Ordinary People Extraordinary Things
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Ordinary People Extraordinary Things
96. Food, Farm, Faith, and Finding God with Darcy Maulsby
Darcy reveals her journey as "God's problem child" in this deeply vulnerable conversation about finding faith through life's unexpected divine interventions. As a fifth-generation Iowa farmer and storyteller who grew up feeling like an outsider in church settings, Darcy shares three remarkable stories that challenged her skepticism and revealed God's presence in undeniable ways.
When her grandmother – alone and vulnerable at 80 years old – faced a home intruder intent on assault, a simple cry of "Help me, Jesus" inexplicably stopped the attack. Later, as a college student stranded on Interstate 80 without a cell phone, Darcy found rescue through strangers with unlikely connections to her tiny hometown who diverted hours from their route to help her. These "coincidences" planted seeds of faith that would blossom even as questions remained.
Most poignantly, Darcy shares how her father – equally resistant to church throughout his life – found faith in his final years through a pastor who faithfully visited him despite having no prior connection to her dad. This fulfilled her mother's lifelong prayer for her husband's salvation and demonstrated authentic Christian love that transcended institutional boundaries.
What makes this episode particularly powerful is Darcy's honesty about continuing to question even while recognizing divine intervention. Her perspective creates space for listeners who've felt alienated by religious environments yet remain spiritually curious. Through tears and laughter, she reminds us that God meets people where they are – whether through Scripture, kind strangers, or persistent pastors.
Whether you've felt like the "problem child" in your faith community or you're curious about how God works through ordinary circumstances, this conversation will leave you reconsidering the "coincidences" in your own life story. Subscribe now to hear more authentic faith journeys that might just change how you see your own.
My scotcheroos recipe: 🍽️
1 1/2 Cups white syrup
1 1/2 Cups white sugar
*Stir together and once it starts boiling cook only for 2 more minutes, then take off the stove.
Add 1 1/2 Cups creamy peanut butter and mix in until it’s all 1 consistency
Then add rice krispies. My recipe says 8 Cups, but I don’t think I use that much. I start with a small amount. I can always add more, but can’t take it out. I like the scotcheroos to still be a little creamy.
Put this into a 9x13 greased pan.
Frosting:
12 oz chocolate chips
6 oz butterscotch chips
*melt these 2 ingredients so it’s creamy & melted but not burned
Then add the frosting to the top of the scotcheroos
Let the frosting cool for a little while before cutting the scotcheroos, but don’t wait too long, as it will get very hard to cut when everything hardens. 🍫
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Welcome to Ordinary People, Extraordinary Things. I'm so glad that you found us here. We talk about faith and hope, real hope from stories of people just like you, Ordinary people, telling their stories to inspire, encourage and build your faith. Did you know that we have a prayer team? If you would like to join, please go to generations2generationscom. Generations is plural and two is T-O. There you will see a podcast tab and if you scroll down, it says join our prayer team. We would love to have you join. By doing this, you will get an email from us every two weeks to share how you can pray for Ordinary People, Extraordinary Things. Well, welcome to Ordinary People, Extraordinary Things. I'm here with Darcy Darcy. Thanks for being on.
Speaker 2:Thanks, Nancy. It's always good to connect with someone from Lake City, Iowa.
Speaker 1:Yes, we come from the same town. It's just fun to kind of meet again and learn each other's story and see what God has been doing in our lives since we were, you know, kind of little, that's right. Well, if someone doesn't know who you are, can you give three words or phrases to describe yourself?
Speaker 2:Absolutely yes. I call myself Iowa Storyteller and I'm a fifth generation farmer, so that's kind of one cluster of words. And then I'm also. I've always been an old soul. I have a title of marketing to help people understand what I, officer, I tell people. I'm a CMO chief memory author. That seems to resonate with people because I've just always been a history head. I was the little kid listening to the old people talk instead of playing with other kids, and I just it's so important to to know the past, honor the past and use it as a guide map for the future. But then that also leads to another part of who I am. So the third description would be I am eternally curious. I don't evaluate people based on their educational degrees or their job titles. I look at someone and wonder how many questions are you asking? And if you're a person who asks a lot of questions and is curious, I know you've got a fertile mind.
Speaker 1:That's good. I can see why we kind of hit it off. We both love history, we both love stories, and just we're doing that in different venues, right? Could you tell people where you share your stories? How do you share stories?
Speaker 2:Yeah, there's two main ways. So I'm actually an ag journalist by trade, so you'll see my stuff in places like Farm News and Iowa Farm Bureau Spokesman. If you don't read things like that, that's okay, because the other side of what I do is being an author, so that taps into that whole CMO Chief Memory Officer side of me. So I've got eight nonfiction books now Granted. These focus on Iowa history, but a lot of just fun stories in there, for example, culinary History of Iowa, why we Eat what we Eat so just fun stuff. That really has struck a chord, surprisingly, with a large number of people. And then also I have a sub stack so you can read my blog posts on my sub stack column. So we might talk farming, we might talk history, we might talk food who knows?
Speaker 1:All right. Well, we'll link all of that. You said food. A couple of things come to mind. I still say supper, for you know five o'clock eating time and that's a very specific, I think, to the to the Midwest, and my kids make fun of me it's dinner, mom, for so long that it would be very hard to switch. But the other thing, and this is something that because we live in Colorado if someone's listening and doesn't know and we live in a suburb of Denver but I make scotcheroos and they are such a hit out here and it's so funny because that's that's a very normal thing in Iowa and but it is very, I think, localized to Iowa, maybe a little bit further out, but is that one of the foods that you talk about in your in your story?
Speaker 2:I do, I do, and you know it's so funny because I wrote a column about this two years ago. One of the things I do I'm a columnist for the Iowa Rural Electric Co-op statewide magazine and honestly I had forgotten I'd written about Scotch Aroos. And just the other day, like last week, a gal emailed me from Northwest Iowa and she was giving me her take on where she thinks Scotch Aroos, how they originated, and it's kind of a great debate over whether it was special K that was used first and then Rice Krispies in scotch roos. If you want to talk about religion and politics and get stirred up, get people stirred up. That's one way to do it, but also get people talking about scotch roos. Everyone has an opinion here in Iowa about scotcharoos and I love it when ambassadors like you take this wonderful treat out to other regions that are not familiar with scotcharoos. They're fantastic.
Speaker 2:So yes you can even read about scotcharoos on my my website and blog posts about scotcheroos on my my website and blog posts.
Speaker 1:So yes, and maybe I'll share my scotcheroos recipe on there, but oh yeah, mad if it's different than yours exactly.
Speaker 2:They're all good. They're wonderful. They bring people together. What's not to love?
Speaker 1:yes, they are delicious. The other one that I was thinking of and this doesn't have anything to do with what we were talking about, but I just like this is fun is cinnamon rolls with chili.
Speaker 2:Yes, yeah, you know I get asked about that a lot too, believe it or not. Smithsonian actually contacted me a few years ago. They were doing a story on regional foods and in that piece they ended up dubbing me, of all people, the chili and cinnamon rolls expert. Now, I wouldn't call myself an expert, but I have eaten a lot of them through the years and I distinctly remember you and I went to the same high school, different time periods, but oh my goodness, when I was there we had the retired farm cooks and that kitchen, as you know, was down in the basement of this big three-story brick built in 1923 kind of school building. And when I was up on third floor in math class you could smell those homemade caramel rolls being baked and that aroma would drift up all that way and I just couldn't wait for lunch. So yes to the uninformed, they want to know. Well, that has really weird. What do you dunk the roll in the chili? And I said, well, no, not normally I guess you could, but you eat the chili and then you have that cinnamon or caramel roll for dessert.
Speaker 2:So I can find no real reason why this is such an Iowa thing. I do see it, you. You'll see shades of this creeping into eastern Nebraska and even into Wyoming. But here's I'll give you real quick, my theory on why this emerged here. So we, like the old farm school or farm wife, old school cooks that were cooking at these high schools in Iowa back in the day, they were very thrifty and we had commodities that became available through this to the schools, like beans and ground beef and such things, and I'm sure they looked at the ingredients they had to work with and they thought, ok, what can we make that is actually enticing to kids and somewhat healthy. So I'm guessing they came up with a combination like chili and cinnamon rolls and it is still a hit. I have been assured of this as I've done little informal polls of schools around Iowa, where this has always been a tradition. It is still a hit today. So there you go.
Speaker 1:That is so fun, this is so fun.
Speaker 2:We could just talk about food all day. We'll just completely change what we're talking about.
Speaker 1:We could just talk about food all day, we'll just completely change what we're talking about. We were talking about stories, obviously, and you had just said off air and I loved what you said. You said everybody's story matters and could you maybe share on that. Why do you believe that?
Speaker 2:Well, I've been doing my job a long time of doing sharing ag, primarily ag stories, but I've been doing this since the mid to late nineties and you know, it just happened again the other day where I this was I'm writing about barns right now and I was. I drove past a beautiful barn in Northern Iowa and I wasn't sure whose it was. So I do my homework. I miraculously track down the lady who owns the barn. I call her up and I say, hey, I'm trying to document the history of our rural heritage and your barn is beautiful. I just like to do a fun little story. If you tell me what you know about the barn, she just flat out refused, wanted nothing to do with it. I don't know why that does happen from time to time. I don't know if it's people aren't confident, like they don't know enough to tell their story because they don't know every last fact.
Speaker 2:Your show a couple of times on your podcast he said you have to be vulnerable to open up and tell your story, and that is true, just like some of the things we'll talk about today. I don't normally share these stories but I think I'm willing to do it because if they are helpful for someone else. That's important and it all reminds me of when I took Master Gardener through Iowa State University Extension. They had us go up to Ames, which is the home of Iowa State, and we had a Saturday where we had to do labs and we're working with plants and I really wasn't expecting to get life wisdom there. I was expecting to learn how to grow better plants.
Speaker 2:But one of the teaching assistants that was teaching us he was a gentleman from Africa and he made it real clear I want all of you to share when you have some knowledge to share with the group, because it would be very wrong for you to withhold that information that could help other people learn. And that always stuck with me that we all know things that other people don't know. Just because we know it, we just assume everyone else does. That's not true and it really is wrong if you don't share that with other people. So, yeah, you got to be vulnerable. Yeah, you've got to be brave to share your story, but you don't know who needs to hear that.
Speaker 1:It's really good. That's really good and I like how you. We were talking about Curtis Fry's story and if you haven't heard it, there's two of them out there but he has a very distinct, wonderful, amazing redemptive story of prison to just a life of just loving God and sharing God and it's so beautiful and I love it so much. That's why we've done two of them. But I think that somebody might get a little wrapped up in some stories that are really big and think, well, I didn't do that, I don't have that story, so then I don't have anything to share and honestly, that's a little bit how I feel, because I was really blessed to grow up in a Christian home and a great home and I don't have like a lot of these like whoa crazy. But in a way that's wonderful. Right, that's that's less things to to try to overcome, but that doesn't mean that I don't have a story to share.
Speaker 2:That's right, exactly. We all have our own unique calling and purpose in the world and thus we have our own unique stories. So we just we can't be afraid to share those, especially when someone like you you got connected with me it would be very wrong of me to say, oh no, nancy, I just can't help you because I don't have anything to offer. I'm not the expert in a lot of things in life, but I do have life experiences and hopefully this will resonate with somebody out there.
Speaker 1:Well, that's a great segue into what are some stories that have impacted you. How have you seen God show up in your life?
Speaker 2:have impacted you? How have you seen God show up in your life? I'm an interesting person in respect to God simply because I grew up in a church. My mother was a strong woman of faith still is but I was always God's problem child. That's what I call myself. I didn't particularly like church. In fact, I really didn't like church, and I still feel that way to a large extent today.
Speaker 2:I feel like I've kind of been running from God a lot of my life. A lot of this is rooted in the church I went to growing up. I just felt excluded, I felt left out. It was a very hurtful experience and that stuff sticks with you. So that's when I think, well, who am I to share my God story? Because I'm the problem child. I'm not the one that loves going to church. I'm not the one that just yay God. I put God first at every turn. I try, but maybe there's. I always felt like gosh. I really wish someone would speak my language and say yeah. For a long time in my life, and maybe even today on some level, I reject God or I'm not comfortable with God. You know, does God really care? So some of this is coming from a place where I'm still struggling with some of that. But that's okay because I am confident there is a God, the God of the Bible, and he shows up in really unexpected ways and maybe for a hard head like me it has to be somewhat dramatic, and I think of the first time that I kind of became aware of this.
Speaker 2:I was pretty young. It was the mid-1980s, so I was still in grade school and my grandma, fern, lived up in Fort Dodge, iowa. It's a rough town. It wasn't quite so rough back then, but her house was on a dead end and there was a ravine down below in another neighborhood below, and unfortunately at that time she'd had a couple break-ins at her house and I remember being terrified because I was only about third grade at this time and my mom, who's an only child, would go up there when grandma called and said oh gosh, you know something bad happened. We better check. I need you up here. We had another break-in. These guys that were and I'm assuming they were guys, we don't know who they were, but they ransacked the place. They were slashing open couches and mattresses, looking for money or Lord knows what. But my grandma was tough and she was definitely a woman of faith and she continued to live in that house even after about two of those bad breaking and entering and theft experiences.
Speaker 2:Well, it all came to a head. One day, on a Saturday morning, my mom came up there to visit her mom and my grandma. I would go with mom. We'd go to visit Grandma Fern every Saturday morning and on this particular morning a gentleman had knocked on Grandma's door. Before we got there. Now remember Grandma's about 80 years old, maybe early 80s at this point. So she knocks on the door and this gentleman is out there asking her if she needs any help with lawn care or snow removal or anything like that. And she said, no, nope, I'm fine. And so he left. She closed the door.
Speaker 2:Well, not all that much time had passed. Here comes another knock at that front door and she looks out the window. It's that same guy. And she's scared at this point. But she wasn't sure what to do. Because do I go answer the door, cause he knows I'm home? Is he going to force his way in If I don't answer the door, or should I try and hide in the house and pretend like I'm not home? Well, she decided. Well, he knows I'm here. I'd better just go to the door and see what he wants. So she opened the door and he forced his way in he wasn't messing around this time and right there in the hallway he starts wrestling with her. He gets her down on the floor, gets her pants down and he's preparing to rape her. She's 80 some years old at this point. This is just unbelievable. This even happened and she obviously can't fight back. She's she never was a real strong woman. She's a thin lady, you know, small statured, but she just cried out. Help me, jesus, and the guy out loud, yeah, out loud, yeah.
Speaker 2:and I don't know how forcefully she said it, I don't know if it was a yell or a whisper or what, but she said it out loud and he stopped and he left and she was fine. Now, granted, after we arrived and found out what had happened, then you call the cops and we made it clear Grandma, you're not staying here anymore. And we, in short order, got her moved to an apartment. But it's one of those things, even to a young child's mind, maybe it didn't change my life, but you just realize, oh my gosh, there's no logical reason why that guy would have stopped his attack. There's no logical reason why that guy would have stopped his attack. He was stronger, he had the upper hand, he could have done whatever he wanted to at that moment. But why did he stop? Why did help me jesus stop, stop that attack? So that's one thing that plants the seed in your mind. Well, maybe there is something to this God stuff.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, that's powerful. What a miracle.
Speaker 2:It really is. And you know, sometimes people ask why do you think that God saved your grandma that day? You know, I don't know. I'd like to say it's because then it was real obvious that grandma went on and did this or that and it wouldn't have happened had it not been for that. And I've also met enough people through my work as a journalist and a writer. I know that God doesn't always intervene and those are tough questions Like well, why did God save your grandma and not my loved one? I don't know. Did God save your grandma and not my loved one? I don't know.
Speaker 1:I don't know and I don't know that we'll ever know some of those answers this side of heaven yeah.
Speaker 1:But you have to trust, yeah, and that's fair. That's fair not to have to try to wrap everything up into a present with a pretty bow on it. And here it is. This is the answer. I don't know that we'll, and we might get glimpses here and there of why or, like you said, a miracle and things like that, but to figure it all out, to figure out an immense God that created the universe, I don't know it's possible, but it's nice to get glimpses and thoughts and parts of it. That's right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and another time I think back to is when I was starting out my college career. So this is about this was. It was the spring of 1993. So I was in my freshman year of college. Actually, I was attending the same college that you went to, I believe, nancy, at Central College in Pella Iowa.
Speaker 2:Yeah right, go Dutch. So this is the era before cell phones and all that. And I had a little 1984 hatchback chevy cavalier. It was a little red car and had a little age on it at that point, but it had gotten me through high school and and I was using it to go to college, which is about a three-hour drive from where you and I grew up, and there's interstate traffic as part of the route to get from home to Pella, and so I was coming back. I think it was around spring break and I was.
Speaker 2:So I'm westbound on Interstate 80 in central Iowa and my car breaks down. It just dies on me out on this interstate, which is one of the busiest in the whole country because it's a major thoroughfare across the country. No cell phones, it's, I can't remember. It must have been about right after lunch, so fortunately it wasn't nighttime, but it was still scary because I have no way to call for help and you're just praying that a state trooper or someone will come along and you see scary people stopping and going. You know, sometimes there'd be a car where you just think, oh, please don't be, don't be coming over here. And then when someone called and said or stopped and said can I get some help for you? Fortunately they were a safe, kind person, but when they got where they were going, I can't remember if they had a cell phone. I don't remember all the details, but anyway we found out that the state trooper was at least half an hour away and there's nothing I can do but sit out there in this little broken down car on the side of this really busy interstate. Now you got to understand the time that we're talking about the early 90s, so it wasn't that many years before, maybe a year or two, that a young college student named Tammy Zawicki had been coming from New Jersey, I believe, headed back to central Iowa to a place called Grinnell College, and her car had broken down on the interstate in Illinois and Tammy vanished. Tammy's is still an unsolved case to this day. When you say the name Tammy Zwicky, it still haunts me and anyone who remembers her case, because she just vanished off the side of that interstate and they did find her body later, in Missouri I believe. But she was murdered and this is still an open investigation and you just think, oh my gosh, I am going to be the next Tammy Zwicky. I just know it because your mind goes to all the bad places.
Speaker 2:And then, as I'm just sitting there freaking out, a large truck and I mean like a semi-type truck pulls over off the interstate in front of me and I thought, oh my god, this is it, I, this is where I die is out here on Interstate 80. Why on earth is a semi pulling over? And a lady gets out and comes. She's out of the passenger side and she comes up to my window. I didn't roll my window down, but she said do you need help? And I said, well, yeah, actually I do. My car is broken down. Well, my husband could take a look at it. He's pretty good with cars. And I thought, okay, all right, so he gets out of the truck. And I popped the hood and he's looking around under the hood. He said I don't think there's anything much I can do for you really, but where are you headed? And remember, I'm still in the car at this point, just talking to them through the window.
Speaker 2:I said, well, I'm trying to get home. And they said where's home? And I said Lake City, iowa. And they just lit up. They're like Lake City, really.
Speaker 2:Do you know the DeFreeze family? I said, yeah, I know the DeFreezes Well. We're friends with them from way back when. We haven't seen them for a long time. How are they doing? I said, well, okay, I guess I mean we're not real close friends, but yeah, they're still around, everything's good as far as I know.
Speaker 2:And they said, well, maybe we should head up that way. We are actually transporting cars. That's what we do for a living. So in this enclosed trailer we've actually got capacity to take on another car. And would you want us to put the car on the transport and take you and the car back to Lake City? And I thought I don't even know what to say to this. This is too wild to believe. But, nancy, you know, with a town there's only about 1800 people, which probably was the population at that time you can't make up random stuff like do you know the defreezes, right? So I thought, oh my gosh, this is something I think I can say yes to this, I think it's OK. So, yeah, that's what we did.
Speaker 2:They were able to push the car up the the um, up into the truck and I climb up into the cab. And so here I am, riding up front with these two people named Pam and Eric. They were a husband and wife team. And so we take off for Northwest Iowa and they are just we're just getting to know each other and it turns out they haul really high end cars, like expensive cars for movie stars and celebrities. That's their job. And so here's my little junkie cavalier on a transport that has hauled fabulous sports cars for people like Alan Alda and the little cool car they used in that movie of who Framed Roger Rabbit. You know, it was a thing back in the day in the early nineties and you just think, oh, my goodness, this is too crazy.
Speaker 2:So we make the two hour trip up there to Lake city. We pull into the driveway at my family's farm with this huge semi. My mom and dad come out and look at it and think what in the world is going on? So I jump out and explain what's going on and dad said well, my dad, the practical farmer, says well, nothing we can do to fix that car here. You're going to have to take it to Mackey's. So, as you know, mackey Motors is the local car dealership. So we take off again, drive the five miles into town, pull into Mackey Motors and I can tell you for a fact that will cause a big stir on a Friday afternoon when you pull in with a big transport, and they weren't expecting it. So, long story short, we got the car off. They got it fixed at Mackey's, everything was fine, as far as I know.
Speaker 2:Pam and Eric went and visited the DeFreezes and I kept saying, oh my gosh, what can we do to thank you? This? I can't believe this. This is too good to be true. You're angels in disguise and and they said we don't want any money, we don't want anything from you, just if you see us along the side of the road someday, you just stop and help us. And I I've never heard from them again. Those you know, this is pre-Facebook and hey, can we stay in touch easily, kind of stuff. It was even pre-email. So I've often wondered what happened to Pam and Eric. But there are just times in your life like that you think, if this isn't supernatural, I don't know what it is, because there's way too many things that had to align here at the right time. It seems more far-fetched to believe that was just a random accident or happenstance.
Speaker 1:Oh, it's such a great story of such kindness of those people too.
Speaker 2:Oh, because you know, I don't know where they were. I think they were bound for California, I think. So taking two hours you know it's two hours up out of the way to go up there and then you're going to have to go two hours back. They could have easily just kept right on rolling. There was no reason. They didn't know who I was. They didn't know I was from Lake City. You really do wonder why did they stop in the first place?
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's amazing, yeah, but it's so neat. Yeah, it's amazing, yeah, but it's so neat. I might, I might ask you if you feel comfortable diving in. You said you felt like or did or still do of God's problem child. Can you explain that a little more?
Speaker 2:Yeah, cause I I'm not one of those people that just grew up in the church and embraced all this and just was so faithful right from the beginning. I have a very questioning mind. It goes back to that curiosity and, I think, also the hurt I experienced with bullying and just feeling like an outsider growing up. You shouldn't you experience it at school, you shouldn't have to feel it at church, and I think so with all these things, they plant these seeds like church it's. It's for some people and I guess if you are one of those who really likes it, or God really likes you and and you don't have these problems, you know feeling like the outsider then church is awesome. So I guess church is great for some people and maybe it's just you're just not really one of those church kind of people and and by extension, maybe God just doesn't really love you quite as much as he loves other people, and that's just your lot in life and and that's just how it is. So get used to it.
Speaker 2:And then you, I grow up and you have all these experiences especially you know this as someone who interviews people. You hear a lot of life stories and you hear things that inspire you. You hear things that anger you, you hear things that make sense and you hear things that don't make sense and you just realize we're all on a journey that I don't believe God loves one person more than he loves another person, and I think God is okay with people who question him, for people that can come to faith and just embrace all this from day one. That's wonderful, that's a blessing. That's not who I am, but God can handle it. He's not afraid of the tough questions. So don't be afraid to ask and don't be afraid to ask and don't be afraid to admit.
Speaker 2:I don't maybe just say I don't feel like a God person, I don't feel like a church person, but you hope you find those mentors in life that can help steer you through and show you more little glimpses of the divine. There are these things that seem random, just like the two examples that I shared, and they're probably not. No, they're not random, but hopefully you will surround yourself with other people who point you in the right direction. You know there's a famous line that you are the composite you reflect the five people you spend the most time with in life, and that's true in business, it's true in school or whatever realm you find yourself in, you will be a reflection of those people. So I've been blessed to have a mom that has a strong faith, even though she'll tell you I will question her and be the problem child as much as anybody and I still am. But find those people in life that can guide you and are consistent. It makes all the difference.
Speaker 1:Thank you for sharing that. I think that you're right that there's a lot of people who who are right where you're talking about that are saying I'm just not really sure, or I'm sure, but I still see this, or I'm sure, but I still see this, or I'm sure but I still see this, or but this doesn't make sense to me. And just thanks for being honest and sharing that portion.
Speaker 2:Of course it's a journey. It's a journey. It's a lifelong journey, yeah.
Speaker 1:Are there any other stories that you wanted to share on God's plan for your life?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I did think of another one. This was something my mom had always prayed for my dad, that he would be saved and make it to heaven. And my dad, I think I take after him a lot of just, you know, church it's not really my bag. I'll play along if I have to and do the things that a good church person does, but I don't know if I quite believe it. And he was stubborn that way and my mom had always said you know, I just gosh, I pray for him every day. I want to make sure that he goes to heaven.
Speaker 2:And so this oh man, this is going back probably seven, eight years now Dad started having some health problems and we nobody the doctors couldn't figure out what was going on. So he, he was, you know, he's a healthy farmer, he'd been healthy and active his whole life and and suddenly, when he was getting up in the morning, he would just not feel right. It was like he was almost in danger of falling down. His blood pressure started having these really wild swings and, gosh, he went to I don't know how many doctors. Nobody could figure it out, but this problem is getting worse and worse and finally we had to take him to the medical facility at Iowa City, which is one of the premier ones in the Midwest, and he went to a neurologist and, being the old farmer that he is, when he had to go through some of these nerve tests, they would shock you to see where you had sensation and where you didn't. And it sounded awful. And I said, dad, what did that feel like? And he said it feels like running into an electric fence. But the test did reveal what we needed to know, which was he had something called multiple system atrophy.
Speaker 2:And when I first heard about multiple system atrophy, msa, I thought, oh, thank goodness, at least we have a diagnosis Never heard of, I had never heard of it before. But oh, thank goodness, at least we have a diagnosis Never heard of, I had never heard of it before. But then when I started reading about it, it was I just broke down in tears and I could not quit bawling, because what it is? It's like Parkinson's on speed. And the reason they call it multiple system atrophy is because it will eventually shut down all your systems. There's nothing you can do to stop it. You will. You won't necessarily die from it exactly, but it will shut down your vital systems and something will get you at some point. So there is no coming back from it when you have MSA.
Speaker 2:And I just never, ever dreamed that my dad, my strong, active farmer father, would have something like that to deal with. And it's hard on the whole family to watch someone slip away piece by piece like that. So ultimately we kept him at home as long as we could. Mom was a saint that took care of him. But there came a time when you know he's a tall guy, he was 6'2", 6'3". When someone loses their ability to move and do basic functions, you just can't take care of them at home anymore. So he went to shady oaks care center in lake city and there was a lutheran, pastor paul furterer. I almost tear up when I say this because he's the one that saved my dad.
Speaker 2:And I think back to Pastor Paul. He didn't owe my dad anything. He didn't have to come visit him. My dad wasn't even his parishioner. But Pastor Paul made a point to come see lots of people and he started talking to my dad because my mom had gone to Pastor Paul's Bible study and she asked him would you come see Jim? And he did, and he assured us that through some of their conversations, dad did accept Jesus, pastor Paul's confident. He's in heaven. I really don't like to cry because this is really hard for me, but I think about Pastor Paul. I go to his church now and I think you didn't have to do any of that. You didn't know us, you didn't owe us anything and we, you know we're not even members of your church. But if that's not love and action, I don't know what is.
Speaker 1:Oh, beautiful story I think of when you're talking about these three things besides the one about your grandma, because she was all alone with this man, and we're hurt by people like you were alluding to and that's just so devastating, not only on your life but your faith and your walk with Jesus, because people can either just bring you to Jesus or they can kind of make you turn away for a while. So, yeah, what a inspirational story of some people that really showed God's love, and one of them was a very tangible way with the, with the car, and, and then the other one was just such a spiritual way of and talking with your dad.
Speaker 2:No, it was, and I have to laugh too. No, it was, and I have to laugh too, because my dad, who was never the most ambitious churchgoer when Pastor Paul would, he, made a comment once about well, I could come see you more often, jim, if you't have to come around too often. So I thought, as emotional as all that gets, it's like my dad. That's the dad that I know, that's the dad that I love. There's a lot of shades of him in me. So, even as hardheads, our hearts can be softened. But you've got to be open and willing, and that goes back to being curious and asking questions, continuing to seek answers, continuing to learn. You're never too old to do any of those things and it just might change your life.
Speaker 1:Well, thank you for that. Well, as we wrap up, what are you grateful for?
Speaker 2:You know it's funny. I was just at a farm meeting this past weekend and we had a whole speaker talking. Her whole talk was about gratitude. And so what am I grateful for? The more I thought about it, it's like what am I not grateful for? Even the simple things in life? I woke up this morning. I was healthy. I turn on the light switch We've got electricity. I've got enough food in the refrigerator. Turn on the light switch. We've got electricity, I've got enough food in the refrigerator. Right there, you're living better than a lot of people on this planet.
Speaker 2:I'm grateful for opportunities like this to share my story, even though it's hard to share parts of that story. And I'm still feeling like, oh my gosh, did I just say that? Did I just break down in tears? What's wrong with me? But it's so important to share those stories, I thought, well, I can't expect other people to share their stories with me if I'm not willing to go there myself and be vulnerable. So we're blessed. We're blessed every day that we wake up on the right side of the dirt, as a farmer would say. Right, I think of the words of Einstein where he said there's only two ways to live your life. It's like nothing's a miracle or everything's a miracle, and so I choose to be grateful for everything. Not that I don't whine. Sometimes I catch myself whining and being that ungrateful person and then you stop yourself and think okay, if you had to make a list right now of five or 10 or 15 things you're grateful for, just do it, and that'll change your mindset right now. That's good.
Speaker 1:Yeah, what is your favorite Bible verse or story?
Speaker 2:You know I'm kind of a Proverbs kind of person. I like a lot of those. Although I was thinking this morning, one that really has resonated with me lately would be James 1, james excuse me James chapter 1, verse 5, I believe it is. I'll just read it here If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all, without finding fault, and it will be given to you. So that quest for wisdom, that curiosity, seeking the truth, seek and you shall find. That's why that verse resonates with me, because it really reflects how I live my life, and and when I do get into situations where maybe the path isn't clear, I'm getting frustrated, I'm getting whiny, being that problem child. Those types of thoughts keep me on track. Are you really seeking for wisdom or are you just being a whiner? So, keep seeking wisdom.
Speaker 2:And, like someone told me once, it's not enough to to wisdom, knowledge, wisdom. You know the line that wisdom, knowledge is power. Well, knowledge is not power unless it is applied. So, applied wisdom, applied knowledge, that's where the magic happens. And, like you mentioned, nancy, we have these partners in life. They're human partners. God works through these human partners. So, seek the wisdom, seek the knowledge and then apply it, share your stories and you never know how far that impact will have. It's like the pebble that you drop in the pond you don't know how far those ripples extend, and that's something my mom always said. She was a teacher, a grade school teacher. You hope you touch a life and you think you do, but you never know how far those ripples extend. So thank you for what you're know how far those ripples extend. So thank you for what you're doing, because the ripples are extending a lot farther, I think, than any of us can imagine thank you.
Speaker 1:Well, and I think, how long ago was it that your grandma had that scary, awful incident and how how long ago was it when your car broke down when you were going to college? And these stories are still impacting your life.
Speaker 2:I was thinking about that doing the math the other day. So it's over 40 years for Grandma's story, it's over 30 years for the Pam and Eric broken-down car story. So yeah, the stories, a good story, a true story, well told, has infinite impact that can far transcend time, and has, I don't. It sounds maybe a bit bombastic to say it, but it can have an impact ripples throughout eternity and I think that's why we are supposed to share those stories. We don't know how far those ripples will go.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, how your story might really really be like impactful for someone saying I didn't know anyone else felt like that I didn't know anyone else would see themselves as a problem child. And I'm only saying that because you are, because I don't think you're a problem child. I think you are a child of God. But I don't want to minimize how you are feeling, too, or how you have felt, and so be.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that that is that you really hit on something important, because sometimes when you say stuff like this, like I don't know, I'm not strong in my faith, I'm questioning, I'm a problem child, and well-meaning people will, will fire back at you oh but, but God loves you, you're a child of God, you know. They say all this stuff, that is true, but yet it hurts because you're not meeting that person where they're at Now. I'm strong enough and confident enough and all this that that I know exactly what you meant when you said that. But so many people, they come from a place of hurt and and we just want to jump ahead and give them the solution. Well, they might not be ready to hear that yet.
Speaker 2:So that's where the eternal curiosity, the questioning, just asking people without judgment tell me your story, how did you get to the point of coming to that conclusion? What are the things that happened in your life that led you there? So you don't ask closed-ended questions where they can say yes or no. You are honestly looking for them to open up and share that. And I'm sure you've seen, nancy, because you're a great interviewer. You get people to you, tap into that right vein where they feel comfortable with you and they realize you're not judging, you almost become a counselor. It's kind of unnerving, in a way, what people will tell you when they feel comfortable with you.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but that's how you find that common ground so you can move forward to some some better ground, hopefully well, and this is just something I've learned over the years that I'll just kind of interject in here and when we have life group, which is study, however you want to say it, one of the things that like a rule is that you can't fix someone's problem. So and that's so hard to do, right, it's so hard, when someone's saying I feel like a bad mom, to not say you're not a bad mom you're not a bad mom oh my gosh, you're such a great mom.
Speaker 1:So that's A not letting them feel where they're feeling or you know like they're, they're obviously going through something. If they're willing to share that and to just like be like no, no, no, no, you're not. Is is actually really hurtful. No, no, no, no, you're not is actually really hurtful. It's supposed to be helpful but it's actually really hurtful when you're trying to share where you are and then also maybe God is saying, hey, let's work on this or let's do this, and throwing out a Bible verse to someone of like you are a child of God sometimes is super wonderful and sometimes it can be super hurtful.
Speaker 1:I would just share that with people. As far as if someone shares something that you believe is not true about them, or you want them to hurry up and get to a different point in their walk, in their hurt, in wherever they are, just probably be a little bit more careful about throwing out a self-help book or a Bible verse or something, because sometimes all they need is just to sit in it for a while and then maybe in three days, you say, hey, do you want to go have coffee and talk? Three days you say, hey, do you want to go have coffee and talk? But when someone's sharing it's it can be so, so detrimental to to try to fix it for them.
Speaker 2:It's so true and it only comes it's coming from a good place of wanting to help and wanting to ease someone's pain, and yet you got to hold yourself back from that. Keep asking them questions, get them to maybe reveal more if they're comfortable, and then maybe, if there is, let's say, there's a Bible verse, there's a book, there's something you think in the moment would help them. Don't be afraid to ask their permission and say well, I think, and use tentative language. You don't say I know this bible verse would help you. You say I think this bible verse could help you.
Speaker 2:Would do you mind if I would share this with you? Ask, let them have some control. Let them say yes or no, and maybe it's not now, maybe that's the answer. No, I don't want to hear that right now. Okay, well, I still think this might have some value at some point. Would you mind if maybe I emailed it to you later? Anything that injects that tentative language into the conversation gives the other person some control to say yes or no. It's amazing how receptive people will be to saying yes, but they just need to feel like they can have it a little bit more on their own terms, and I think that's fair. That just is part of being human.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Well, what kindness have you shown, or what kindness have you seen in the last week? Ah well, you know, I had to stop and think about that one. I was kind of mad at myself like, oh, I should be able to just pop those answers right off. But I guess my brain hasn't even thought like that before. Which I should think like that, realizing, oh, I guess I'm not 21 anymore and all of a sudden there's younger generations that are looking to you for guidance and you think I don't know that I'm really qualified. I still feel like the 20 something that is still trying to figure it all out.
Speaker 2:But I got asked if I would be a mentor for one of the seniors in high school, at the local high school that's trying to figure out her possible career path and maybe wants to do some ag marketing or something like that. So in recent weeks I've been doing a little mentoring with her, explaining my career, trying to answer her questions, showing her or helping her meet some other people in the industry that do similar things so she can get a broader perspective. So to me that is a kind thing to do because I wish, wish, wish someone had done that for me back when I was in her position but we didn't have those resources then. But oh well, I can help someone now. And then someone showed me a kindness was when a friend of mine he was headed to a meeting up, an ag meeting up in Minnesota and asked if I'd like to ride along and we had a great conversation all the way back, all the way back home and even something like that, which is kind of a no-brainer probably for a lot of people. I'm more of that independent first born child, I'm gonna do it myself kind of person. It's not natural or normal for the first thought to pop in my head of how can I help someone else, how can I invite someone else and maybe bring them along with me. It's not that I want to be mean, it's just I'm not wired that way.
Speaker 2:So anytime someone does something like that shows a kindness, not only do I enjoy like in this case I enjoyed the conversation on the way up and back, but it reminds me hey, you can do that for other people. And even that speaker I mentioned the other day when we were talking about gratitude, she was pointing out that friendships, relationships, they require work. You can't just put them on autopilot and then not do anything and think they're going to be strong. So maybe it's as simple as write a thank you note to someone that did a kindness for you. I plan to write two of those today and pop them in the mail.
Speaker 2:The power of the written word, the power of a thank you. I've even done it with emails, where even just sending a little taking two minutes to send an email and saying thank you for just being you, thank you for inviting me, you, thank you for inviting me to be part of your event. Whatever it is the power of thank you and expressing that to other people. Never underestimate that we need more kindness in this world, do we not?
Speaker 1:We do, and I started this question because I think that it shifts our focus, first of all, but also it's one of those things that people are afraid to tell their story but they're also afraid to not be humble, and so if I say something that I did, kind, is that not being humble, but kind of breaking that down a little bit, of sharing these things, because most of the time it's a kind of small and not something crazy big.
Speaker 2:Oh, totally, and I'm so glad you brought that up. It is a thing, as you know, in Iowa, the whole Iowa nice, be humble, don't be tooting your own horn. Well, that's great to a certain extent, but it goes back to what that guy taught us in Master Gardener up there at Iowa State it's not tooting your horn. To tell the truth and share your story, as long as it's coming from a place of it shouldn't be. Hey, look at me, look at me, I'm so great. That's not right. But if you do it with a humble heart and you are truly hoping that your story helps someone else, then by all means you need to share it and be grateful when you have these opportunities, even if you do break down and cry like I did, just get over it and be vulnerable and be authentic, because that's you know, we live in this.
Speaker 2:Some people call it a plastic world, a fake world, whatever you want to call it. I see especially young people that I'm concerned about them. They live in these social media realms and they can't even take pictures of themselves without all kinds of filters and making them look and present like someone they're really not. This is why you, this is why people end up with mental problems. Seriously, it's okay to be authentic, it's okay to talk about things that are bugging you, but we also can't wallow in all the things that are wrong and the things that are bad. We need each other to build each other up. We need those five people around us that make us better. We need to share our stories and share those stories of hope so that we don't have to to stay wallowed in the muck. Yeah, because isn't that what the christian life is all about redemption building with each other up right, yeah, yeah exactly.
Speaker 2:Life is too tough to do it alone. You need friends, you need, you need.
Speaker 1:God, yeah Well, darcy, this has been such a great, a great chat and it went in so many different ways and I and then I thought and I think, god, that's just you and that's just so wonderful and and I do appreciate you being so vulnerable with so many pieces of your story and I'm just praying for the person. Well, there's many people who are going to listen, obviously, but for the one person, it just really resonates with them that they're really impacted by you being vulnerable and you being authentic. So thank you for that.
Speaker 2:You're welcome. Thank you, Nancy. Thanks for all you do. I really appreciate it.
Speaker 1:Well on Ordinary People, extraordinary Things. Your story is His glory. I pray that this podcast has impacted you, that it has made you think, that it has impacted your life. I pray that it has grown your faith and that you will share this podcast with someone you know. And if you would like to join our prayer team, don't forget. Just go to generations2generationscom and you'll find the Join Our Prayer Team under the podcast tab. We'll see you in two weeks for a brand new episode.