Dear Reader:

A few weeks ago my brother Ben called and said he had an epiphany. He was very excited about it.

In Ben’s story he describes what can only be deemed as Divine Intervention episodes that took place throughout his 1968 tour of duty in Vietnam. Yet he, himself, personally questioned why he seemed chosen to receive these life-altering warnings that saved his life numerous times in the jungle terrain.

“Why me Lord?” he questioned God repeatedly with no concrete response. And then recently he realized that God knew in the all-too immediate future David, his younger brother would be taken from our family… if he died in Vietnam followed by David’s sudden death four years later… poor mother, who had lost her husband at 31, her hand to cancer soon after …would be faced with the loss of two sons?

Ben said he thought he was saved, not just for himself but also for mother and our family. It got me thinking…

Don’t we all see and hear public service announcements that remind us to wear masks or buckle up when we drive… if not for us… for our loved ones?

And isn’t a mother’s prayer one of the strongest prayer links in humanity-the most unselfish-praying for their children’s lives-gladly willing to substitute their life for their child’s?

Shortly after arriving in Vietnam Ben’s unit was almost completely wiped out and mother received notification her son was missing in action. It was Mother’s Day.

It was the saddest Mother’s Day ever… no matter how hard David and I tried… mother was inconsolable. I just remember David and I hugging her as she wept and prayed.

But then three weeks later on Memorial Day 1968 word came that Ben had been picked up by a patrol boat along with a handful of other survivors and he was being treated for wounds deemed non life threatening!

That Memorial Day was filled with prayers of relief and thankfulness! Mother even found a tablecloth that said ” Blessings” on it where we gathered to eat, laugh and rejoice in life that special holiday!

Ben would return home with two Purple Hearts-one was buried with David and the other with mother.

So until tomorrow… ” If not for us… for others” … God’s loving directive for us to make good decisions that enhance not only our own lives… but others!

“Today is my favorite day” Winnie the Pooh

Let’s all begin today considering the consequences of our decisions and choices on the feelings and lives of those we care about…

Ashley had to return to the hospital with more medical complications including infection! Please Please keep the prayers coming!!!