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<\/a>Brief Summary<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n I\u2019ve written about this maybe five-six times over the last year-and-a-half on Facebook and asked for prayer: always being unable to reveal what it was, for reasons that will now be evident. First of all, I profusely THANK<\/strong> everyone who has been praying. There\u2019s no doubt in my mind that that is what ultimately ended the nightmare that has deeply affected and traumatized our entire family. Many hundreds were praying, including several groups of nuns and monks, to whom I sent detailed prayer requests, knowing that they would be confidential.<\/p>\n Part of the agony was the isolation we have felt, precisely because we couldn\u2019t share it \u2014 save for just a few of our closest friends and immediate family \u2014 and receive emotional sustenance. But we have received the support of love and prayer, even though most who were praying didn\u2019t know what it was about<\/em>, and that means everything to us.<\/p>\n One of my sons was falsely accused of deliberately physically abusing his then three-week-old son<\/em> (our youngest grandchild). But yesterday, a judge in probate court granted what in legalese is called \u201creunification\u201d of him and his older sister with my son and his wife, thus ending the 18-month legal battle. We think it is prudent \u2014 for various reasons \u2014 that I only offer this brief summary statement of what happened.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The devil tried to destroy my family. He failed. We suffered horribly, but God \u201cmeant it for good\u201d. I believe Satan came after us because we are involved in various kinds of ministry, and producing children and new disciples of Jesus (five grandkids, and my married sons are 29 and 32). We\u2019re very close and all observant, orthodox Catholics.\u00a0 So the devil thought that was what he wanted to persecute, and God in His providence chose us to undergo all of the suffering \u2014 in His permissive will \u2014 for some higher purpose and for the sake of other souls.<\/p>\n We think that purpose, far as we can tell, was a deepening of everyone\u2019s faith and trust in God and prayer life, and the strength to persevere, by His grace. Faith is never really a profound biblical faith until it is severely tested. Satan chose the wrong family to go after, and was \u2014 typically for him \u2014 too stupid to understand that.<\/p>\n God is good! Praise His name! He delivered us from our misery, just as He said He would. I aim to give Him all the glory, and to thank Him, with this testimony of how He has spoken to me and comforted me and others in my family.<\/p>\n Everyone in our close and loving family went through unimaginable suffering. But we had to go on with our daily lives; and we have. I kept working. Nothing ever stops me from doing that, and there is no way that I would let the devil have the victory of shutting me up and preventing my spreading of the message of the gospel and the fullness of spiritual truth to be found in the Catholic Church. That was part of his purpose, of course, along with many others, but he failed.<\/p>\n We\u2019ve all believed all along that this would end well and that God would defeat what is ultimately wicked satanic persecution and a severe spiritual attack, but we didn\u2019t know how long<\/em> it would take. It turned out to be almost a year-and-a-half: agonizing seemingly endless months. Only God\u2019s grace and power and our faith can withstand this sort of extreme suffering. And that\u2019s what sustained us. The rest of us suffered with my son and his wife (\u201cweep with those who weep\u201d: Rom 12:15; \u201cIf one member suffers,<\/b> all suffer together\u201d: 1 Cor 12:26).<\/p>\n I will now provide a detailed account of the many words of knowledge or messages from God and visions that I experienced and received, and a few from my wife Judy as well. These prove how God was extending to us extraordinary mercy and comfort, especially in the last few weeks, when the horrific \u201cfiery ordeal\u201d (1 Pet 4:12) was coming to an end. They show what God is<\/em> like<\/em>: how much He loves and cares for us, and reveal His omniscience (i.e., He knows everything, including events that are future to us but always \u201cpresent\u201d to Him).<\/p>\n That\u2019s the exciting and hopeful part, and what I am very happy and pleased to share. It\u2019s sort of a \u201ctheology of suffering\u201d and at the same time a \u201ccase study\u201d in how God acts during times when we must endure trials that He brings to a purposeful end, for our good. God really is<\/em> \u201clove\u201d as the Bible states!<\/p>\n Signs, Visions, and Words of Knowledge and Comfort from God<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n First of all, I should note that, through the years, God has not<\/em> very often communicated to me in these overtly supernatural sorts of ways. My theory is that either He chooses to let me work through most issues with my mind, because I like to operate that way, anyway, or that I am simply not as close to Him as I should be; or a combination of both. It seems that He is doing so now<\/em> because I was in dire need of His assistance, during this extraordinarily difficult time in my life.\u00a0 But even the saints surprisingly often did not always feel God\u2019s presence or hear directly from Him.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n 1) \u201cIt\u2019ll be okay.\u201d<\/p>\n 2) \u201cAsk Fr. [Name; our parish priest] to pray about the situation and it\u2019ll be over.\u201d<\/p>\n 3) \u201cBook of Job.\u201d<\/p>\n 4) \u201cGod will not let this family be destroyed.\u201d<\/p>\n 5) Vision of the sun gloriously coming out after a ferocious storm at sea.<\/p>\n These first five came relatively early on. Notice how simple they are, yet they differ from each other, and the last two are of a different nature (3rd person and a literal vision). The visions \/ words of knowledge became increasingly complex and even intertwined as time went on. The next was some months later (in the summer or fall of 2024, maybe?), but I didn\u2019t record exactly when it happened. It was the most complex and fascinating one of all.<\/p>\n 6) On the way to church I was playing a song by Van Morrison, my favorite singer, called Virgo Clowns<\/em> (from 1970) and explaining to my wife Judy that I would play this song back in the late 70s and early 80s when I was so lonely, and that it would comfort me and cause me to feel better. I used to sit and play guitar along with it, because it has this infectious, driving acoustic guitar line and I would literally \u2013 every time \u2014 be brought up and out of my deep sadness, and feel joyful; and this is what I was telling my wife.<\/p>\n Then I wound up driving back home from church by myself (my wife drove home with my daughter in her car) and was playing the same album, including this song. I thought to myself when it came on again, \u201cI haven\u2019t felt this happy in many months<\/em>. This is how I used <\/em>to feel before all this happened.\u201d It was what can best be described as a purely \u201ccarefree\u201d feeling. This is how I usually feel, as one with a \u201csunny\u201d and optimistic temperament: at least when nothing is seriously wrong. But I had been under such extreme stress for months that I had almost forgotten<\/em> how it felt. It didn\u2019t happen when I first played it earlier that day; only the second time.<\/p>\n Then God \u201csaid\u201d (communicated) to me: \u201cI\u2019m gonna do the same thing again<\/em>.\u201d In an extraordinary burst of inspiration (and\/or God making it clear to me), I quickly understood this to mean that an analogy<\/em> was in play. In other words, God used a song to make me feel better over forty years ago, and eventually He blessed me with my wife Judy to eliminate that problem forever, and I became very happy and fulfilled.<\/p>\n Now <\/em>he was using this same song to give me a foretaste <\/em>of the happiness and freedom from the stress and burden that I would feel again when the current tragedy and crisis was brought to an end by the inscrutable workings of His providence. This is how He gave me both hope and the strength and perseverance to endure until the crisis ended (and it was to be many more months \u2014 probably over a year \u2014 before it did: little did I know then<\/em>).<\/p>\n What was so fascinating is the way God used a point I had made earlier in the day about the song making me feel better when I was so lonely as a single person, and then incorporating<\/em> that into what He wanted to communicate to me about my present distress. Imagine the Creator of the universe using a song \u2013 even one by someone\u2019s favorite singer \u2013, to pass along a message of encouragement and hope! But this is the sort of thing He does, in His infinite love and mercy and wisdom.\u00a0The meaning became all the more amazing when I looked up the lyrics of the song after I got home, and told my wife about the whole thing (so moved that I could hardly speak). Here they are. I\u2019ve omitted the repetition of the chorus (italicized):<\/p>\n Let us free you from the pain Let us help you to forget Light up your golden smile Let us shake you by the hand Let us help you to go on Let us lift you up on high Hey let the trumpets ring it [the song ends with the sounds of laughter]<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Wow! I don\u2019t even listen<\/em> to lyrics much, which is why I had to go look them up, even though I\u2019d always loved this song, and this<\/em> is what I found. It was primarily the music<\/em> apart from the words that made me feel so good way back when, and does now.\u00a0 But when I looked up the words, God was nailing down the point and in effect \u201csaying\u201d to me: \u201cthis<\/em> is the sort of happiness you will feel when I solve this tragedy and bring My will to pass.\u201d\u00a0Just now I looked to see if I could find out anything else about this song. I ran across a review of it at a site called AllMusic<\/em><\/a>, and the reviewer, Barry Parrino wrote,<\/p>\n Somehow this song embodies for me the idea of pure joy. In both sound and lyrics. Like a day in the sun. Like all pain, all misery, all gloom, all cancers being laughed at and forgotten, and our hearts lifting into the light of laughter and joy. . . . What a beautiful songwriter.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Bingo! That is exactly what God wanted to convey to me through the song. The full impact of it was only fully evident after I examined the lyrics. And it has given me goose bumps ever since it happened to think about it and to now describe it in writing.<\/p>\n 7) Several months later, I was riding my electric bike, as I do almost daily in the nice weather months, on one of my usual 30-mile rides through the lovely, rolling, rural landscapes of our area of the Irish Hills in southeast Michigan. As I was taking in the scenery and feeling really good (as I usually do on these rides, being a nature fanatic), I started talking to God and saying, \u201cLord, how can I be happy or even enjoy this<\/em>, when my son and his wife and my granddaughter are so miserable? How can I ever be happy again if they lose custody of their children and have to go through life in a sort of perpetual state of \u2018living death\u2019?\u201d This was the central agony of the whole thing: love for our family \u2013 and we are all very close \u2014 requires identifying with their sadness. None of us can have much of a sense of well-being if some members of our family are suffering so much.<\/p>\n And God made it clear to me in a nonverbal way that He was in control and that this situation was easy for Him to resolve. Then it became more \u201cverbal\u201d (i.e., direct thoughts that Christians learn through experience are coming from the \u201coutside\u201d; from God): \u201cI didn\u2019t bring you out here to make you unhappy<\/em> but to make you happy<\/em>, and to reward both of you for your service to Me.\u201d He was referring back to our long process of searching for a \u201cdream home in the country\u201d after living in metro Detroit for over 60 years. He told my wife twice, \u201cI have a house for you.\u201d He sure did. We just had to discover it. And that happened in the fall of 2020. We absolutely love our house and the area.<\/p>\n God has blessed us so much, and here He was reiterating that He would continue<\/em> to do so, that this was also part of His plan. In other words, He would end the crisis and we would all be able to return to the joyful, relatively carefree life that we used to live. He was comforting and helping me to persevere until it was over.\u00a0Earthly reward, by the way, is quite biblical. It\u2019s not just heavenly<\/em> rewards that we receive (mocked by the world as \u201cpie in the sky\u201d), in following Him and seeking to do His will and follow His calling:<\/p>\n Mark 10:28-30<\/strong> (RSV, as throughout, unless otherwise indicated) Peter began to say to him, \u201cLo, we have left everything and followed you.\u201d [29] Jesus said, \u201cTruly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, [30] who will not receive a hundredfold now in this<\/strong> time<\/em>, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and<\/em><\/strong> in the age to come eternal life.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n This took place on a road called Pennington, where I was to have a second experience. And it\u2019s not a coincidence that the first house we had looked at in the area where we wound up was on this very street, about a half-mile from where I was and about 7-8 miles from our house; this tied into God talking about finding our house for us. Nothing with God is a \u201ccoincidence\u201d or mere luck. The marvelously intertwining nature of these visions will become more evident in further accounts below.<\/p>\n 8) Another extraordinary experience \/ vision occurred on yet another bike ride, which would become the predominant pattern, along with God using natural events to speak to me. I was riding along, somewhat anxious and mulling through my mind some of the many horrors that we had endured and the uncertainty that was its most difficult aspect. But all of a sudden the beautiful \u201cgolden light\u201d that one often sees in the early evening shortly before the sun goes down, kicked in and I entered into an increasingly ecstatic state, and even into what C. S. Lewis called \u201cjoy\u201d: his elaboration of an intriguing experience described by the 19th century German romantics as sehnsucht<\/em> (literally, \u201clonging\u201d). I\u2019ve written about this<\/a>. It\u2019s not easy to quickly summarize.<\/p>\n I was to be in that state for at least a half hour, maybe longer (it was almost like being out <\/em>of time), whereas Lewis stated that it usually lasts merely for a moment or two and then vanishes, and that this was even of its essence<\/em>. During this time I felt as if I were in a fairy-tale world, and that I was riding my bike in heaven<\/em> itself. It was absolutely incredible. It turned out to be the longest experience of this \u201cjoy\u201d that I had had in 47 years; indeed, the longest ever. I distinctly remember the other time. I was driving down the freeway in Detroit to college in the fall of 1978 and entered into an extended ecstasy about \u201cthe idea of Autumn\u201d as Lewis calls it in his writings about it.<\/p>\n As I was in the middle of this and reached a particularly pretty spot (on a road called Mulvaney, where I would have two more visions \/ words \/deeply spiritual experiences), I felt that I should ask God if He had anything to tell me. I sat there anticipating a possible response. But nothing \u201cverbal\u201d came. Instead, I heard a bunch of birds singing loudly. And God brought to my mind the Bible passage:<\/p>\n Matthew 10:25, 28-31<\/strong> \u201c. . . If they have called the master of the house Be-elzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household. . . . [28] And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. [29] Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground without your Father\u2019s will. [30] But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. [31] Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Just as quickly, another verse about anxiety (and birds) came to mind (in its outlines<\/em>, anyway):<\/p>\n Luke 12:22, 24-32<\/strong> And he said to his disciples, \u201cTherefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, . . . [24] Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! [25] And which of you by being anxious can add a cubit to his span of life? [26] If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? [27] Consider the lilies, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. [28] But if God so clothes the grass which is alive in the field today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O men of little faith! [29] And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be of anxious mind. [30] For all the nations of the world seek these things; and your Father knows that you need them. [31] Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things shall be yours as well. [32] Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father\u2019s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n In Matthew\u2019s account of the same discourse, shortly after, Jesus says another important thing. I love the King James Version of it:<\/p>\n Matthew 6:33-34<\/strong> (KJV) But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; . . . [34] Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Bottom line? God was telling me: \u201cI\u2019m in control. I will solve this. I have your back, and your family\u2019s back.\u00a0 Don\u2019t worry. Have faith. Be of good cheer. I\u2019m working on ending the ordeal.\u201d And this brings to mind right now another verse:<\/p>\n John 16:33<\/strong> \u201c. . . in me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n When I got home from the ride, my wife was sitting on the swing in our back yard and before I even said anything, she noticed something very different about how I looked: like there was a \u201cgolden light\u201d on my face and that my whole countenance was transformed, because I had seen or experienced something special. So she asked me what happened. I could hardly even describe it at first, so she said, \u201cGod talked<\/em> to you, right?\u201d And she said I had tears in my eyes, as I told the wonderful story. Words could hardly convey it, but I did my best, then and now.<\/p>\n 9) I had a second experience on Mulvaney, the next time I rode back there: it\u2019s about 14 miles from our house. This time I was sitting there expecting God to speak to me again, and once again He used nature to communicate. But it was odd. I heard the sound of what I thought was a gurgling stream, but there was none around there<\/em>, that I was aware of. So the question is whether God miraculously made the sound, or if I heard something that I couldn\u2019t see and never heard before at that spot, that I had been to many times. Anyway, the important thing was the message<\/em> He attached to it, that instantly came into my mind: \u201cMy will<\/em> is like a river. It encounters rocks and other obstacles, but always gets to the place that it wants to go.\u201d I couldn\u2019t find a Bible verse just now that expresses this precise thing, yet the spirit and tenor of it are much like many passages in the Bible \u2013 especially in the Old Testament \u2013, insofar as agricultural and nature motifs are often compared to spiritual or moral principles. In my opinion, it was something that God might or would say, which in turn confirms it.<\/p>\n 10) The third experience on Mulvaney was even more extraordinary. I approached the road on my bike from a different direction this time, and intended to stop at the same spot where the other two experiences occurred, but I missed it, and wound up looking at the very pretty view on the other<\/em> side of the road (it sits high up on a prominent ridge). I waited for God to speak to me again, though I knew that He didn\u2019t have<\/em> to do so; nor should I demand<\/em> it. If He wanted to do so, He would. In any event, I wasn\u2019t seeking after any of these signs, in the improper way that Jesus repeatedly condemned. I was and am simply open<\/em> to them, and God blesses me through them, if and when He chooses to do so, for my good.<\/p>\n On this day, it had been cloudy most of the time I was riding. But when I stood at this beautiful spot, I asked God a direct question: \u201cDear Lord, will this crisis end at our hearing on September 18th?\u201d Immediately after I asked that, the sun came out of the clouds and marvelously lit up the green valley below. And not only that; there was also a tree just to my right that seemed to be the only one<\/em> with the wind blowing its leaves around. That went on for several minutes, during the sunny time, and then stopped and the sun went back behind the clouds. I took this wind to be the Holy Spirit. There are Bible passages that suggest a connection, such as this one:<\/p>\n John 3:8<\/strong> The wind blows where it wills, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know whence it comes or whither it goes; so it is with every one who is born of the Spirit.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The literal meaning of the Greek pneuma<\/em> (\u201cspirit\u201d) is \u201cwind\u201d or \u201cbreath.\u201d The inspiration of the Bible is expressed in the Greek word, theopneustos<\/em> (\u201cGod-breathed\u201d; see 1 Tim 3:16) Hence:<\/p>\n John 20:22<\/strong> And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, \u201cReceive the Holy Spirit.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Note that the sun coming out of the clouds hearkens back to #5 above, which led me to believe that God was saying, \u201cthe time has come for this suffering to end.\u201d Then after I left, the road had a sharp drop on the right side, which brought to my mind: \u201cyou will have a mountaintop experience when I resolve this ordeal.\u201d This was the first time that God told any of us about our suffering coming to end on a specific day (and now I can report and testify that the crisis did<\/em> end on that day, which was yesterday, as I write).<\/p>\n The ride back was absolutely incredible and probably my most rewarding bike ride ever. The golden light was present again and I had a constant sense of what I call a \u201clow-level ecstasy.\u201d It was wonderfully beautiful. I also saw no less than 78 deer, including about 40 in one spot alone! No one has ever seen that many in a short span of time in the five years we have lived here.<\/p>\n 11) Next was the second experience on Pennington Road, and it was an amazing and unique one, like so many of these were. But this one was just \u201coff the charts.\u201d I was planning to ride to a place beyond this road, and I usually do so by a different route, but this time I decided to go down this<\/em> road (the joys of bike rides: so many different ways<\/em> to go!). Then when I did, I had intended to stop at the same place where I had the first vision. But somehow I forgot to do so. This paralleled my forgetting to stop by the same spot on Mulvaney Rd., but it wasn\u2019t intentional<\/em>. I simply forgot. I wasn\u2019t trying to deliberately \u201cmake\u201d anything take place. Why I mention this factor will become clear as I further explain. It\u2019s relevant and confirmatory.<\/p>\n So I kept riding and decided to find a second nice spot to meditate and see if God possibly had anything to tell me. I was open to Him and as you can see, the pattern was being established of Him talking to me in a very definite way on my bike rides. After a few hundred feet or so, I saw this gravel opening next to a large cornfield. I stopped and admired the pretty view in the sunshine and waited on God for several minutes, in case He wanted to talk to me again. Nothing happened, so I was about to ride on, but happened to look down to the ground before I took off.<\/p>\n I saw two perfectly concentric circles: the larger being maybe ten feet across, and both circles being about a foot wide in width. It looked like some sort of dirt bike had made them. What\u2019s most important, however, was the meaning<\/em> that they symbolized. This was God\u2019s message. I knew that circles and maybe concentric circles as well, represented God\u2019s eternity. That symbolism is part of Celtic crosses. I wondered if it might also be emblematic of God\u2019s providence. After I got home I did a Google search of \u201cconcentric circles \/ providence\u201d and I ran across a 19th century Russian Orthodox icon called The Eye of Providence<\/em> or the All-Seeing Eye of God<\/em>. It has three concentric circles. The Wikipedia article<\/a> on it states:<\/p>\n It is a symbolic and allegorical composition of the words from the\u00a0Holy Scripture\u00a0that represents the omniscient and vigilant all-seeing eye of\u00a0Christ. . . . [and] the words from the\u00a0Bible: \u201cBehold, the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear Him, on those who hope in His mercy.\u201d (Psalms\u00a033:18). At the heart of the composition of such icons is the recurring motif of circles.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n I also discovered that John Wesley, the founder of Methodism and my favorite Protestant (I edited a book called The Quotable Wesley<\/a><\/em>), used the same symbolism, according to another AI Overview<\/a><\/em>:<\/p>\n John Wesley used the idea of concentric circles in his sermon \u201cOn Divine Providence,\u201d to describe three different levels of God\u2019s divine providence. Wesley explained that God\u2019s care operates with different intensity for humanity as a whole, for those who profess Christian faith, and most intimately for true believers.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Just now, as I wrote this, I discovered a third <\/em>instance. An AI Overview<\/a><\/em> stated:<\/p>\n \u201cConcentric circles\u201d in relation to providence\u00a0most often refers to a\u00a0metaphorical concept\u00a0from philosophy, such as in Boethius\u2019s work, where\u00a0concentric circles are used to explain the relationship between a timeless, overarching divine plan (Providence) and the unfolding of events in the world (Fate). . . . In Boethius\u2019s Consolation of Philosophy<\/em>, Lady Philosophy uses the image of revolving concentric circles to explain how the divine plan of Providence relates to Fate. The inner circles might represent more direct divine influence or the core of God\u2019s will, while outer circles represent the consequences of this plan unfolding in time and space.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The previous word received on Pennington Rd. also heavily involved providence and how God worked in our lives to bring us to our new home in 2020. So once again there was overlap and intertwining. But note how even the very process<\/em> by which I discovered this symbol in the gravel was itself<\/em> a function of God\u2019s providence. To reiterate: I had to go a certain way that I usually didn\u2019t go. Then I had to forget to stop at the spot that I intended to revisit. Then when I did<\/em> stop, the mysterious concentric circles appeared. This is not coincidence; it\u2019s God\u2019s design or providence, further<\/em> confirming the same thing in a remarkable way.<\/p>\n Then when I looked up whether concentric circles mean God\u2019s providence, I discovered three examples, from a Catholic, the Orthodox, and my favorite Protestant! All of this adds up to a communication of the same theme that is repeated over and over in many of these: \u201cI am in control of this situation, and I will bring about a good outcome, which will greatly bless you.\u201d<\/p>\n God\u2019s providence flows from His love, His omnipotence and omniscience, and being outside of time. He is able to make events come out the way He wants them to unfold. Here are two of the clearest verses in the Bible about this. The first had to do with the Patriarch Joseph, who was sold into slavery by his brothers. He later said to them:<\/p>\n Genesis 50:20<\/strong> As for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n St. Paul expressed the same sort of thing as follows:<\/p>\n Romans 8:28<\/strong> (KJV) And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n NASB renders it similarly: \u201cwe know that God causes<\/em> all things to work together for good to those who love God.\u201d Phillips, my favorite paraphrased NT, translates it as \u201cMoreover we know that to those who love God, who are called according to his plan, everything that happens fits into a pattern for good.\u201d<\/p>\n C .S. Lewis explained God\u2019s providence in a concise way:<\/p>\n I am sure God has not forced B to give A the job. God\u2019s action would consist, I believe, in arranging all the circumstances so that A came at the right moment etc \u2013 i.e. in presenting B with the\u00a0situation<\/em>, on which then his free will worked. Ordinary people regard life as a mixture of \u2018luck\u2019 and free will. It is the part usually called \u2018luck\u2019 by which, on my view, God answers prayers. (Sep. 9, 1947; from The Collected Letters of C. S. Lewis, Volume II: Books, Broadcasts, and the War 1931-1949<\/em>, edited by Walter Hooper and published by HarperSanFrancisco in 2004)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n International Standard Bible Encyclopedia<\/em> ( \u201cProvidence, 2\u201d<\/a>) offers a very insightful treatment:<\/p>\n Many of the things that befall the children of God are directly due to the sins of other men. . . . these ills are among the \u201call things\u201d which are declared by the apostle to work together for good to them that love God. The good that may ensue to good men from the evil conduct of the wicked . . . can only be due to the fact that God overrules it for the good of the innocent. . . . \u00a0\u201cThe things which happened unto me,\u201d said Paul, \u201chave fallen out rather unto the progress of the gospel\u201d (Php 1:12). God, though foreknowing the evil that wicked men are planning to work against His children, may not prevent it; and this because He can and will overrule it for His glory and for their good, if they abide faithful. . . .<\/p>\n Many a Christian man comes to see that the ill that has happened to him\u2013the loss of property, the terrible spell of sickness, and the like\u2013things that, at the time, he would not interpret as providential\u2013are among the best things that were ever sent upon him, in that they made him holier and more useful (compare Joh 13:7 [\u201cWhat I am doing you do not know now, but afterward you will understand.\u201d] ) . . .<\/p>\n To prepare rational and immortal free agents through holiness and usefulness here for happiness hereafter is the aim and end of this all-embracing providence of God, which includes within its loving care every human being except such as exclude themselves therefrom by their own willful and persistent sinning. And in the accomplishment of this end, what the world counts as the misfortunes and ills of life often contribute far more than what, in the estimation of men, are accounted the greatest earthly blessings.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n 12) I then had two bike rides where I was in a state of \u201clow level ecstasy\u201d the entire time<\/em> (two hours). This represents, by the now-established pattern, the carefree happy-go-lucky feeling that I used to have before the existential family crisis began. God is again saying, \u201cthis is how you will soon feel when it\u2019s over with. I will mightily bless you and your family.\u201d Many other times on my bike rides, I experience none of this whatsoever<\/em>, which shows that it\u2019s not just me imagining or \u201ccoming up with\u201d these experiences. They come from outside of me: from God. I don\u2019t try to \u201cprecipitate\u201d or seek them. They just happen<\/em>.<\/p>\n 13) The next one occurred out of the blue when I was helping my son Matthew paint a house. I went out to the backyard to rest and soon found myself in the same ecstasy that I had had on several bike rides, simply by looking at a wooden fence around the yard. It represented the \u201cnormal\u201d and the joys and pleasures of home life, that we would soon have again, without this tremendous weight on our shoulders, always wearing us down. I knew the feeling. It was how I used <\/em>to feel \u2013 at least much of the time \u2014 before all of this began.<\/p>\n 14) I since have visited Mulvaney Rd. by car, twice with my wife. Nothing happened either time, in terms of a vision; however, the second time, I was playing the same CD of the Van Morrison album that contains Virgo Clowns<\/em>. The CD had about 15 songs on it. But it so happened that at the exact moment<\/em> I arrived at the place where the sun came out from behind the clouds, that song came on. So I took that to be another instance of God\u2019s providence arranging things so that they corresponded to each other, and it tied the \u201csun incident\u201d to the word of knowledge concerning this Van Morrison song and what it said about being joyful and liberated from suffering; again, the same theme is present: \u201cyour severe troubles will soon be over because I ordain it in my providence to be so.\u201d<\/p>\n 15) The day after the court verdict, I rode my bike for the first time \u201cpost-trauma\u201d and was doing my usual reminiscing, reflecting, and \u201cromanticizing.\u201d I wasn\u2019t expecting or seeking any sign or word from God. I was just immersing myself in the feeling of not having the hideous weight on my shoulders anymore. But I saw a bald eagle: only the second or third time since we moved to our present location in October 2020. It kept flying round and round above my head, ascending on a thermal, so I got a rare very good look at it. Was God sending me another message? Maybe. The Bible states:<\/p>\n Exodus 19:4<\/strong> You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles\u2019 wings and brought you to myself.<\/p>\n Isaiah 40:29, 31<\/strong> He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. . . . [31] . . . they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n It certainly feels right now that God did that.<\/p>\n Some of Wife Judy\u2019s Signs from God<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Meanwhile, my wife Judy has had many amazing communications from God. Some of the more notable ones in the last few days involve \u201cstumbling upon\u201d Bible passages that are super-relevant to the living hell or nightmare that my family has been going through, and how we need to trust God through it and never lose faith, and about the anxiety that usually results from extreme stress. The repetition of the same themes and how she found them are far beyond coincidence.<\/p>\n The court hearing was originally scheduled for July, and got postponed until September, thus prolonging our anxiety and suffering. Judy read a testimony of a conversion in the Coming Home Newsletter<\/em>, where the person wrote: \u201cthere is spiritual warfare holding back what God has for you. But don\u2019t lose heart: your answer is coming.\u201d<\/p>\n In the week leading up to the hearing she received several messages. Before one, she woke up at around 6:00 in the morning with a terrible \u201cpanic attack.\u201d She tried to pray and couldn\u2019t even get out the words. So she knew it was a spiritual attack. Because she couldn\u2019t pray, she decided to do her morning devotions, and she chose the book, Mornings with Jesus<\/em> (Guideposts<\/em>) for the year 2023 and opened it up for September 11th on page 254, and this verse was on that page:<\/p>\n 1 Samuel 12:16<\/strong> (NIV) Now, then, stand still and see this great thing the LORD is about to do before your eyes!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Then she decided to go to \u201cPinterest\u201d on her phone and make a \u201ccard\u201d for her mother, since it was her anniversary, and before she even hit the search button, the following verse came up:<\/p>\n Jeremiah 1:19<\/strong> (unspecified Bible version) And they shall fight against you; but they shall not prevail against you; for I am with you, said the LORD, to deliver you.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Then there was a comment on it: \u201cNo matter what battles you face, God promises to stand with you and deliver you. If you trust in His rescue, a Big Amen.\u201d She was also reflecting on 9-11, about how good things came about even as a result of the tragedy.<\/p>\n The next day, she was listening to the car radio. We hardly ever play it; we usually play CDs in the car. I had happened to listen to the radio the day before when I was driving, and was searching around for radio stations. Then when she drove, it was set on a particular FM station that was Christian, when she decided to listen to one of her regular Catholic shows, but it was on this different station and someone was saying, \u201cdo you feel like your situation is an impossible <\/em>one?\u201d and commenting on it. Then he concluded by saying, \u201cnothing is impossible with Me. All you need to do is to trust Me.\u201d She felt like God was talking directly to her.<\/p>\n On the next day, she looked at her phone at Pinterest again, and there was a saying, \u201chow much more do I have to whisper to you, I\u2019ve got this?\u201d (God).\u00a0 On the next day after that, she was reading her devotions for the day, from different years, and they all focused on the theme of going to battle. One was talking about David and Goliath, another was about Samson and the lion.<\/p>\n When she was reflecting on these stories, she saw a vision of a courtroom and an army of angels and saints in the room surrounding us like an army, protecting us and fighting for us. This reminded her that she kept having a vision of a scene in one of the three Lord of the Rings<\/em> movies, where the good guys are fighting against what seemed to be impossible odds, and then an army of the dead men came and helped them achieve victory.<\/p>\n Many months earlier, one of Judy\u2019s more notable visions was of a mountain and a person starting to climb it (i.e., our son) and she heard God say, \u201cI\u2019m not going to remove the mountain. He\u2019s going to have to climb it. But I will be with him. The journey\u2019s gonna be really hard. But when he gets to the top, he\u2019ll see everything.\u201d She kept thinking that this was just in her head, but the Holy Spirit kept saying to her, \u201ctell [our son].\u201d When she did that, he said, \u201cthat reminds me of a vision that I had when I went to Steubenville.\u201d He had asked God to remove the mountains in his life, and God did. But this time there was some purpose for why He wasn\u2019t<\/em> removing the mountain.<\/p>\n Then our four-year-old granddaughter was sitting at a table coloring, and she explained that it was the picture of a mountain and her mother at the top by herself, with her dress flowing down, and our granddaughter was walking up, almost near the top with her father right behind her (she is helping him up).<\/p>\n Sunday, Three Days Later<\/em><\/p>\n Months ago, Judy had a vision with a rain shower, and then the raindrops turning into pink rose petals, and she felt like Mary said, \u201cI\u2019m going to turn your shower of tears into blessings.\u201d She kept seeing this for several months. Then on Sunday, she read in a book called 33 Days to Morning Glory<\/em>, for the day\u2019s date (Sep. 21), and it said, \u201cthis shower of blessings is going to turn into a torrent of grace.\u201d<\/p>\n She also noted that she had experienced a strong fragrance of lavender on several occasions throughout the ordeal, This has a number of meanings in Catholic spirituality<\/a>.<\/p>\n Postscript<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Here\u2019s my description of the end of the court hearing:<\/p>\n It was amazing in the court. I would have sworn that the judge was hostile to us, and would disallow custody, since she had been verbally contrary (and never anything else) for the previous nine months in earlier short hearings, indicated by many things she said, in no uncertain terms. But I also noticed various instances where she seemed to soften or show sympathy and understanding and human compassion, and so I maintained hope because of those. Yet when she started to read the verdict it seemed really bad at first and we were all dying a thousand deaths and bracing ourselves for the worst.<\/p>\n All of a sudden it seemed to \u201cturn\u201d about halfway through and she started referring to how loving of a parent my son was, and some other positive things, and actually granted him custody (or, technically, \u201creunification\u201d). I didn\u2019t even notice it at first and had to ask my other son sitting next to me if the verdict was for us or against us! And he did a thumbs up and whispered \u201call good.\u201d It was ultra-dramatic, truly amazing, and plainly a work of God and prayer.<\/p>\n I believe that my falsely accused son conducted himself excellently in lengthy testimony and under questioning, and was the \u201cstar\u201d of the hearing. God was with him, to give him words to speak, as Jesus said. Something changed the judge\u2019s mind, either right during the hearing or some time before it took place. My two sons were the only witnesses called for either side (with my accused son taking up about 95% of that time), so I am assuming that it was his \u201cself-defense\u201d testimony that changed her heart and mind: at least enough to render the right verdict.<\/p>\n But we know that there were divine forces in play, too, per this entire article . . . Praise God!!!<\/p>\n Ezra 6:22<\/strong> . . . the LORD had made them joyful, and had turned the heart of the king of Assyria to them, so that he aided them in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.<\/p>\n Proverbs 21:1<\/strong> The king\u2019s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; he turns it wherever he will.<\/p>\n Sirach 13:25<\/strong> A man\u2019s heart changes his countenance, either for good or for evil.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\nLet us see you smile again
\nLet us unlock all the chains
\nYou\u2019re broken-hearted<\/p>\n
\nLet us help you unlock it
\nIt\u2019s not nearly time to quit
\nYou\u2019ve only started<\/p>\n
\nTake away all your misery and gloom
\nOh, let your laughter fill the room
\nOh, let your laughter fill the room<\/em><\/p>\n
\nLet us help you understand
\nTake your head out of the sand
\nAnd shake it free now<\/p>\n
\nWe are here to lean upon
\nNow you know exactly just who
\nYou want to be now<\/p>\n
\nSee the twinkle in your eye
\nRaise you up into the sky
\nAnd say it\u2019s easy<\/p>\n
\nOh, let the angels sing it
\nLet your pretty feet go dancing
\nLet your worn out mind go prancing<\/p>\n