Two momentous occasions are happening at the same time, just a week apart. First, I am finally able to make my Bible Study available as a free download on my web page: www.anngreenleafwirtz.com. It’s located in the Book section, under Hand of Mercy. While writing this book, a journey that took nearly 5 years, culminating in its release in 2015, I was inspired along the way to write and include “A Deeper Reflection” at the end of each chapter. I wanted to give the reader of this amazing, true story about former atheist Joseph “Joe” Nowicki and his family, as shared by his son, Gene Andrews, an opportunity to delve more deeply into what the Bible says about their life experiences, which led them to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. This extra reflection about the various events that occurred would help us understand how God works in all our lives. I include a chapter about my late first husband, Arie Greenleaf, and the struggle his life journey took after his first wife died, and how this impacted our marriage years later. Faith can be hard to hold onto when a loved one dies. Sometimes, we discover “faith” was just a word.
I taught this study, the answers to the questions in “A Deeper Reflection,” in early 2016. What a delightful and memorable time the ladies in my group and I had together, learning more about our Dear Lord, sharing our hearts, growing in our knowledge and wisdom of the Bible. I have included a picture of this precious group of friends.
I taught this study, the answers to the questions in “A Deeper Reflection,” in early 2016. What a delightful and memorable time the ladies in my group and I had together, learning more about our Dear Lord, sharing our hearts, growing in our knowledge and wisdom of the Bible. I have included a picture of this precious group of friends.
The second momentous occasion is my 50th High School Reunion. I grew up with a dear friend, Mary Bewig Vermillon, and together we are taking a road trip to St. Louis from Hendersonville, NC. We both live in this lovely, mountain community, a fact we only discovered a few years ago! To say we are excited about this trip is an understatement.
As the weekend approaches, I have been communicating with friends I’ve known for more than a half century, yikes, each of us thrilled with anticipation at being together again. The maid of honor at my wedding in 1967 just recently ‘found’ me. We haven’t been in touch for over 30 years. It may be risky mentioning names because someone might be left out, and I am so excited to see everyone I knew at Webster Groves High School, but I do want to express my absolute wonder at seeing Jan Schnieders Pagoulatos, Ginny Burch Reed, Linda Monroe Yust, and Patricia Corrigan. That we are really going to be together again, even for such a short time, is stunning, simply stunning.
We each have a story we could tell one another, but time won’t allow many details. However, we can be sure that each life has been a personal journey of joy and sadness, accomplishment and defeat. Life is very predictable that way. Being from Webster Groves, students of the ’50s and early ’60s, we have had an extra measure of confidence and optimism. We were the children of the Greatest Generation, and our fathers and mothers fought overseas and served on the home front to give us the freedom to be ourselves, with nothing holding us back. We gained our strength to go forward in life from the quiet enjoyment of literature, from the quiet walk or bike ride down a neighborhood street, from the quiet moments of prayer in church. We are perhaps the last generation, the one that graduated in 1966, just before the terrible escalation of the Vietnam War, to have unknowingly lived the value of quiet pursuit.
Isaiah 30:15 eloquently expresses this truth:
“For thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel:
‘In returning and rest you shall be saved;
In quietness and confidence shall be your strength.’ ”
We are preparing to return to the lovely, mid-western community that nurtured our dreams and gave us a foundation to soar. May we reflect, with gratitude, on our good fortune to have lived when and where we did. For the Class of ’66, each life journey has been formed and truly blessed by the unique compassion and energy of our town, Webster Groves.
As the weekend approaches, I have been communicating with friends I’ve known for more than a half century, yikes, each of us thrilled with anticipation at being together again. The maid of honor at my wedding in 1967 just recently ‘found’ me. We haven’t been in touch for over 30 years. It may be risky mentioning names because someone might be left out, and I am so excited to see everyone I knew at Webster Groves High School, but I do want to express my absolute wonder at seeing Jan Schnieders Pagoulatos, Ginny Burch Reed, Linda Monroe Yust, and Patricia Corrigan. That we are really going to be together again, even for such a short time, is stunning, simply stunning.
We each have a story we could tell one another, but time won’t allow many details. However, we can be sure that each life has been a personal journey of joy and sadness, accomplishment and defeat. Life is very predictable that way. Being from Webster Groves, students of the ’50s and early ’60s, we have had an extra measure of confidence and optimism. We were the children of the Greatest Generation, and our fathers and mothers fought overseas and served on the home front to give us the freedom to be ourselves, with nothing holding us back. We gained our strength to go forward in life from the quiet enjoyment of literature, from the quiet walk or bike ride down a neighborhood street, from the quiet moments of prayer in church. We are perhaps the last generation, the one that graduated in 1966, just before the terrible escalation of the Vietnam War, to have unknowingly lived the value of quiet pursuit.
Isaiah 30:15 eloquently expresses this truth:
“For thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel:
‘In returning and rest you shall be saved;
In quietness and confidence shall be your strength.’ ”
We are preparing to return to the lovely, mid-western community that nurtured our dreams and gave us a foundation to soar. May we reflect, with gratitude, on our good fortune to have lived when and where we did. For the Class of ’66, each life journey has been formed and truly blessed by the unique compassion and energy of our town, Webster Groves.
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