Week of April 1, 2002
Ken T.

"Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me."
Psalm 51:10

This is a well known scripture verse. The first line is so powerful that it is easy to overlook the second line. However, I want to have us focus on the second line for our devotional this week. The Good News Bible translation is: "and put a new and loyal spirit in me." The adjective "loyal" sends a dramatic message to each of us. There isn't any "maybe" or "if I think about it" involved. We pray for the Spirit to lead us in our daily lives. Although it isn't explicitly stated, it is obvious that we must listen to the Spirit and let the Spirit lead our lives. Too often we pray for something such as this, and expect it to happen without any participation on our part.

I think of a story that appeared in BOND magazine about a dramatic example of a person who listened to the Spirit and followed where the Spirit led him. The person was Wes Prieb, who in 1957 bought a copy of the Anchorage Times newspaper while standing on an Anchorage street corner waiting for a friend to pick him up to take him to a church picnic. He read an article in the newspaper about a copper mine in the Wenatchee National Forest that was being sold by its owner. The property was located in Holden, Washington. Probably this article caught his eye because Mr. Prieb had been thinking for years about starting a church retreat. I think the Spirit was at work in the circumstances that let him to purchase the newspaper and then bring his eyes to the article. But this would have just been an interesting article for Mr. Prieb to read if he wouldn't have listened to the Spirit and then taken another step.

He had never seen the mine or its adjoining camp in the Cascade Mountains. However, he wrote a letter to the superintendent of the mine inquiring about the price. He also mentioned his idea to turn the property into a church camp or retreat center. I am sure the Spirit was at work here!! He received a letter saying the price was $100,000. This was too much money to even consider. He waited a year and wrote a similar letter hoping the price had been reduced. The company still was holding to the original price.

Prieb kept his dream of acquiring this site. Two years later, he decided to write another letter. He received a message in reply that he was to call the superintendent immediately. When he called, he was informed that the company wanted to donate the mine and the camp in return for a letter of confirmation stating that a gift of property worth $100,000 had been received. Because Wes Prieb kept listening to the Spirit and let the Spirit lead him to write the third letter, we now have Holden Village, the Lutheran retreat center where thousands of people journey each year for spiritual renewal.

The most inspiring part of this story to me is Mr. Prieb's answer to the question as to why he continued his letter writing campaign after being rejected twice. He replied simply, "The Spirit moved me to do it."

Lord, we ask that your Spirit be active in us. Just as importantly, we ask that we respond to the Spirit as we are called. Amen.

Contributed by Kenneth T.
Published Monday April 1, 2002
Week 18 of Liturgical Year A