The Power of Love

Today is Valentine's Day. I was thinking about LOVE and what it has meant in my life...the love of a great God, of a loving mate, of wonderful family members and delightful friends. My life has been saturated with LOVE. I began to think of a Valentine's Day over 30 years ago when I learned about a young girl in her early 20's that had never experienced unconditional love. That Valentine's Day will always have a special place in my heart.

The story of this young lady began a week before Valentine's Day. It was a typical Sunday afternoon. Don and I were taking a little Sunday afternoon quiet time and Sandra and Valerie were riding their bikes in the church parking lot which separated our parsonage from the church. A car pulled into the parking lot and a young lady asked the girls if the church was unlocked. "No," Sandra answered, "but I can go get my dad and he will open it for you." The lady didn't say anymore but just drove away. The girls continued to ride their bikes.

"Hintz's Residence," Don answered the phone after the rings interrupted his reading. "Is your church unlocked?" a very distressed sounding voice asked, catching Don by surprise. "It's locked but I'm available to unlock it," Don responded. "Could you tell me why you need to get into the church?" "I just want to sit in there," the sad voice quietly answered. As Don continued the conversation on the phone I stopped writing my letter and sat listening. "Where are you calling from?" Don asked. She said she didn't know for sure, but she was somewhere in Seattle by a Safeway store.

All of a sudden, Don blurted out, "You are one of the Smith (name changed) girls, aren't you?" The caller gasped. She was caught off guard because Don had not seen her since she was a young pre-teen attending our church. After she finally admitted that she was Jean, Don told her that I would be very disappointed not to get to talk to her. He handed me the phone and whispered for me to keep her on while he went to look for her.

Jean had been in my Sunday School class in the little church we pastored at the foot of Mt. Rainier. I loved that little "tom boy" that tried to be tough but was really very sensitive and loving. I kept her talking on the phone until I heard Don's voice and the phone hit the side of the booth. God had laid it on Don's heart that she wasn't in Seattle but was at the corner Safeway store by our house in Des Moines. He approached her in the phone booth and convinced her to come back and sit in the quiet church. We left her alone to cry, scream, pray, or whatever she needed to do to bring peace to her troubled soul.

When she was finally ready to tell us her story, we realized the miracle God had performed to get her to our home where we could support and help her. She was in trouble with the law and headed to jail in a week. The court had given her this week to take her two month old baby to her folks and then report back to the jail. After dropping off the baby she headed up I-5 towards Seattle, planning to keep going on to Canada and skipping out on jail. She was very distraught. As she drove, she began to think about the only place she ever felt peace was in church. She pulled off the freeway at the next exit and came up the side road looking for a church. She passed several churches, getting out and trying the doors, but they were all locked and empty. She then came to our church where she talked to the girls. Suddenly she remembered that the Hintz's (the only pastor she had known) was supposed to be in the Seattle area so she headed to a phone booth to look for our phone number. God was watching over her because we were not listed in the Seattle phone book, only the Des Moines one. She found our number, thinking all the time she was somewhere in Seattle.

With love and God's help, we convinced Jean to go to jail and do her time. We spent most of that week with her getting to know her better, assuring her of God's love and forgiveness, as well as our love and commitment to be there for her. All four of our family member fell deeply in love with Jean and hated to see her go.

February 14th was the day Jean was required to check herself into jail. Don and I drove her the hour and half to her destination. We gave her a Valentine Card assuring her of our love and commitment to visit and be there for her anyway we could. I gave her my "Living Translation" Bible which was well marked. We left Jean and a part of our hearts at that jail. I remember how the weather changed and we had to drive home in a treacherous snow storm and it just went along with the turmoil we were feeling in our hearts. I Peter 1:22 tells us "...to love one another deeply, from the heart." Don and I found it easy to love Jean deeply. She had definitely won our hearts.

When we arrived home, we noticed an envelope on the back seat. It was a card from Jean thinking us for showing her what unconditional love is all about. She said she had never experienced it before. "Lord, help us to show her that unconditional love begins with You," Don prayed out loud as we headed into the house.

David tells us in Psalm 103:8-10 "The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will He harbor His anger forever; He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities." I am so thankful for this promise. I vast in His abounding love and often need His forgiveness.

Jean paid the penalty for her poor choices, put her life together, and has been a model citizen every since. She is no longer just a friend but a vital part of our family. I think it is time for me to give her a call and wish her a happy "love" day.