<TITLE>11. Par 92-99</TITLE>L-92 And I said, "Lord God, if that's You, I know that only the hand of God could part those clouds and do what You've done here." And the warm sun shining down, drying my shirt out, and steam coming up from it. And I said... A great cathedral, virgin forest, you know. And I said, "I believe I'll walk up this way then, Lord, if You have no certain direction. I wanted to go up there and stand just in a few minutes for a little memorial to my wife, of our--of our first and only honeymoon, you know, that we ever had a chance to go. And I took her on a hunting trip, and here I am here this year again, hunting with these brethren; and her down in Tucson, trying to keep things going."

L-93   And I started walking down through there, and I got to thinking. Now this is going to sound very funny. And I'll hurry, 'cause I know your service starts in about ten minutes. And so I was walking down along through there, and I was thinking, "Oh, wonder why that she never has said a word to me about going anywhere?" And this morning I want to tell you what happened, in a few minutes. I--I...

L-94 Every man ought to think this. I--I think there is not a woman in the world like my wife. She is just a wonderful person, a little pious, stay at home. She has always had my clothes ready. And I'd be out, gone on the trips, everything; come in, say, tease her a little bit, say, "I'm your husband. Are you my wife?" And like that, and kiss the children, kneel down and have prayer; and put on my clothes, to keep from having to lose my mind, nearly, from the crowds and things, take off and go fishing or hunting, away from her. She has had to bear it all alone, herself.

L-95   Then I got to thinking, "Well, maybe when I'm home, the only thing I'm always... the only thing I know is God and His Word. And I'm constantly talking on It." And I was going along there, and a thought presented to me, said, "Well, maybe she just let you go because it--it keep the people away, and so forth like that. And she can be a little more peaceful when you're away." And I begin to accompany that thought. I went, "Um," like that, and, when I did, I seen the whiskers on my face, from about a week old, and they were better than half gray. I thought, "Bill, you're just... you know where you're headed. You're headed right on out now, see, you're getting old. And you already crossed that fifty mark." So I was just thinking that, going along with my rifle hanging on my shoulder, walking along like that.

L-96   And all of a sudden, something happened. It seemed like, in every principle, I was a boy again. I don't know what mentally taken place, or what it was. And I looked, standing in front of her, and there in front of me, and there she stood just the way she was when I married her. I set my gun down. I rubbed my eyes. I looked at her and she held out her arms like this, looked at me. I bowed my head down.

L-97 Cause, I was going right up there for a little--a little memorial for our anniversary; stand by those trees, a bunch of little trees up there, quaking asps, just like there was up in the north woods when we went up in Adirondack. And I always go up there, each twenty-third day of October, when I'm up there.

L-98   And there she was. And I done sit my rifle down, looked there. And I stopped a minute, and I bowed my head. I looked back, and she was still standing there with her arms out. And I thought, "I haven't surely lost my mind." I looked again. I thought, "Why would this be?" Here I was, a young fellow. I looked at my hands, and I said I... "Lord, my responsibility in the world, to bring Your Message, surely this is something happened to me." And I looked again, and then it just faded away.

L-99 And I picked up my rifle, put it on my shoulder. And I said, "Maybe that's You letting me know the reason, it does break her heart when I have... when I come in, and go out hunting, and things like that."


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