[CS-FSLUG] This story is worth passing on

[Fred Miller]

A Moment of Grace in the Oval Office.


      This story is worth passing on:


      Friends and Family,
      The following is a wonderful, must-read story from 
      Bruce Vincent about President Bush.  Bruce is the 
      Executive Director of http://www.providerpals.com 
      Provider Pals, a nation-wide urban/rural youth exchange 
      program based in Montana. 

      He was the recipient of a Preserve America Presidential 
      Award, presented to him by the President in the White 
      House.  At the end of the story is an email I received 
      from Bruce verifying the story, giving me permission 
      to use it, and a very special update about the story.
      David  



      A Moment of Grace in the Oval Office.

      Stepping into the Oval Office, each of us was introduced to the 
President and Mrs. Bush.  We shook hands and participated in small talk.  
When the President was told that we were from Libby, Montana, I reminded him 
that Marc Racicot is our native son and the President offered his warm 
thoughts about Governor Racicot.


      He and the First Lady were asked about the impact of the Presidency on 
their marriage and, with an arm casually wrapped around Laura, he said that 
he thought the place may be hard on weak marriages but that it had the 
ability to make strong marriages even stronger and that he was blessed with a
      strong one.

      He noted that it would be a mistake to come to the Oval Office and 
entertain a mission to find yourself. He said that with all of the pressures 
and
      responsibilities that go with the job, you'd best know who you are when 
you put your nameplate on the desk in the Oval Office. He said he knows who
      he is and now America has had four years to learn about who he is.

      When we departed the I said to him, "Mr. President, I know you to be a 
man of strong faith and have a favor to ask you." As he shook my hand he
      looked me in the eye and said, "Just name it."

      I told him that my step-Mom was at that moment in a hospital in 
Kalispell, Montana, having a tumor removed from her skull and it would mean a 
great
      deal to me if he would consider adding her to his prayers that day. He 
grabbed me by the arm and took me back toward his desk as he said, "So
      that's it. I could tell that something is weighing heavy on your heart 
today. I could see it in your eyes. This explains it." From the top drawer of 
his desk he retrieved a pen and a note card with his seal on it and asked, 
"How do you spell her name?" He then jotted a note to her while discussing 
the importance of family and the strength of prayer.

      When he handed me the card, he asked about the surgery and the 
prognosis.  I told him we were hoping that it is not a recurrence of an 
earlier cancer
      and that if it is they can get it all with this surgery. He said, "If 
it's okay with you, we'll take care of the prayer right now. Would you pray 
with
      me?" I told him yes and he turned to the staff that remained in the 
office and hand motioned the folks to step back or leave. He said, "Bruce and 
I
      would like some private time for a prayer."

      As they left he turned back to me and took my hands in his. I was 
prepared to do a traditional prayer stance -- standing with each other with 
heads
      bowed. Instead, he reached for my head with his right hand and pulling 
gently forward, he placed my head on his shoulder. With his left arm on
      my mid-back, he pulled me to him in a prayerful embrace. He started to 
pray softly. I started to cry.

      He continued his prayer for Loretta and for God's perfect will to be 
done. I cried some more. My body shook a bit as I cried and he just held 
tighter.
      He closed by asking God's blessing on Loretta and the family during the 
coming months. I stepped away from our embrace, wiped my eyes, swiped at the 
tears I'd left on his shoulder, and looked into the eyes of our President. I 
thanked him as best I could and told him that me and my family would
      continue praying for he and his.

      As I write this account down and reflect upon what it means, I have to 
tell you that all I really know is that his simple act left me humbled and
      believing. I so hoped that the man I thought him to be was the man that 
he is. I know that our nation needs a man such as this in the Oval Office.
      George W. Bush is the real deal. I've read Internet stories about the 
President praying with troops in hospitals and other such uplifting accounts. 
Each time I read them I hope them to be true and not an Internet perpetuated 
myth.

      This one, I know to be true. I was there. He is real. He has a pile of 
incredible stuff on his plate each day - and yet he is tuned in so well to 
the here and now that he 'sensed' something heavy on my heart. He took time 
out of his life to care, to share, and to seek God's blessing for my family 
in a simple man-to-man, father-to-father, son-to-son, husband-to-husband, 
Christian-to-Christian prayerful embrace.

      He's not what I had hoped he would be. He is, in fact, so very, very 
much more.  



      Bruce Vincent



      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

      ----- Original Message ----- 
      From: Bruce Vincent 
      To: David Langerfeld 
      Sent: Tuesday, October 05, 2004 6:24 AM
      Subject: Re: Question


      Dear David,

      The story is true.  Attached is the original narrative (it's what you 
sent, but a bit longer in the front) written the day after the event in the 
Oval Office.  If you'd like to print it or an accurate shorter account, I 
certainly give my permission to do so.

      This happened in May.  For your information (and, hopefully, a quick 
prayer) an update on Loretta: 
      (Loretta is my step-Mom.  We lost Mom to a similar cancer 8 years ago.)  
The tumor was cancerous, but they believe they got it all. She finished 
radiation in July. Brain tumors, however, never start in the brain - they are 
the product of a 'generator' or cancer somewhere else in the body. After 
every test known to medicine (CAT scans, bone scans, PET scans, MRI's) the 
doctors cannot find anything, anywhere.  We're hoping God has plans for 
Loretta to stay with us a while.   

      Thanks for taking time to verify.  We (the family) prayed about what to 
do with this immensely private moment - and have finally been led to share it 
with others.  

      You may also want to let people know that the story is also now listed 
on www.truthorfiction.com  (as a truth) - a site used by those who are trying 
to not perpetuate myths.

      God Bless You and Yours, 
      Bruce Vincent

-- 
"Running Windows on a Pentium is like getting a Porsche but only being
able to drive it in reverse with the handbrake on."