He's something special

When I think of my Lukie, I can't help but smile.

The little boy with a heart of gold who works so hard and has overcome so much.

He's my Lukie. Little more need be said.

When I picked him up at church last night, he ran up to me with a book in his hand and a smile spread across his face. "I told Nelson I wanted to be bathatized," he exclaimed. "He told me I have to read this book, first. He said everyone who wants to be bathatized has to read it."

He couldn't wait to read that book. It's a book geared toward a child, explaining God and his love for us. And as soon as we had the chance, we plopped down on his little couch, the reading couch, and opened the cover. I read some, and he read some. Little brother Alex stopped in for a visit and ended up staying, soaking in as much as Lucas.

We finished the first chapter, discussed it and reviewed what we had read. I tucked them both into their beds, and left the room with a smile on my face. I can't explain the feeling I had. It's unimaginable, really. I just had the opportunity to spend the past 30, maybe 45, minutes talking to my children about the wonders of our God, our loving eternal God. I got to explain to them, wide eyed in wonder, how our bodies would stay here on earth, and our eternal spirits would ascend into Heaven where we would live with God forever. We talked about God's promises for us and how God is perfect, faithful and just. We discussed grace and how we change, but that God never does.

It was beautiful, as all God's gifts for us are. Lucas is one of God's gifts, and I'm excited to share more precious moments explaining God's love as we prepare for him to be "bathatized." It's an amazing moment when a Christian mother realizes that her children are growing up with God and making plans to spend eternity with Him. There are no words for that, only grace.

Amish family ties

If you ask Henry what he misses most about his Amish lifestyle, without missing a beat, he'll say his family.

You see, Henry is shunned from the Amish. What that means is that he chose to be baptized into the Amish church when he was about 18 years old. Because he left after his baptismal, he is now shunned. To be shunned doesn't mean what one might expect. In essence, it means he can't do business with the Amish. (I can't either for that matter because as a married couple our money is well, our money.) And he can't sit down to dinner with them, for example. But that doesn't mean he can't speak to him family. To the contrary, actually. When he sees his mother, father or siblings out, he values the conversations he gets to have with them. Does he go to their house to visit, you might ask ... The answer is no, out of respect for them, he will not. He knows they don't accept the choice he made, so he stays away. They don't want any of the other children to leave, and if he pulls up in a big truck, wearing a baseball cap, the youngsters may see value in being English and decide to leave. No one wants that, not his parents, and not us.

I wanted to ask Henry about his family. It's extremely important to him, and as I've grown to know them, I have quite a bit of respect for them. He has wonderful parents who brought him up to be the great man he is, and I thank them for that.

How many siblings do you have? "There are 11 of us. I am one of 11."

Name the children in order of age. "Daniel, myself, Lydia, John, Sarah, Mattie, Emery, Ada, Perry, Tina and Emanuel."

Are they all named for someone? "Yes."

Who are you named for? "My uncle, Henry Glick. My brother Daniel is named for an uncle, as well."

Have any of your other siblings left the Amish? Who? When? "Yes. My brother Daniel. He left a week after I did. Neither of us knew the other was leaving until we did. After I left and then after he left, we both felt sad for each other, from the standpoint of how it would hurt our parents."

Henry's mother is Mary G. Shetler. She quilts and is well known for her baking skills, selling her baked goods at the Orleans farmers' market.

Describe your mother for me. "It would probably be four words: Strong-willed, outspoken, loving and sociable. She'd talk to anybody and talk your head off."

Makes you wonder where Henry got his personality from, doesn't it?

Henry's father is Mose Shetler. When Henry was young, his father worked construction. He now runs a machine shop at his home. He also serves as the bishop for his church district.

Describe your father. "My father is very intelligent, first and foremost. He was one of those guys who was a pretty strict dad. He set a high bar for us, as far as expectations, but at the end of the day, he was very reasonable and fair."

What kind of parents were they growing up? "First of all, we had a very loving family. They were very firm, but fair and compassionate."

What was the best times you spent with your family? "Traveling with them. I have family in several states, including Missouri, Indiana, Ohio, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Mississippi, New York and even in Canada. Believe it or not, Amish travel a lot and enjoy vacations."

Where did your parents come from? "Dad was born in Canada, and mom was born in Ohio. They met in Ohio, were married in Ohio, then moved to New York, where I was born and lived until 1996 when we moved to Mitchell."

Train them up ...

Tiny too early Jacob laid motionless in an incubator, tubes and wires protruding from his weak little body while I waited for a miracle. I dropped to my knees and begged God for his mercy. I cried out for his help, tears dripping from my chin.

I was barely 22 years old. Jacob was a day old. My first son, the one who came as a surprise, needed a miracle to survive. Barely had I gotten used to being a mother and I feared I'd lose my first chance.

My miracle came. Jacob rebounded with zeal. Twelve days later, he was released from intensive care, and I brought him home. Twelve years later, he doesn't have a single lasting effect from those tumultuous first moments.

I knew his recovery was nothing short of God's grace. I knew he was going to be special.

An infant, Jacob would lay on his changing table. For minutes at a time, he'd stare at the ceiling smiling and cooing at nothing I could see. I had faith he was seeing more than my adult mind could wrap itself around.

A kindergartner, Jacob was in class with a girl who was growing up in a home that embraced atheism. During lunch one day, she announced that she did not believe in God. Jacob looked at her and said, "It doesn't matter if you don't believe in God because he still loves you." Evangelism from a 6-year-old comes straight from a heart inspired by God.

Through the years, we've attended church regularly. Jacob was baptized as a toddler, along with his father and infant brother. That was 2003. He has attended vacation Bible school, church camp and Sunday school. We don't push religion, and I certainly wouldn't label our family as overly religious. We believe, attend church and try to live a good life, but at the same time, we tend to remain private about our beliefs.

This year, Jacob told me he was thinking seriously about being baptized. We discussed it, and I told him it was a choice between himself and God and he should express his desire to the youth minister at church. And as only Jacob could put it, he told me, "Well, mom, I know I was baptized before, but that time, I was just sprinkled, and I think it's going to take more holy water than that."

Nothing else came out of that conversation.

Tonight, I was at a parent meeting for football when I missed a phone call from a Salem number. No one left a message, but I felt a pull to call back the number. Not even thinking, I dialed the number to hear, "Wonder Valley Church Camp." Jacob is at Wonder Valley now attending church camp. My stomach turned. I explained who I was, that I missed a call and that my son was in camp. I called his father next, who also received a missed call from that number. We started to get worried when the number beeped in again. The man on the other end said, "Mrs. Shetler, this is Jeff Prince at Wonder Valley. No one is hurt, injured, sick and nothing is broken, but your son Jacob is next to me and he wants to speak to you." My next thought was that he was homesick. Jacob got on the line and said:

"Mom, I've decided to accept Christ as my Lord and Savior. I've read and studied the scripture, and this is what I want to do. I'm going to be baptized Friday."

Tears of joy couldn't be contained ... I cried and cried some more. Adrenaline pumping through my body at the first thought that he was hurt mixed with feelings of pride and joy. Jacob asked, "Are you crying?" "Yes," I replied. "I am so unbelievably proud of you buddy."

I don't know any other feeling greater than knowing that your son, the one person you love more than life itself, will find eternal life through Jesus. But I shouldn't be surprised. It's been obvious since the beginning that God had a plan for this little guy and has been working on him ever since.

Tonight, I praise God for saving my son, then and now.