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wheelchair, my foot got caught on the seat brace. Instead of having a cup of chai with my friends, I found myself on the floor of my van. Pinned between the wheelchair and the driver’s seat, I was completely helpless. Aſter a minute or two of being angry, I started to cry …. I’m not telling you all of this to seek your


A graceful benediction


By Walter Hermanns


Editor’s note: Walter Hermanns served as pastor of Holy Communion Lutheran Church, Racine, Wis., until his death last December at age 54 from complications from multiple sclerosis. Tis piece, based on his trademark phrase, was read by his daughter at his funeral. His wife, Lynn Helmke, provided this photo of a second


“Expect Grace.” Wanting to remember better days of good health, she had their bedroom redone aſter the medi- cal equipment was removed: “It’s a bigger, better ‘Expect Grace,’ and I think he’d approve,” she said.


I


was having one of those days when every- thing seemed to go wrong. I got a late start in the morning, leſt some important papers on


the kitchen table, and learned that a proposal on which I had spent hours and hours prepar- ing had been turned down.


And then something happened that made all of these


minor annoyances fade into the background. I drove to Wilson’s coffee shop to meet some friends. As I transferred from the driver’s seat to my


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sympathy or pity. I’m sure many of you can tell me stories of even worse days in your life. Perhaps it’s the day when you lost your job or you were a victim of a crime or experienced the agony of a loved one dying. Tis is not a competition to see who has had “the worst


day ever.” It’s about what God does when we experience a “worst day.” Tis has to do with grace. I am privileged to spend some time each week with


seniors at several Lincoln Lutheran facilities. Last week I asked them if they could describe the times in their life when God felt particularly close to them. I had imagined that the answers would be centered on memo- ries of vivid sunsets or Tanksgiving dinner tables laden with food and surrounded by loved ones. Instead, most of the people remembered feeling


closest to God in times of loss or crisis. “I felt God’s presence most clearly when my wife died.” “God was closest to me during the war, when I was about to go into combat.” What was happening here? Tey had experienced


just what I had found to be true on my “worst day”: We oſten experience God’s presence and grace most clearly during times of sorrow or trial. Aſter I had a good cry on the floor of my van, I dis-


covered that I could reach my hand back and pull out my cellphone. Using my one free hand, I called a friend who was willing to drop everything to come and help me. With a combination of ingenuity and muscle, he got me off the floor and back into the driver’s seat. I drove home humbled yet again by the incredible kindness of friends. Still shaking from my experience, I entered the


house and greeted my wife Lynn, telling her about my hard day. When I finished, she didn’t respond with the expected sympathy or commiseration. Instead she said, “Go look in the bedroom.” I entered the bedroom with some hesitation. When it


comes to decorating, I’m not the most observant person in the world. Had she made a new pillow for the bed or hung a new picture on the wall? What if I didn’t notice


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