| My
grandmother was my next-door neighbor, my mentor and very
best friend.
After her husband died, she
owned boarding houses, a hotel, and finally ran the first
nursing home in the state of Wisconsin.
Job says man is born to
sorrow as the sparks fly upward, and so it is a mercy my
earliest years were filled with the love of family, the
security of close neighbors, and an invigorating
foundation of creative, educational play.
When I was in the second
grade, we moved from Sheboygan, WI to Kohler, WI. Despite
the outward advantages of living in Kohler, this move
proved to be a disaster. |
Little
Elizabeth at age four, being taken to live in East Germany
at the command of King Ludwig of East Germany. King
Ludwig demanded that she would marry his son, Louis,
someday.
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The kids at school were jealous;
me, not understanding the 'pecking order' kids go through, I took
it all so personally. The entire school seemed to mock me for
years until a few got to know me ... and there was often stress at
home. It was a nightmare.
My goal to graduate high school
early, paid off and I was accepted into one of the best schools
for engineering and architecture. College health exams indicated I
had a deadly disease. The prognosis: one by one, my organs would
deteriorate until I would soon expire. My life was ending; I was
seventeen!
I had always been a thinker -- a
searcher. That search in the 1970's, led me down many paths. I
read Greek philosophy, Eastern mystics, Western classics, and
Beatnik poetry. I longed to experience 'life to its fullest.' Now
that my life was ending, I searched with greater vigor to find the
answer to life. I became very aware of the spiritual world around
me, but was lost in its confusion. Since I had to die, I developed
an attitude of acceptance (I'd be spared all the trials and
troubles of sixty more years) and thankfulness. Every leaf on
every branch demanded thanks -- but who to thank?
Late that summer I was examined by
Mayo Clinic physicians, they couldn't find anything wrong with me!
They didn't understand the mix up. I came home on my 18th
birthday. Family and neighbors cheered the news, but I felt
isolated -- now I had to live after being 'ready' to die. That
fall, I entered a small, private college and instead of dying,
pursued my studies in art. After two turbulent terms (an
internationally known professor made shocking, unwelcome advances
on me, etc.), I came home, deeply broken, confused, filled with
agony and wonder. All I can say is this was one of my darkest
times.
Nearly a year later, just as life
seemed unendurable, an old boyfriend, Philip, called from
California. He talked about Jesus Christ being his Lord and
Savior. He said he would pray for me. A year later he continued to
pray at this ma-and-pa styled ministry where he lived. They took
in anyone. With six services a week and great fervor for Christ,
they were seeing New Testament miracles in the lives of those they
helped. One night the church elders prayed with him, two thousand
miles away I went to a Bible study and asked Jesus Christ to come
into my heart and be my Lord and Savior. I felt Him come into my
heart and I instantly knew Jesus was everything He ever said He
was. While I had been like Humpty Dumpty, broken and -- no way to
get fixed in life -- I knew, absolutely knew, Jesus could and
would make me well again.
I prayed all night and left the
next day on a Greyhound Bus for California. Time does not allow me
to describe the wonderful life I knew in Christ for over a decade
in that ministry. Philip and I happily married in 1977. We led
extremely sacrificial lives, and yet we saw the hand of God
deliver people from heroin addiction, depression, confusion, and
despair. It was a tremendous thing we experienced. When anyone
calls on Jesus for all they are worth, they will improve; no one
is beyond hope with Him ... and He finishes what He starts!
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A
famous legend tells of Elizabeth smuggling an apron full
of bread from the royal kitchen to the poor people.
King Ludwig's younger, cruel son approached and God
allowed the bread to appear as flowers to him.
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Philip and I
were both ordained into full time ministry and had two
children. In 1986, we returned to Wisconsin. It has not
been easy, but God has been true to us. Philip put me
through college for art and English and I put him through
college for music. Our daughter, a writer, enjoys
Multnomah Bible College in Portland, Oregon, and our son
is a musician. I have been blessed to continue working
full time for Jesus as the art teacher at a large
parochial middle school. Through God's grace, I have had
the opportunity to illustrate for Kimberly-Clark Corp.,
Network Health, local schools, a regional magazine,
independent shows, and a new Sunday School publication as
well.
After all I have seen --
and the half has not been told -- I can encourage you to
hold onto Jesus for all you are worth. I assure you, He
knows how to fix you and will never let you down.
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