PRICELESS PEOPLE

Click here for video on Grace members response to the question, "Who is the person (or the persons) who has been “priceless” to your faith-commitment to Christ?"

 

"Stanley Hart White was a retired professor of architecture at the University of Illinois when I was a freshman.  He had been retained in retirement to continue teaching a course he had taught to all incoming freshman for 40 years:  Critical History of Design.  The real purpose of the course was two fold - question everything you learn and you are told and know that every thing and everyone on earth is a gift.  This was a radical change from all that we had learned and been told the previous eighteen years of our life.  Stanley subsequently became a dear friend, but in that one semester he taught this ignorant freshman one of the most important lessons in life:  everyone and everything is a gift to be carefully cared for." - Ted Martin

"Witnessing our 14 year old grandson being baptized after hearing his Christian testimony...priceless!" - Carol Chilcote

"The person most priceless to me is Ann Pogue, a former student of mine at Nineveh School.  I pay her to clean my house and get my groceries.  For the fall, she cleans off my yard.  For my birthday each year she takes me out to dinner and invites others to join us.  When I had gall bladder surgery and was in St. Francis Hospital for ten days, she visited me every single day.  She calls me every day to check on me.  Ann is like a daughter to me; and since I have no children and no close relatives, she is truly priceless to me."  - Helen Ruth Settles

"In 1940 I attended our church camp at Rivervale.  Nola Yoder was our House Mother and a Deaconess from Glenburn in Linton.  Before going to bed we would have a Devotional and Prayer Time on the back porch.  In the middle of the night you could hear a girl sniffling and there would be Miss Yoder kneeling by the bedside praying and talking.  She was a precious person, and we had some "priceless moments" that year." - Ruth Hendrix

"The Reverend Jim Ray helped guide me on my spiritual path.  He taught me that the questions we ask are as important as the answers we receive." - Rich Gotshall

"The person or persons who have been most influential in my life were the Folds in the small Baptist church I attended in Lebanon, Missouri.  I am always thinking of them, and what a positive influence they had on my life." - Jim Baughman

"My Mom & Dad were the priceless people in my faith journey.  They took us to church every week, taught us to love God and everyone, and this in a town where a generation before them most did not believe that.  From my earliest recollection I knew I was a child of God.  Growing up in a family where faith is spoken and modeled is priceless." - Joe Trueblood

"When I was nine years old I spent two weeks in the hospital with polio.  One of my nurses was very kind and loving toward me.  I knew her only as Pepper and I never saw her after I went back home.  Because of Pepper I decided at nine years of age to become a nurse and that decision determined my entire life.  Instead of living my life in a small town, I have lived, traveled, and known people throughout the world.  I thank God for Pepper, a truly priceless person." - Virginia Morrical

"I have been truly blessed by priceless people in my life.  My mom and dad instilled very good values in me.  They taught me that my word was my bond and, of course, the golden rule.  Their faith was always present in their actions.  In the 65 years of marriage, I never ever heard my dad ever say anything hateful to my mom and vice versa.  I can tell you that this is a hard act to follow!  I am also very fortunate in having a great wife as mother and best friend.  It goes without saying that I feel the same way about my children and grandchildren." - Jim Rosentrater

"I had to think about this one, not that I am not appreciative of all the glories of God in our daily lives but I wanted the answer to be valid and help me realize a true blessing I have that maybe I have missed in the hustle and bustle of our daily lives.  Priceless moments:  the day each of my children were born, the day my husband proposed to me, the day we got married, those are all the normal answers and I am very content with those God given gifts of priceless blessings.  However, as I think on God's Grace and God's gifts I am awed at how He can take tragedy and loss and turn them into blessings.  I would have to say, based on this concept, one of my most priceless moments was the birth and passing of my infant niece.  She was an angel sent by God it would seem to lead me to His keeping and love.  He used her and continues to use her even now that she is with Him to lead me to Him and remind me He is always there.  I think on this a lot these days as a book I am reading reminded me of this when the main character lost his leg in an accident and instead of feeling sorry for himself used his healing time as a chance to read and learn about the bible more and become an itinerant minister to a local church in need.  Had he not lost his leg he would have been a busy farmer unaware of the church's need and unable to share his love of God's word with others.  Again a tragedy turned into something for His glory." - Jenny Moore

"During the worship service on November 13th, I sat watching the video about priceless people.  The one thing I noticed was that the foks talked about people they knew or had become friends with.  I thought, "What about those people you meet only once and never see again?"  When our son, Damien, was 3-years-old, we attended an Easter Egg Hunt at a nearby UMC.  The event had been advertised for some time, and there was a large crowd with children of all ages.  Damien took his Easter basket; and he was anxious as we sat inside listening to the welcome.  As the time for hunting came, we went outside and found separate areas for the different age groups.  We let Damien approach the area with his age group and stood back.  When the hunt began, the kids took off and, to our surprise and chargrin, so did a lot of the parents.  Damien was knocked down almost immediately.  We ran and helped him up.  Some of the staff quickly came to our side and took Damien inside.  We checked him over and found a scrape, but nothing serious.  His Easter basket had been stepped on and the handle was broken.  As you can expect, he was very upset.  I attempted a temporary fix, and within minutes we were back outside.  Upon return, we realized the hunt was over and most of the people were in their cars on their way home.  Tracey and I knew there would be no eggs left for Damien, but we walked and looked with him as he searched.  He started getting upset again as he couldn't find any eggs; our attempts to console him were not doing much good.

Then, it happened.  A boy about Damien's age walked up to him and asked, "What's wrong?"  Damien tried to explain through his tears.  Then Tracey and I explained to the boy and his mother what happened.  And without missing a beat, and with no prodding from his mother, the little boy reached into his basket, pulled out an egg, and extended it to Damien, and said, "Here, you can have one of mine."  Damien was hesitant and looked at us.  I smiled at Damien and nodded, and then he took the egg, placed it in his basket and said, "Thank you".  Tracey and I thanked the boy and his mother.  Damien looked around a little more, but his tears were gone.  That selfless act made all the difference in the world.

Who was the generous little boy?  On one hand, he was a complete stranger.  We had never met him or his mother, and we never saw them again.  On the other hand, after thinking about it, he was someone we all know--Jesus!  Damien has some memories of that day, and he and I have spoken about it on occasion.  To be sure, I remember it vividly and fondly, and I remember it every year as Easter approaches--it is a memory and reminder of God's love for us, shown by the actions of a complete stranger.  Priceless!" - Randy Higgins