LETTERS - August 1998

In the last issue of the newsletter we shared about our recent struggle with our youngest daughter, Bonnie Joy. She is going to be four years old in September and has been diagnosed as mildly autistic.

Several letters, e-mails, and phone calls later Michael and I don’t have adequate words to thank all who have written, called, spoken, and prayed words of love and encouragement. For every time we have bottomed out emotionally, God has provided a word, a song, a prayer, a smile and a hug—and often it has come through our friends, both near and far away, who share the precious hope we have in Jesus.

What follows are four letters that we want to share because we feel they speak to issues that many of us face on some level.

Lastly, I wanted to relate a very special moment that happened just this week. I asked Bonnie, as Mike and I have done many times in the last year, "What’s your name?" and this time, for the very first time, she answered . . . "Bonnie".

—Sally O’Connor

Dearest Sally and Michael,

While I can’t presume to know you or what you have been going through in the past months I feel I do know about the awesomeness of our God. It is with that thought that I write to you.

Our family has been privileged to see and hear you several times at Peaceful Valley Community Church in Sonora, CA. We were truly blessed not only by your testimony, but the spirit that you and Michael conveyed. I have been receiving your newsletter since the first time you were there. I can’t even begin to tell you what an immeasurable blessing it has been in my life.

Through the thick and the thin of it, I welcomed each letter with open heart. It never fails to minister to my needs. I thank God with all my heart you are obedient to write what He is leading. There have been many times my out-look and heart have been changed because of the things you have written.

Now as I read your latest letter and share your pain and joy with regards to your darling Bonnie, I cannot begin to imagine what tune your hearts must be dancing to. Perhaps a dirge at times and a jig at others, but a roller coaster nonetheless. You have lifted my heart, as always, with your honesty. Your emotions are no secret and in that fact lies the blessing. You aren’t afraid to lay yourselves bare because you know that God will be your covering.

Over the years as I have crawled in and out of Egypt I know this one thing to be true. God is enough. Not too much, never too little, but always enough. The one verse that has been my lifeline has been Jeremiah 29:11-14 NIV.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you," declares the Lord, "and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you," declares the Lord, "and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile."

Perhaps these verses may seem strange to you, but they hold the promise of God’s future. It has been in my darkest hour that I have been unable to fathom that God would have plans for me. But, because He is faithful I have been able to realize some of the plans of God for my life. Not always what I would have planned, but always what was best for me.

I write all this just to say I want you both to know I am praying for you and Bonnie and Dusty. It may be a long hard road that you have ahead, or a short cut to victory, only God knows. But, He has a master plan in all of this. When it is finished you will be amazed at the magnificent tapestry He has woven of your life strings. Be encouraged even in the midst of the worse of it, for God is laying you on people’s hearts and they are praying for you. I find at the oddest times my heart cries out to God on your behalf and when I realize that is what is happening, then my lips join in. His blueprint for you, as a family, is astonishing!

Because of Jesus,

Lori Fields
Sonora, CA

Dear O’Connor Family,

Our prayers are with you during your newest "trial".

Bonnie is most definitely a wonderful blessing!

What a supreme compliment it is from our Lord when he gives us trials in our lives! After all, He only gives us what he knows we can handle, to refine and perfect us. What an awesome display of confidence He has in your strengths that he chose your family to care for His special child, Bonnie!

We too feel blessed to care for one of His "special" children. Our youngest daughter was born with a life-threatening and potentially disfiguring condition called Adrenal Hyperplasia. She will need medications for the rest of her life to stay alive. Her illness taught us much needed compassion for others with "special needs" or ill children. And what a JOY she is! Her medication gives her a round "moonie" head that makes her exceptionally cute and cuddly, and Jesus’ love shines so brightly through her sparkling eyes!

He has special plans for her, I know, and Bonnie too!

Stay positive, love Y’shua above all else and all will be alright!

In Christ,

The Mikkelsens
Poulsbo, WA

Dear Sally & Michael,

You probably don’t remember meeting my family and me several years ago, but we saw you at our church (Sun Grove in Sacramento), and I have looked forward to your newsletters ever since! They always come at just the right time, with just the words I need to hear as I’m plodding along in my life...

THANK YOU for pouring your hearts out and including us, your brothers and sisters, in your journey as songwriters, performers, authors, mom and dad, and servants of The King.

So many times I have thought, "Wow! Awesome letter; I HAVE to sit down and write them, and then reality hits and well, you know the rest . . . obviously I’ve never done it.

Your June letter really touched our hearts. We have been through (what we feel) is a lot with our 4 kids (ages 5-12), and yet autism is something we have not dealt with. We just want you to know we’ll be praying for both of you and for Bonnie as well; that God will continue to sustain you and to lift you up.

That His grace will be sufficient for you. That you can come to a place where in your innermost heart, you can say "It is well with my soul"... a VERY tall order, I know. The words you wrote were so gripping. I see such trust in our God who saved your soul, who gave you this precious little girl, who has the end in sight and will some day have a perfect place in glory for Bonnie, who will possess all the fullness and perfection only Christ can give.

Thank you also for sharing with such openness the fear, even terror, that grips at your heart; the massive disappointments on so many levels, and the honesty that to hold on to hope truly is an act of courage (and trust).

God Bless you both, and even though we don’t know each other in the traditional way, I praise God that we can share in your lives through your ministry We WILL be praying for you.

Your sister and brother in Christ,

Laura and Marc Lingle
Sacramento, CA

Dear Sally and Michael,

Hey there! My name is Elaine Johnson. I first (heard) Sally’s music at Bethel College in St. Paul, MN in 1993 or 1994. A day later I went to see her sing again at a little church near the college.

I have been receiving your newsletter since and have always enjoyed reading them, finding both of your writing styles to be both entertaining, endearing and enlightening. I have benefited from many of them in specific ways. Each time one of your experiences with God touched my heart, they became woven in my very being as a lesson, as something to build on as I too journey through life.

Today I received your most recent newsletter and was/am once again called to listen carefully to the voice of God through your experience. I can’t say that I have walked in your shoes or felt the pain of the uncertainty and disbelief of learning about Bonnie’s autism. So I don’t pretend to understand.

Yet, your story reminded me of the simplicity and beauty of life that comes gift-wrapped in the innocence and naiveté of a child. My daughter Alison is 19 months old and by all accounts, healthy. She has, however, had some developmental delay—particularly her vision. Thankfully, her eyesight is showing improvement since she was prescribed glasses. Having glasses is not a devastating thing I understand.

Still, in the beginning, it was an adjustment, for me at least. You want the best for your children and you don’t want or expect there to be any "disadvantages". I was concerned about her appearance, about how others might perceive her, etc. I’ve learned quite a bit since. The bottom line is that she can see now and as a result, she is able to walk now. Also, it has occurred to me that where one may lack, one gains—in some way.

What you said about "seeing the mountain" in living with her limitations and seeing the "highway raised up" with the beauty of her innocence speaks to this. This is also true of my nephew, Nicky, who is a 16 year old boy with Downs Syndrome. One day his 18 year old brother said, "I wish Nicky were normal." He was disappointed that he would not be able to share "normal" teenage experiences with him among other things.

Yet, Nicky has a love for all that knows no boundaries. He is helpful, considerate, kind and gentle. I don’t know many 16 year olds who fit that description. He is a blessing. Pure and simple.

I suppose I just want to connect with you and let you know that your story, your experience, blessed me. It reminds me of what is real and what is of value. It confirms God’s magnificence in the midst of despair and what we don’t know now and in the not yet. It relays hope and the promise that a redeeming God brings.

I believe that your family is blessed and will be blessed. Your testimony magnifies every month with every newsletter you invest your time and emotional energy. God is active in your minds and in your hearts. That is evident.

And so God’s peace and love to you in all He has promised.

Here’s to mountains and valleys and all places in between.

Glory to God,

Elaine Johnson

©Copyright 1998 Improbable People Ministries

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