Will

This post about my Mom was on my friend and adopted brother Will's blog. I read it to my Mom today and had a tough time getting through it:

After class, Monaca and I had lunch at McAlister's Deli, and then we spent the afternoon at Mom and Dad Kurt's house. We got to talk to Mom Kurt for a little while, and let her know what a blessing she has been to both of us. She has such a big smile on her face, and has such a sense of humor. She seems very much at peace. I find myself in awe of her strength and faith. I hope that someday I could have just a measure of her faith in Christ.

If you don't know my story, I accepted Christ 10 years ago last month. It was during my fifth year of college, and was due in large part to one of my best friends, Dave. After a barbecue at Dave's house where I met Noel and Mike, I saw something in their friendship that I lacked in my life. There was some quality, maybe joy, that was just so attractive to me. I wrote Dave an email that night thanking him and remarking on what I observed. "Lucky" enough, he and Noel were having lunch the next day in East Lansing, and would I care to join them? I can only describe those few hours as the "full court press," "tag team," or "the used car salesman" approach to evangelism. I can't be 100%, but I'm pretty sure that the question, "what will it take to get you into salvation today?" was used during our afternoon discussion about Jesus. Within about a week or two of that afternoon with Dave and Noel, I asked Christ into my life while walking down Shaw Lane. I had come to the conclusion that I could no longer continue the path I was on and that I needed Him to guide me.

Now, from what I just told you, it would seem that Dave's involvement in leading me to Christ was a two to maybe three week deal. Not even close. About a year before the barbecue, Dave and I had been working together in Detroit, and on our way to lunch, he asked me what I believed in. At that time, I was an agnostic, claiming that the truth about God was unknowable. I was raised as a skeptic, and frankly, I saw most Christians in the light of Jimmy Swaggart, Jim Bakker, and Jerry Falwell (note: after becoming a Christian, I still don't really care for this archetype of Christian, although Jim Bakker seems to have gotten his head on straight since going to prison). Well, between that conversation and the moment I accepted Christ over a year later; Dave, his friends, his church, and his family prayed that I would come to know Jesus. One of the people praying was Mom Kurt. This afternoon she told me that it was funny, but all that time ago, she knew that she was praying for one of Dave's friends, but had no idea who I was.

Over the past 8 years or so, I have become increasingly close to Dave's extended family. Mom and Dad Kurt have played a large part in making me feel welcome (even expected) at Kurt family functions. And let me tell you, there are a LOT of Kurt family functions. They celebrate every holiday together, and get together for all the kids' birthdays. These times are all raucously fun, filled with laughter and children screaming (10 grandchildren, age 10 and under) and the occasional crying child if Uncle Jon is around. Mom Kurt has always been the first to offer me a smile and a big hug, and to heap praise on me. Practically since the first few times I met her, Mom Kurt has been praying for the right girl to come along because she always thought I would make such a wonderful husband and a good dad. Early on, she even played matchmaker, but respectfully retreated when her choices and I didn't quite hit it off. To be fair to Mom Kurt, pretty much every woman in my life who tried to hook me up gave up a long time ago.

It wasn't too long after Dave added his prayers to Mom Kurt's when Monaca and I started dating almost a year ago (1 year, Oct. 19th!) . If there is something that Mom Kurt has passed on to Dave, it is a fervent belief in the power of prayer and the commitment to actually pray when they say they will. I am humbled by the love and faith that this has demonstrated to me over the years. About a month after we started dating, Monaca accompanied me to the Kurt Family Thanksgiving. That evening, I was notified that Monaca had the Mom Kurt stamp of approval. I know that Monaca, this wonderful woman that I love, is a gift from God, and an answer to Mom Kurt's prayers. For that I cannot be thankful enough.

At a time when I was a fledgling Christian, and when the pain of my parents' divorce had made me question whether marriages last, Mom and Dad Kurt and their family welcomed me in from the cold and wrapped me with all the love and support that I could ask for. Their marriage and my adoptive tight knit family have embodied hope and provided an example for me. I am so thankful to be a Kurt. Thank you, Mom Kurt. I love you.