I have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.
(Genesis 9.13
NRSV)
Herman Gockel lost his voice at thirty-two. A shattering experience for a young preacher. He consulted twenty-five different specialists. None could help. Herman resigned his church on an Easter Sunday. He took his wife Mildred and two children to live with his widowed mother in Cleveland, Ohio. Mildred got a secretarial job. Herman stayed home with the children. As he did housework, a Bible verse kept coming to mind: "He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, will he not also give us all things?" (Romans 8:32, RSV). Above the darkness and gloom, Herman saw a star of hope. He prayed. He believed. Six months later he got a job answering mail for Dr. Walter Maier's "Lutheran Hour" radio broadcast. He also wrote rhymes for Christmas cards and helped in the shipping department at Concordia Publishing House.
Two years later Herman was manager of Concordia. He wrote ads, prepared catalogs, developed book jackets, designed Sunday church bulletins, and helped launch several new Christian magazines. Then Mildred became critically ill. Twenty-six times she was hospitalized. Six times she came to the brink of death. Herman kept believing Romans 8:32. His books and articles inspired millions. Herman was asked to develop a new TV program for his church. His program, "This Is the Life" became a milestone in religious communications. All after the preacher lost his voice.
After the rain comes the rainbow.
Dear God, thank you for rainbows. Amen.
Ron Newhouse
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