Barn Boards and Baling Wire

Lee Meissner, right, tells the story of the foster father of Helen Meissner, his wife, who loses his two natural children in an auto accident that also seriously injured his wife. He had said he didn’t know how he would tell his wife, Helen Meissner, that their children had been killed when she regained consciousness – if in fact she ever did.

John Sumwalt

My friend, Lee Meissner, who is a retired pastor like me, shared a story in one of my Vision books. Lee and I were in seminary together at the University of Dubuque and twice were appointed to Wisconsin churches a few miles apart when he was in Avoca and I was in Blue River, and later when he served in Westfield and I was pastor in Montello.

Lee wrote about a life-changing tragedy that occurred in his wife, Helen’s, family and the powerful comforting presence of Jesus that made it possible for them to go on. Lee’s daughter, Laurie Jean Yanske of Avoca, Wisconsin, told the story during the sharing time recently at the “Visions & Angels” presentation I did at Pleasant Ridge Church in Richland County, Wisconsin.

“It was a nice summer day,” she said. “A mother and her two children, Marilyn and Gerry, were in the family car heading home after doing the weekly shopping. Everything was very routine. They had made the trip 1,000 times.

“Then it happened. A car driven by a teenage boy didn’t stop for a stop sign. The car with the mother and the children had the right of way; they were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

“The car that went through the stop sign couldn’t have stopped. The police later estimated that the car was traveling in excess of 90 miles per hour. The impact was almost unimaginable. The children went through the roof of the car – this was in the days before seatbelts. The mother was near death, with many internal injuries and a broken neck, and in a coma. A funeral was held for the children. The father didn’t know how he would tell his wife that their children had been killed when she regained consciousness, if in fact she ever did.

“It was about two weeks later that she came out of the coma. Now it was time to tell her that the children were gone. Her husband tried to tell her, but before he could get the words out she said, ‘I know Marilyn and Gerry are gone, but it’s okay. I saw them here in my room. They were sitting on my bed and Jesus was with them. He was holding them. I know they will be all right.’

“In time the mother recovered from her injuries. Although she did have some neck problems later in life, it was nothing that kept her from doing what she wanted to do. The couple later took in foster children – some short-term and some long-term.”

Lee added, “This accident occurred in 1948 or 1949. The couple were my wife, Helen’s, foster parents. She was placed in their care at the age of 13, and lived with them until she went to college.”

Lee’s story appears in “Vision Stories: True Accounts of Visions, Angels, and Healing Miracles” – Lima, Ohio: CSS Publishing Company, 2002, p. 91.

This is an original article written for Agri-View, a Lee Enterprises agricultural publication based in Madison, Wisconsin. Visit AgriView.com for more information.

John Sumwalt is a retired pastor and the author of “Shining Moments: Visions of the Holy in Ordinary Lives.” Email [email protected] or call 414-339-0676 to reach him.

Daily Ag News and Market information from across the midwest.

BAYFIELD COUNTY, Wis. – Some folks travel a long way to find a place on earth that touches their soul – a place they love. Some never find it …

CAMP COCHRANE, Wis. – When JB Bremer sees a need in his community, he tries his best to fill it. Having spent his life driving past the lonely…

There is no more painful experience for a parent than the suicide of a child; none of us is prepared for that kind of tragedy. It’s unimaginab…

Hello friends,

There has been some sort of vegetable garden on our farm for almost 100 years, dating back to my great-grandparents. I’ve been told that my gr…