Well........... Lets see. I love God,I love Music, and I love food.I serve God and I eat alot of food....soo.... I am a pretty happy guy. No seriously. I am always looking for someone to talk to and am always here for you if you need me. This is Awesome Story by: Bruce VincentFor those of
us who sometimes find ourselves having doubts about our President, here is
an excellent piece -- worth every minute it takes to read it. This story
is from Bruce Vincent of Montana who had gone to
the White House with others to receive an award from the
President.He writes:I've written the following
narrative to chronicle the day of the award ceremony in DC. I'm still
working on a press release but the White House press corps has yet to
provide a photo to go with it. When the photo comes I'll ship it out. When
you get done reading this you'll understand the dilemma I face in telling
this story beyond my circle of close
friends.Stepping into the Oval Office, each of us
was introduced to the President and Mrs. Bush. We shook hands and
participated in small talk. When the President was told that we were from Montana
I reminded him
that Marc Racicot is our native son and the President offered his warm
thoughts about Governor Racicot.I have to tell
you, I was blown away by two things upon entering the office. First, the
Oval Office sense of 'place' is unreal. The President later shared a story
of Russian President Putin entering the room prepared to tackle the
President in a tough negotiation and upon entering, the atheist muttered
his first words to the President and they were "Oh, my
God. "I concurred. I could feel the history in my
bones. Second, the man that inhabits the office engaged me with a firm
handshake and a look that can only be described as penetrating. Warm,
alive, fully engaged, disarmingly penetrating. I was admittedly concerned
about meeting the man. I think all of us have an inner hope that the most
powerful man in our country is worthy of the responsibility and authority
that we bestow upon them through our vote.I admit
that part of me was afraid that I would be let down by the moment -- that
the person and the place could not meet the lofty expectations of my
fantasy world. This says nothing about my esteem for President Bush but
just my practical realization that reality may not match my
'dream. 'Once inside the office, President Bush got
right down to business and, standing in front of his desk, handed out the
awards one at a time while posing for photos with the winners and Mrs.
Bush. With the mission accomplished, the President and Mrs. Bush relaxed
and initiated a lengthy, informal conversation about a number of things
with our entire small group. He and the First Lady talked about such
things as the rug in the office. It is traditionally designed by the First
Lady to make a statement about the President, and Mrs. Bush chose a
brilliant yellow sunburst pattern to reflect 'hope. ' President Bush talked
about the absolute need to believe that with hard work and faith in God
there is every reason to start each day in the Oval Office with hope. He
and the First Lady were asked about the impact of the Presidency on their
marriage and, with an arm casually wrapped around Laura, he said that he
thought the place may be hard on weak marriages but that it had the
ability to make strong marriages even stronger and that he was blessed
with a strong one.After about 30 or 35 minutes, it
was time to go. By then we were all relaxed and I felt as if I had just
had an excellent visit with a friend. The President and First Lady made
one more pass down the line of awardees, shaking hands and offering
congratulations. When the President shook my hand I said, "Thank you Mr.
President and God bless you and your family. " He was already in motion to
the next person in line, but he stopped abruptly turned fully back to me,
gave me a piercing look, renewed the vigor of his handshake and said,
"Thank you -- and God bless you and yours as
well. "On our way out of the office we were to
leave by the glass doors on the west side of the office. I was the last
person in the exit line. As I shook his hand one final time, President
Bush said, "I'll be sure to tell Marc hello and give him your
regards. "I then did something that surprised even
me. I said to him, "Mr. President, I know you are a busy man and your time
is precious. I also know you to be a man of strong faith and I have a
favor to ask of you. "As he shook my hand he looked
me in the eye and said, "Just name it. " I told him that my step-Mom was at
that moment in a hospital in Montana , having a tumor
removed from her skull and it would mean a great deal to me if he would
consider adding her to his prayers that day. He grabbed me by the arm and
took me back toward his desk as he said, "So that's it. I could tell that
something is weighing heavy on your heart today. I could see it in your
eyes. This explains it. "From the top drawer of his
desk he retrieved a pen and a note card with his seal on it and asked,
"How do you spell her name?" He then jotted a note to her while discussing
the importance of family and the strength of prayer. When he handed me the
card, he asked about the surgery and the prognosis. I told him we were
hoping that it is not a recurrence of an earlier cancer and that, if it
is, they can get it all with this surgery.He said, "If
it's ! okay wit h you, we'll take care of the prayer right now. Would you
pray with me?" I told him yes and he turned to the staff that remained in
the office and hand motioned the folks to step back or leave. He said,
"Bruce and I would like some private time for a
prayer. "As they left he turned back to me and took
my hands in his. I was prepared to do a traditional prayer stance --
standing with each other with heads bowed. Instead, he reached for my head
with his right hand and pulling gently forward, he placed my head on his
shoulder. With his left arm on my mid-back, he pulled me to him in a
prayerful embrace.He started to pray softly. I started to
cry. He continued his prayer for Loretta and for God's perfect will to be
done. I cried some more. My body shook a bit as I cried and he just held
tighter. He closed by asking God's blessing on Loretta and the family
during the coming months. I stepped away from our embrace, wiped my eyes,
swiped at the tears I'd left on his shoulder, and looked into the eyes of
our president. I thanked him as best I could and told him that me and my
family would continue praying for him and
his.As I write this account down and reflect
upon what it means, I have to tell you that all I really know is that his
simple act left me humbled and believing. I so hoped that the man I
thought him to be was the man that he is. I know that our nation needs a
man such as this in the Oval Office. George W. Bush is the real deal. I've
read Internet stories about the President praying with troops in hospitals
and other such uplifting accounts. Each time I read them I hoped them to
be true and not an Internet perpetuated myth. This one, I know to be true.
I was there. He is real. He has a pile of incredible stuff on his plate
each day -- and yet he is tuned in so well to the here and now that he
'sensed' something heavy on my heart. He took time out of his life to
care, to share, and to seek God's blessing for my family in a simple
man-to-man, father-to-father, son-to-son, husband-to-husband, Christian-
to-Christian prayerful embrace. He's not what I had hoped he would be. He
is, in fact, so very, very much more.
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