68 ~ You Need To Take Him

By Kay Heitsch

We had only been in our new home for a short while when Brandon's school called to ask me to pick him up because he was sick.

I got into the car and drove to the school.

When Brandon got home, he went to bed. I checked on him often, and he wasn't feeling any better. I called Bill at work.

We had recently changed insurance but hadn't found a doctor in the area. Bill said I needed to take Brandon to a clinic first.

I didn't know where this clinic was, but Bill's instructions were pretty easy to follow.

Immediately, after Brandon was checked at the clinic, I was told I needed to take him to the hospital. There was no time to wait for an ambulance.

What? I felt shaky, but tried to hold it together.

To make matters worse, it was getting dark outside. I told the doctor I was new to the area and didn't know where the hospital was. A nurse wrote out directions and told me to hurry.

I was doing okay at first, but now I was lost. The streets were quiet, but I could tell I was in a rough area of the city.

I looked over at Brandon as we sat at a stoplight. He looked pale. I told him we needed to pray for help. I was lost.

All of a sudden, an old car drove up with several people inside. I rolled down my window and explained my situation to them, explaining how we needed to find the emergency room.

All I remember is the driver told me to follow him. I don't know all the turns we made, but there were many. I was slightly concerned, but we had prayed for help. I had to trust.

Thank the Lord, we were ushered right to the emergency room door. With a wave of their hand, they drove away.

Brandon was seen immediately when we arrived and taken up to surgery, where his appendix was removed.

I know God sent these people right when we needed them. Maybe they were angels, I don't know.

Once again, God took this dire situation and brought a blessing out of it.

67 ~ Walking Trail Experience

By Kay Heitsch

It didn't take us too long to adjust to our new home and area.

Since Bill was still working for the company, he no longer had a long commute. We were very thankful for that.

We started to attend a church. Bill sang in the choir, and I started a job working in the church's nursery school.

I also took a part-time job working for the public school system. I did various things, but one was helping in special needs classrooms. I had never heard of Autism, and I learned a lot.

As I look back, our first grandson, Noah, is autistic. Was God preparing me for this?

Our new area had a lot of walking trails. Brandon and I made good use of them.

For some reason, Brandon didn't walk with me one day.

As I started walking, a normal-looking man walked up. I don't remember ever seeing him before. He didn't mention Brandon by name, but said something about me being alone without my son.

I'm very friendly, but for some reason, I had an odd feeling, and the hair on my neck seemed to stand up. I felt this was a warning.

As I continued walking, he began following me. I felt very uncomfortable and didn't know what to do. I couldn't turn around because he was there. The trail was wooded and isolated up ahead.

I looked up and saw another guy walking not too far away. I ran up to him and asked if I could walk with him. As we walked along, I told him why I wanted to walk with him. I didn't know this guy either, but I felt safe.

I glanced back, and the man had turned around.

I found out later that a woman had been murdered on that trail, but the person had never been caught. I never walked that trail again.

God used this uncomfortable experience to start me walking in my neighborhood. I met my neighbors, and God was able to show His love in many different ways.

66 ~ Moving On

By Kay Heitsch

This time, moving on was more emotional than any of our previous moves.

Our dog had to be put to sleep. Shannon was moving to Ohio State, and I was leaving a great, supportive group of friends. This was also the house where I last saw Todd.

It may sound strange, but leaving that house where Todd had left but never returned was hard. I knew he wasn't walking back through the door. But...

Moving isn’t easy, but thankfully, Bill was still working for the company, and the move would be paid for.

I contacted the realtor who had been showing me around and told her our house had finally sold.

We had decided on the location and school system we wanted. Now to find a house.

We were driving around a beautiful neighborhood. I spotted a home I loved. However, there was no for sale sign in the yard.

I expressed how I loved that house as we were passing. The realtor responded, "That house is empty. It was for sale, but they took it off the market."

After making a few calls, we were able to buy this house. You know me, I believe that God was saving this house for us.

This move emotionally was very difficult. But God in His love made it a little easier, knowing I was moving to this beautiful home.

65 ~ God's Amazing Work

By Kay Heitsch

As time went by, Shannon was about to graduate from high school. I was happy we stayed long enough for her to graduate with her friends. Shannon also belongs to the youth group at church.

Before I became a Christian, Todd asked me to go to this church and attend their youth group. I emphatically said, No. I wanted nothing to do with religion. Now here I was helping at the same church with the youth group. God works!

When Ruth Ann asked me to help her with the youth group, she told me we wouldn't have to attend business meetings at church. I was happy!

However, Ruth Ann and I found ourselves in a church business meeting one evening. We both wanted the church to hire a Youth Minister. It was quite an experience to put it mildly. When it was about to be over, a vote was taken. Oh, praise God, they decided to hire a Youth Minister!

From out of nowhere, I found myself saying, Well, I believe my work here is done, and now the house can sell.

The following day, the youth group made plans to go to another amusement park. This park had a big wave pool. I'm all into sitting in the sun, so I spent most of my time there. I was a bit sunburned by the end of the day.

The next morning, I was in bed trying to recuperate when the phone rang. Our realtor wanted to show the house right away. I jumped up and told the kids we had to leave. The joys of selling a home.

Our house was sold that day!

I have many wonderful memories living in that area. The people were kind and loving, but it was time to move on.

It's beyond belief all God did in that area to bring triumph out of Todd's tragic death.

64 ~The Eagle

By Kay Heitsch

While we were still waiting for our house to sell, we enjoyed helping at the church.

I helped with VBS. The summer I helped, the theme was "Team Up With Jesus." I've thought about this theme often. What an excellent way to understand God's grace and Good News.

Every week on Sunday, the church's altar was decorated. You could sign up and supply flowers, etc. We chose either Todd's birthday or the day he died to have the altar decorated.

Since the day we chose coincided with Boy Scout Sunday, I wanted things to be red, white, and blue. Bill planned to sing On Eagles' Wings.

I thought it would be a good idea to have an eagle placed on the altar. I wasn't sure where to find one, then I thought of The Eagles Club.

One morning, I walked into the Eagles Club and was happy to see an eagle statue. I asked if, by any chance, I could borrow it for next Sunday to use on the altar. I think the person in charge was surprised, but agreed to let me borrow it.

Later in the afternoon, I went to the church to help with a dinner for the Glowing Embers, an older members group.

When I walked into the church kitchen, someone said, "Someone saw you coming out of the Eagles Club this morning." News travels fast. I guess they were curious why I was there. No one was expecting to hear the reason why I was there.

Jo was in charge of decorating and did an excellent job decorating using the eagle.

Time moves on. I'm now thinking about how our grandson Eli is very active in the Boy Scouts and is working to be an Eagle Scout.

Thankfully, God is still bringing good out of Todd's death.

63 ~ Tennis Club Bar

By Kay Heitsch

While our house was still on the market, I met with a realtor. We looked around several suburbs. This move seemed to be taking forever.

I was still sharing my testimony. I never wanted to share it with teenagers because I felt it would be too emotional.

But wouldn't you know, I was asked to share at a boy's detention center, high schools, and teen clubs. Since I had made a commitment to the Lord to be available, I accepted the invitations.

One night, I was asked to give my testimony at a tennis club to a large group of teenagers.

A microphone was set up in the auditorium, but it would not work. The person in charge suggested that we go to the bar down the hall instead.

Several people were sitting at the bar having drinks. I can't imagine what they must have thought when this group of teenagers walked in and sat on the floor.

The microphone was set up, and I gave my testimony of how God had changed my life and brought triumph out of the tragedy of Todd's death.

Why the microphone would not work in the auditorium, but did in the bar, is a mystery.

I was surprised that everyone who was drinking stayed and listened.

I smile every time I think about this situation and how God works to convey His message.

Again, God was making something positive out of Todd's death.