Broddy, Vash, and I sat on a bench, looking at gold-colored leaves on the ground. It’s the prettiest time of year at our campus. We had just spent lunch with him eating massive bowls of noodles, and now we wanted to find out why he wasn’t regularly showing up at our parties. Why wasn’t he getting connected? Is there something wrong in his relationship with God, or does he just need a little tweak in his understanding of something?

Once again God’s presence seemed to fall on us as we talked. Some of our most powerful times as partners have taken place when talking to Broddy. He told us that sometimes he is afraid to talk to us about God because he doesn’t want to depend on us. He knows we’ll leave before too long, and then what?

So he did just need a tweak. Bro, establish the habit of being connected now, and then you will stay connected to the family wherever you go.

So it seems that planted seeds grow. It seems that the deposit of life put in those who believe in the Son grow. Another example: today I spent the afternoon with Charlie, another new family member. He is from family background, but only recently decided to take the leap. I wanted to find out more about his story.

When he was young, his mom loved God. She encouraged him to love God too, and he did. Then when he was 12 his mom got sick with cancer; elders came over to ask God to heal her. But He didn’t. A young man’s heart was broken, and it would be a long time before it would open again.

I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t say anything. All I know is that God is at work in the lives of his babies. In that spirit of faith, would you ask God to do miracles of grace–grace for Broddy to really plug in, and rivers of healing grace for a boy who needs to know that God has always loved him and held him close?