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A
letter from a friend...
Jerry
Jenkins, President
February
4, 2008
Christian
Writers Guild
Colorado
Springs, Co
Dear
Jerry:
The
Guild's conference of 2008 was a tour
de force.
The
pursuit of excellence taught by authors
and modeled by staff and guests, the
five-star ambience, the Carnegie-hall
artistry—all orchestrated to inspire
Christian Writers to pray and work hard
to craft literature matching or surpassing
that written by those who are not believers.
All of us learned that the five-star
quality extended to your sponsors when
Mr. Steve Musick spoke. More about that
later.
Beyond
the focus on Christianity, the Guild's
conference differs from others in one
major way: its unfailing demonstration
of the preciousness of time. I have
attended at least one conference a year
for the last twenty years; none but
yours holds to Coach Lombardi's decree:
“If you ain't early, you're late.” At
other conferences classes and workshops
start when the teacher decides (particularly
true in week-long events when teachers
and students become exhausted) . But
I said most of this and more in my evaluation;
this letter is about something else:
two of your staff who gave a cup of
water in His name.
Before
I tell you about that, some background.
In January of 2006, my wife's doctor
predicted that within two years Alzheimer's
would erode her memory “until she won't
even know you.” Thank God the doctor's
prediction was wrong. Still,
the disease has taken its toll on Regina
. On both of us. She doesn't want me
out of her sight. A moment after I sit
down at the computer to write, she walks
in and hugs me. “Spend time with me.”
So, I only write in the early morning
before she arises. I was surprised,
therefore, when, at the conference,
she told me to go to the classes without
her. “I'll be fine.” Friday morning
I attended Robert Hostetler's class.
He's such a master of his material and
his suggestions so helpful, I was eager
to tell Regina
about the class. But when I returned
to our room, she ran to me. “I've never
been so miserable.”
I
told her I wouldn't attend any more
classes. Knowing I had submitted a couple
of pages for thick-skinned critique,
she shook her head. “No, I'll just sit
outside the classroom. As long as I
know where you are, I'll be fine.” After
lunch we went for a walk in warm sunlight.
A few minutes before class time, I had
her sit on a bench in front of the conference
center, stood behind the bench and massaged
her neck and shoulders as she raised
her face to the sun. “This feels so
good, I think I'll sit out here until
you return.” I told her I would be back
in thirty minutes to check on her. When
I did so, she said, “I shouldn't have
come.” I said, “My manuscript hasn't
been critiqued but I won't go back.”
In a gesture so typical of her self-sacrifice
during our 54-year marriage, she took
my hand. “No. Just let me sit outside
the classroom.”
We
were whispering in the plenary space
outside your classroom when Diana walked
up to us and asked if she could help.
I introduced her to Regina
and they began to talk. After the class
was over I thanked Diana for her kindness.
“Oh, your wife and I had a great time.”
I whispered to her that Regina
had Alzheimer's. On the way back to
the room, Regina
said, “Everyone up here is so nice,
particularly that young woman.”
Now
about Guild sponsors. Steve Musick,
President and CEO
of Destiny Capital Corporation, demonstrated
the quality of your sponsors and of
his own character when, rather than
use the time to advertise his company,
he spoke of the importance of love,
of family, of belief in what the Guild
represents. As Mr. Musick quoted from
John Forbes Nash's Nobel acceptance
speech in which Nash thanked his wife
Alicia—“It is only through the mysterious
equation of love that any logic can
be found.” – Regina
squeezed my hand and I saw that her
eyes had misted. “I love you, Mal.”
I felt my throat tighten because I knew
her words weren't prompted by some romantic
reaction or fragile illusion. No, they
sprang from a robust love and a faith
that deepens when disease comes and
death draws nigh.
Friday
evening, Diana greeted us while checking
name tags as people entered the dining
room. “I talked to Kerma,” she gestured
to your operations director who nodded,
“and she gave permission for Regina
to sit in on sessions with you.” Until
then, I had never sensed why giving
a cup of water was so important that
Jesus took time to speak of it. In a
dry and thirsty land nothing is more
important than water. In the agony of
seeing a disease rob the one you love
of her mind, few things are more important
than acts of kindness. From Friday evening
on, Diana always greeted Regina
and asked if there was anything she
could do for us. Diana's and
Kerma's
caring as well as their competence speaks
highly of your selection process.
Please
express my gratitude to these ladies
for their exemplary compassion.
In
Christ,
Mal
King
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