Remembering Easter 35 years ago

It was April 9, 1977, and the day before Easter. We were packed and ready to hit the road for Blytheville, Ark., where my brother, Danny and his wife, Kathy, were stationed in the Air Force. In those days, it was hard being separated from a sibling living 300 miles away. We understood the homesickness of our brother and sister-in-law living a military life, and we felt their loneliness.

When Danny had called and invited us to visit them at Easter, we started making plans. We arranged time off from work and somehow came up with the money for gas and motel rooms. My brother, David, and I would be driving. I would be following David in his car, and hopefully, we wouldn’t get separated in Nashville. I was 27 years old and had never driven in Nashville. I was dreading it.

We met at Mama’s early that Saturday morning. David pulled up in his beat-up Javelin that had a missing gear and four bald tires. My seven-year-old Buick was in a little better shape. At least the tires had some tread. And...we both had CB radios. David, who was 19, bounded out of his car with the energy of three or four people and started loading both cars. Inside David’s car sat his 18-year-old wife, Debbie, holding their 8-month-old daughter, Stephanie. David was two months away from being 20 years and celebrating his second wedding anniversary.

One thing about my car, it was big and roomy. Riding with me were my mother, sister Gaile, who was 25, and her three small children, Robin, 4, and two-year-old twins, Lannie and Jason, along with my baby sister, Susie,15. My younger sister, Teresa, 18, and brother Terry, 17, rode with David.

As we prepared to leave, David and I checked the channels on our radios, and I reminded him I was “Silver Girl” and to please keep me in his rear view mirror. As we drove toward the interstate, everyone was laughing and joking–except me. I was worried about getting separated and lost in Nashville.

The trip, which took about six hours, went very smooth. I managed to keep up with David going through Nashville and the other turns we made after leaving the interstate and heading to Dyersburg and then crossing the Mississippi River for the first time. Now, when I look back on that day, I see so much grace over us. There was no Weather Channel to consult back then, and we were headed for “tornado alley” during the height of tornado season. But all went well. We didn’t have any car trouble or weather problems.

We found our motel without any problem and checked into our rooms. It wasn’t a chain and had a name that sounded western. I don’t remember what it was called, but there were western scenes painted on the sides of it. Inside, it was nicely decorated and very clean and comfortable. Danny and Kathy met us, and we followed them back for a tour of the base.

The next morning, we joined Danny and Kathy at the church they attended, Glad Tidings Assembly of God. As we walked into the church, we all suddenly became aware of the harsh breathing and croupy cough coming from the baby. As Debbie and David stood huddled at the back of the church wondering whether to stay or leave with the baby, Danny alerted the pastor who immediately called the congregation into prayer. As the room quieted for prayer, Stephanie’s breathing could be heard all over the room. David walked with Debbie as she carried Stephanie to the altar. Many left their seats to gather around the parents and child, who were strangers in their midst. The prayer wasn’t that long, and as soon as it was over, the sound of Stephanie’s labored breathing was gone. Church services hadn’t even started yet, and a baby had been healed  Watching this baby healed before our very eyes was amazing to all who witnessed it.

Many Easters have come and gone since then. Some I remember and some I don’t. But I will always remember that Easter Sunday, April 10, 1977. I remember the love for a brother who was living 300 miles away and how much we missed him. I remember the love and fun our family experienced on the trip to visit him. I remember the love shown by a church for the strangers who visited that day and stood with them in faith and love. I remember the love of our God, our Lord Jesus, who we went to worship and to remember His resurrection, and how He showed up in power to heal a baby before it was even time for services to start.