A strange encounter happened today. I went to drop off my movies at the Kit Kat video store and as I was leaving I got the strangest feeling from the graveyard across the street. It was a sort of calling to my spirit that I felt. I sat at the door of my truck for a while, trying to figure out the tugging at my awareness. The pull was so insistent that I hopped in my truck and drove up the street and into the cemetery. I went right to the spot where I felt the urging and looked around. I found a tombstone that had the last name Czelusniak on it. The husband and wife listed on it were Joseph and Blanche G. I knew that my grandma�s maiden name was Czelusniak and that she was from around the area I now live in. I wondered if these were her parents or maybe an aunt and uncle. What are the chances I wondered. I mean, I knew of at least seven cemeteries in the area and know that there are of course many more. What would draw me to this one in particular?
Well the mystery deepened as I looked at the flat tombstone next to the first I had found. The name on it was also Czelusniak, but this one had the name Genevieve B. on it and a date of birth as 1917 with no ending date, indicating the woman was still alive. While in the graveyard I felt waves of weakness and dizziness and even had to sit down for a while. Goosebumps kept running up and down my arms and spine the whole time. I thought about it and my grandma�s sister, Aunt Jenny, came to mind. I never really knew her all that well, even though I had just seen her this 4th of July and various other times. I wondered if this could possibly be her grave site. I knew that I would have to call my Aunt Sue over in Akron where she, Aunt Jenny and most of my relatives now live, to get tangible answers to these questions. I tried several times to call her but I cannot get a hold of her. I am leaving Friday to go visit Allen and Rosie for the weekend. I hope I can get a hold of Sue before I have to leave.
Monday October 7th, 2002: The Mystery Verified
Well, I had a wonderful visit with Allen, Rosie, Ginger and little baby Tres this weekend. God�s spirit has worked very strongly in my life these last several days. Answers to long sought questions have been unveiled to me and the mystery of the last entry has been verified. Of course, I am speaking about my Aunt Jenny and the grave sites I encountered.
I finally got a hold of my Aunt Sue around midnight (so it is now actually Tuesday). I asked her about Aunt Jenny and she told me that she was just put into a nursing home within a week and was suffering dizzy spells and dementia. I told Sue to sit down as I asked her questions about Jenny�s age, mother and father and where she was supposed to be buried. I told her what I had discovered and all the information was confirmed. Sue had to ask her husband Ray about some of the details. They were unsure about the name of the cemetery, but it must be the same. How many people could match the names and such?
Aunt Jenny is still with us. I only wonder when it is that God will call her home. Sue thinks that perhaps it won�t be long now. After our talk about everything and God�s plans for us we both prayed that when takes her home he would keep her suffering to a minimum. She has had a long life, filled with experience and devotion and deserves her rest. In a way I envy her that. The fact that she will know God�s love and peace soon. I hope that her life was lived in a way as to assure her a place in God�s kingdom, as I hope that my own will so that we can share in his love and grace eternally when my own time comes. So what to do now? I wonder if she will go soon or if she will linger for many months or even years. I know it is a possibility. I only hope it is sooner than later. Life in a nursing home is hardly a life at all. I pray that God grant her mercy and peace.
When the time comes I hope to attend her memorial service and tell this story to glorify God�s presence in my own life with the hopes of showing others how he is very much a part of all of our daily lives. If in doing so I can inspire a stronger faith in others then I would gladly do so. I know that it will be hard for me to get up and speak in front of everyone. But to serve God�s will to encourage others to have faith in him and Christ, I will at least attempt to overcome my discomfort. My words may falter, my voice may break and I may be nervous, but I believe that if I go up there with an honest and humble heart, he will give me the courage and strength to glorify him. The Holy Spirit gave me this knowledge and led me to the cemetery for some purpose and I believe it is an opportunity to testify and bear witness to his glory by telling the events of it. It is all verifiable by others now so as to be clear that something other than mere human influence is at work. How else could I have known all the things that have come to pass but by way of his spirit? Though I am nervous about getting up and facing my discomfort in front of others I am equally excited to have the opportunity to serve God�s will in times ahead and I praise him for giving me that opportunity.
