THE LORD'S BLESSING

Moses told Israel in Deut. 30:19f, "I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live; that thou mayest love the Lord thy God and that thou mayest obey His voice."

After that special time with our family and Dr. Bob Cook, Mom and Dad began considering finding a church that preached the Bible. As I mentioned, they settled on the Meriden Evangelical Free Church nearly 20 miles from home. Now we were attending church 3 times a week instead of once a week 5 miles away. For the first time I saw people bringing their Bibles to church.

Some time after attending this church, Dad was in a prayer meeting one morning with some other men. One of the men told him about a farm that was soon to be sold. The folks looked into it and were able to purchase the land less than a mile from the church. It was a wonderful farm that always produced a good crop. The income from the farm was such a blessing to the folks through their retirement and then to us children after they went home to heaven. We recently sold the land nearly 50 years later. It sold for more than 11 times the price the folks had to pay.

It was very difficult for the folks to leave the family church and then to leave the family farm where my Dad was born. They chose to pursue God even though family would not understand. Proverbs 10:22 "The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich, and He addeth no sorrow with it." We have been blessed in so many ways for Mom and Dad's obedience to the Lord.