My brother Greg was a beautiful man -tall, broad, strong and
having a tremendous sense of humor. But, following his wartime experience in
Viet Nam (1967), and his return to civilian life, his life's journey was to be
long and arduous, as he would be caught up in a world of drugs and alcohol and
other kinds of worldly abuse. It would require
a great deal of prayer and intercession, (and ultimately, in my faith
experience, the miraculous work of the Mother of God) to pull him at his death from
the mire of this world into the saving realm of heaven. [That is a separate remarkable
story in itself not reported here.]
Many years following his return from Viet Nam (somewhere in
the late 80's), I was able to situate Greg in Section 8 housing, and he moved
from place to place until eventually finally settling in Beverly, MA in a large
rented room and kitchen area. He stayed
there for many years until his death in 2004.
However, he continually ended up in trouble (including a six month
incarceration in NH,), and we never knew what was going to happen next. Then, on
one Thanksgiving Day we all attended dinner at the house of one of my brothers-in-law
and Greg came along. After the meal, Greg and I decided to go for a walk when
he presented me with a hedgehog. He reported that he had for the third time
been caught dealing drugs and was scheduled for a criminal trial which could
land him in prison for a considerable period. It was then, while walking in the
cold, and suffering considerable consternation over what I had just heard, that
I heard my angel say audibly: "This
too shall pass." Hearing this
mystified me, and, while this "word of knowledge" was consoling, I
really wondered what it could mean. (You might ask how I knew it was my angel,
but this was a "knowing" on my part.)
Well, it took about a year to play out, and I remember well being
involved with his defense attorney trying to resolve the impossible impasse
erected before us. But, my angel was
correct, as the district attorney permitted my brother to act as a witness for
the prosecution by identifying the dealer from whom he had purchased the drugs,
and agreed to a reduction in charges in settlement. To my amazement, Greg was only sentenced to a
period of probation, and having ducked a sure bullet, never again dealt in
drugs, and never again presented us troubling issues outside of his own
declining health.
God, to his glory and faithful to his word, proved himself
up to the task -which ushered in my own profound prayer of thanksgiving. Yes,
on Thanksgiving Day God promised a day of thanksgiving. May he be praised!
There are many lessons to be learned from this event. God
knows future events and is concerned with them -even those we might consider
mundane. God will work on our behalf, if we pray and seek his help with a
sincere and contrite heart. And, God can always bring good out of evil. Even if
in this case Greg had been sentenced to jail for a term, I have faith that good
would have flowed from it. Another very significant lesson to be learned from
this experience is the fact that general suffering is greatly minimized for a
believer who places his or her life -and its purpose and destiny -into the
hands of God. Outside of that place of
considerable safety and protection, suffering can be greatly expanded, largely
due to the exploitative work of Satan and his minions. By this I mean the
avoidance of anxiety, fear, confusion and general spiritual darkness, which very
often leads to both mental and physical diseases of all kinds.
I know -a tome can be
written regarding this spiritual truth, but that is for another day.
