even wanted it!

So we knew that if we sold the land, there were several hurdles that would have to be crossed. However we already knew that God had caused this miracle to happen. And we also suspected that He had a plan. Sure enough! He did.

With the good sense born of experience, Pastor Dave Hutman and the real estate agent hired someone to appraise the land. The appraisal came back. “Wow” we all said. “That seems like a lot of money.” Then we put the land up for sale.

After being on the market for 2 weeks, an offer dropped out of the blue. A local physician had offered 36% more than the appraised value! It was a great offer, and it carried none of the troublesome red tape that could make a sale drag on for months. Again God had shown his hand. So we signed the contract!

The next hurdle was getting the approval of the Ohio Association. This committee of the Ohio Conference had the final say on whether the Piqua church had made a prudent decision in this transaction. The Pastor knew how easily miscommunication could make a simple matter seem complex, so he and a Piqua elder made the trip to Columbus to attend the Association meeting. After the Pastor explained the story of the land to the board and answered their questions, one Association member summed it all up. “It sounds like providence to me..” The board quickly gave their approval to the sale!

So we were truly thankful on the ride home for the way God had blessed. But one thought still nagged at us. The land would probably be developed, and Lillian’s request was that it not be. Oh sure, we knew that we had done the best we could, and we knew that God’s hand was on us, but we couldn’t help feeling a little contrite that the request of this benevolent lady was probably going to be ignored. Nevertheless, God knew all about it!

The doctor who bought the land was a Christian. To our amazement, he said the land was an answer to prayer for him and his wife. They were going to build a house on it, and leave it otherwise intact. For us at Piqua, it was the final touch on a miracle. And somehow, we felt that Lillian would approve. After all, this generation could be pretty sensible, if God was running the show.

Yes, Absolutely, yes !!

by oG

[olger]

Shucks. Weren't much. Thanks.

oG

[carolaa]

Cool story! I especially like the fact that the church was willing to follow God's present leading rather than stay stuck in God's past leading.

[olger]

From the Review Magazine.

g

[Guest]

Cool story! I especially like the fact that the church was willing to follow God's present leading rather than stay stuck in God's past leading.

What our past leading was no good?

We have nothing to fear for the future, except as we shall forget the way the Lord has led us, and His teaching in our past history. {CET 204.1}

[olger]

Cool story! I especially like the fact that the church was willing to follow God's present leading rather than stay stuck in God's past leading.

What did you mean `zactly..?

g

[carolaa]

I mean, for instance, that I have seen churches that won't replace their pulpit because EGW spoke from it. I have seen churches that won't remodel to meet current needs because God inspired someone to make that floorplan 50 years ago. Praise God He led us in the past, but let's not get stuck there and close our eyes to His present leading, which may be in a different direction for a different time. I think it's wonderful that the particular church mentioned here was willing to follow God's leading, even if it meant going against human wishes, and by doing so they got everything they wanted and more!

[olger]

Ahh, I see and.....Amen !

G

[Neil D]

Amen, Carolaa...Amen....