A few days ago I received an email from Teresa Lasher, a woman I met at the Iowa Christian Writers’ Conference. She sent me this picture and told me how much the little teddy bear, which she won as a door prize during the session I facilitated, means to her.
If you don’t know why I give teddy bears as door prizes when I speak, go to this link at Maria Keckler’s website where she recently posted the story. To explain further, I tell the teddy bear story at speaking engagements. I end my saying that whoever receives the door prize needs the reassurance from God I felt when I saw the teddy bear on the cover of my book – “It’s gonna be alright” – or they know someone who needs to hear the message and will pass the bear along.
Well, at the writers’ conference I gave away two teddy bears. The first went to a woman who is recovering from the tragic deaths of two of her sons. The other went to Teresa, who recently went through brain surgery and has recently welcomed back a prodigal son after a separation similar to what we experienced with Allen.
To say a few tears were shed when the women came forward for their teddy bears would be an understatement. The three of us bonded immediately and have begun what I believe could be lifelong friendships. And all of us left the conference with a “God sighting” story we’ll never forget.
