An Open House – November 17, 2002
Carl and Linda have been married for longer than they’ll admit. They’ve enjoyed the kind of contentment that comes from hard work and a little bit of good fortune. But as they both retired, settling into the country-club lifestyle or roaming the back roads armed with cameras and paint sets just didn’t seem right.
So at a time when most of their generation were slowing down and enjoying an empty nest after years of raising children, Carl and Linda took stock of the many blessings they’d received throughout their lives. Realizing they’d nearly filled their storehouse with blessings, they decided to share everything they had. Carl began volunteering at his church, beautifying it with his artistic talents. Linda opened their home to foster children—over fifty babies in four years. “We have them for only two weeks,” Linda says, “so we have to give them enough love to last a long time.”
While their friends collect modern art, Carl and Linda decorate their walls with photos, cards, and drawings from each child they continue to love. Fifty birthday cards a year are sent out. Fifty Christmas cards are mailed—each with a personal note. Linda and Carl attend to each child’s first days, loving and protecting; then they pass the child to its new parents with so much love and affection that one could not help but believe in angels.
In Proverbs we read: “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”1
Carl and Linda chose a path many could not and, by doing so, have given love and direction to children who might not have had it otherwise. So asthey grow older and feel “more aches and pains on the outside,” as Linda says, they feel “younger on the inside,” knowing that God has directed their footsteps and blessed their hearts.
Program #3822
1. Proverbs 3:5–6.