John 10:9 was not finished till June of 1987 due in part to medical problems and to a great part
distractions . I became aware that when I would get set up to paint distractions would occur , which
include injury ,hospitalization, family crisis and long hours or days at work . The more aware I
became of these distractions , the more I was determined to paint , which made the distraction
stronger . I persisted and John 10:9 was completed.
John 18:37 “ for this cause came I into the world” 5 ft. x 6 ft. was started in the winter of 1987-88
yet no paint went onto the canvass until November 1988 . Our work load was intense as was the
work load of rebuilding our more than 100 year old house , in April Marianne became very ill and
almost died from a tumor and had a full hysterectomy . Marianne was just recovering when my Dad
became critically ill which resulted in his death on June 9 , 1988 . On the way to Grayling and pick up
a bus load of military reservist’s , I stopped in Gladwin to see My parents and that is the day that
Dad went to the hospital, after getting the reservists home I went and got my car and spent the next
week in the hospital in Gladwin, I was in the chapel praying that I did not know my dad’s heart so
would Jesus please show him the way. I went to Dad’s room he was in a coma but he sat up looked
at me and said “ don’t worry John , he is showing me the way” and then he died , I am so thankful for
that conformation .
Marianne and I stretched the canvass for “John 18:37” on November 1989 , I put paint on the
canvass but was hospitalized in mid December for a bowel obstruction and was off work for a
month , I did paint till I went back to work at which point I would work at Tower or work on house or
shovel snow or cut grass , seems as if both Marianne and I were busy for 24/7 for the years of 1989,
90 ,91and 92
my back kept going out work became insanely busy I was becoming afraid to paint because so
many bad things happened that caused pain I was tempted to think that they were signs from God
to not paint but God id a loving God and would not cause harm so I realized that it was satan
causing pain and was trying to stop the work that God wanted done.
The year of 1992 we worked so many hours that we were tired so we took a trip north to the
Keweenaw peninsula to collect copper and we went to Fayette on the Garden peninsula which is a
state park ghost town that was a foundry smelting iron for shipment through the great lakes .
Marianne said that she felt as if she belonged there , December 26 she said that she did not want to
just work then die. ‘
We agreed that we would finish restoring the house to a point where she could take up the
painting which she was better at than me and I would take a break from work to finish the painting
everything was ready for me to paint and I had scheduled time off of work to finish John 18:37 .
I had to work all night new years eve and we were going to spend new years together , Marianne
was planning on making lasagna . she left work maybe 7:15 new years eve but she was killed by a
drunk driver in New Haven at 7:30 pm I kept trying all night calling home .
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