…let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.

When I was 40, after 23 years of marriage I was served with divorce papers and left to care for 4 young children on my own.  Over half of the money I had from the sale of our house was immediately handed out for rental housing that would accommodate our needs.

I was working as a self-employed hair stylist.  With less than 1 year of history in that position my income possibilities were not great but I was willing and able to work hard and I was good with hair.

At the time my Church, in obedience to the direction of James 5 in the bible, invited those who needed special prayer to be anointed by the elders (appointed leaders of the church) and to receive prayer for their needs.  Although I was not physically sick, I was heart sick and carrying a burden of responsibility which felt like the weight of the world on my shoulders.

“Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.  And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.  Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”   James 5:14-16

Elders anointed me with oil and prayed for me on a Sunday morning.  Sometime later, one of those elderly men who worked as a real-estate broker called me asking to meet him at a local coffee shop.  At that meeting he asked me to think about exactly how much money I could come up with each month for housing, and he told me that what I needed to do was buy a house.  I did not imagine that it was possible but he said he would help me look.

He found a 4 br, 2 bath house in a Minneapolis suburb, which had a small apartment on the walkout level.  He then put together a deal and negotiated with the sellers on my behalf.  Afterward, he told me that he was not sure why they took the deal as the other offer they had on the table would have carried less risk and been more financially advantageous to them.

My children and I lived in that house for 6 years and rented out the apartment to others in order to help make the mortgage payments.  That was the first of 3 rental experiences that appeared on my résumé when I retired from the hair business at age 65 and applied for a job as a resident manager for Great Lakes Management Company.

I am a Home Maker at heart and that is what I am doing as a residential apartment home community manager.

While telling this story to my daughter, she suggested I find that man’s children who might like knowing about how their father reached out with care to my family.  He made it his business to help me when I was a desperate young single mother in a fearful situation and I thank God for him.

“So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.”  Galatians 6:10