CINDY TRANE CHRISTESON -- The moral of the story

o7 “God may be invisible, but he’s in touch. You may not be able to see

him, but he is in control.”

-- Charles R. Swindollf7

I just returned from an invigorating walk after an inspiring talk. The

walk was invigorating because, thanks to God, it is a beautiful day. The

talk was inspiring because, thanks to God, God works in lives in

beautiful ways.

The talk that I heard this morning was at “Breakfast With the Mayors,” an

event patterned after the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C.

The morning was a great kickoff for Christian Outreach Week next week. It

will be a great week of gatherings -- coffees, teas and desserts -- where

speakers will share the effect God has in their lives.

The guest speaker at the prayer breakfast was Hugh Hewitt, co-host of the

weeknight PBS-TV news and public affairs show, “Life and Times.” Hewitt

has a very impressive list of accomplishments, but what impressed me most

was his obvious love of God.

He did a wonderful job challenging us to listen for the small voice of

God.

“When you listen to God’s voice, it changes your life,” he said. “It can

change everything you do and the way you do it. God is trying to talk to

you, and you need to take the call.”

After the breakfast, I heard another inspiring message when I talked to

Pamela Curry -- a member of the Christian Outreach Week planning

committee, as well as one of the speakers. Curry is also someone who

clearly listens to God.

“At about age 12 I had a very strong fear of death.” she recalled. “I

would often wake up in the middle of the night and run to my parents’

room. One day my sister told me that Jesus could be my helper and my

comforter. I always knew God, but my sister told me about having a

personal relationship with him.

“We prayed right then and there. After that, if I woke up at night, I’d

run to Jesus instead. And I could picture him stroking my hair like my

mom did. His peace and comfort replaced my fear.

“In May of ‘96, my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, so that

started a fear of cancer,” she said. Two years later, Curry was diagnosed

with breast cancer.”The amazing thing was that the minute they told me it

was cancer, I felt incredible peace,” she explained. “I felt like God was

holding me and comforting me.”

Curry had two surgeries in December 1998, followed by six months of

chemotherapy and radiation and two surgeries for skin cancer last fall.

She also has a spot on her liver that she will have scanned.

I asked Curry about her fear now.

“Whenever I tell my mother I’m starting to worry about something, she

says, ‘Pammy, keep your chin up because you can see God better.’ So, if I

get scared, I look to God and remind myself that he is in control.”

Hewitt advised us to listen to God. Pamela told me how she chose faith

over fear. God is trying to tell each of us something too. The question

is, are we listening?

And you can quote me on that.

------