Let me go back again to the early years of Larry's and my marriage.  I told you about our wedding.  But what happened then?  As a young, motivated bride I wanted to do everything for everybody…and do it perfectly.  I wanted to please everyone, offend no one, and still be happy.

            At the time, you remember, Larry and I were traveling with Larry's brother Lowell, Lowell's wife Connie, and their two children.  The six of us were the Lowell Lundstrom Evangelistic Team from Sisseton, South Dakota.  Remember the old Flexible bus I told you about?  In it we traveled across the United States and Canada 320 days a year, sharing the gospel.  Through the years, thousands of people came to know the Lord as a result of our combined ministries.  We had a weekly radio program, and we appeared on TV.  We held crusades in churches, auditoriums, at fairgrounds and camps.  You name it-we went wherever God opened the doors.  The lifestyle of our ministry demanded a lot from all of us, but we were totally committed to making it a success for the Lord.

            In 1967 God blessed Larry and me with a beautiful little girl-LaShawn.  She was loving and full of life.  And then in 1971 God blessed us with another daughter, LaDawn, a quiet, sweet little girl.  The demands of the ministry began to grow heavier.  I was trying to teach school, do bookwork, take care of ministry correspondence and be a wife and mother, too.  Besides this, I was participating in crusades, attending vocal and band rehearsals and filling public speaking engagements.  My life became a whirling merry-go-round.  I enjoyed the ride for a while, but it was going so fast that I couldn't jump off and I couldn't hang on!

            One night while lying in my bunk, I cried out to God, "You know that I love You, Lord.  You know that I love Your work.  You know that I love my husband, and Lord, You know how much I love my children.  You know how precious they are to Larry and me.  Please, Lord, never let me take them for granted.  Never let me become too busy to be the mother that You want me to be.  Lord, every day I'm reminded that our children are gifts from You.  You've given them to us for a season of joy, to teach and to guide them.  Please, Lord, never let me forget my children.  They are an important priority in my life.  And Lord, if I ever become too BUSY to be the mother I should and want to be, throw me down and show me."

            Then life went on as usual, with schedules, meetings, deadlines and running here and there.  But in July 1973, I began to feel tired and rung out.  I felt like a rag doll, without and life, and without energy.  I kept plugging along, and then I became seriously ill.  I couldn't get out of bed.  I couldn't keep food down.  I had blackouts, went into comas, had extremely high and low blood-sugar levels, and I couldn't digest food anymore.  Finally I admitted that I needed help.

            Larry took me to a clinic in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.  I went through test after test, too sick to care about the outcome.  Then the doctor told Larry, "Your wife is deathly ill.  She has only 3 or 4 more days to live.  You may as well pick out her casket and plan her funeral."

            Our world crumbled.  I was flown to a special hospital in Georgia.  The doctors there said that the organs in my body were dying.  I didn't have days; I only had hours.  Lying in that hospital I cried out to God, "Why me, Lord?  Why me?  I've given You my whole life.  I've given You my two girls.  I've done all that I can do.  Why are You letting me die?  Why?"

            That's when I heard a quiet, loving, yet authoritative voice speak to my heart.  "Didn't you ask Me to throw you down if you got your priorities mixed up?"  My mind whipped back to that night in the bus when I'd cried out to God.  I remembered.  Alone in that room, weak and discouraged, I cried out to Him again.  "Please, God, don't let me die.  Please let me live.  I know that I've broken my promises before, but this time I promise that if You'll just let me live, I'll do what You ask me to do.  Please, God, I really mean it.  Please talk to me."

            He said, "Gloria, that's where your priorities are mixed up.  I didn't ask you to give your life.  I asked you to do your part."  He paused and then continued, "Put your priorities in this order: Love Me.  Be a wife.  Be a mother.  And I'll make sure you have time to serve and represent Me."  He didn't say another word, but I knew He was close to me.  I sensed the greatness of the King of kings, the Lord of lords and the Great Physician.  In the stillness of His presence I vowed, "God, this time I'll do it.  I'll follow the priorities that You've given me."

            But that wasn't the end; it was just the beginning.  God began a gradual healing in my body at that very moment.  The next day I began to feel stronger.  I was hungry.  My mind was clear.  I felt as though someone had gone to the "breaker box" of my physical, spiritual and emotional being and pushed every button to the "on" position.  The following day I got out of bed, and I began to go from room to room, sharing Christ.  The doctor said that I'd have to convalesce six to nine months if I ever got well at all.  But praise God, I was up, feeling better and on an airplane en-route to Eau Claire, Wisconsin to be with my girls in three weeks and six days.  Ask me if I believe in miracles.  I am a miracle!

            Now, husband or wife, what about your priorities?  I believe that God wants you to follow the same priorities that He gave me.  Since the moment I put my priorities in order, He began to heal me.  My marriage is happier and better than it ever was.  I'm much closer now to our two daughters and son.  Not only that, I'm ministering more effectively now because MY HOUSE IS IN ORDER.

            Husband, God doesn't want you to give your life for your job so you can have a bigger house or another car.  He asks you simply to pay the bills to meet your needs.  God wants you to love Him.  Take time for your wife.  Cherish her.

            Wife, love your husband.  Spend time with him.  Be his best friend.  Respect him.  Encourage him.  Love him.

            Dads and moms, be parents rather than part-time babysitters.  Take time to build good relationships with your children.  You won't have them long.  Don't miss the moments that count.  The Bible says, "What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?" (Mark 8:36).  Take time to smell the roses.

            I want to share a poem with you that my mother gave me after my third nervous breakdown.  I taped it up where I could see it every day.  I encourage you to put it up by your kitchen sink, desk, bathroom mirror, wherever you will see it every day.  Let the words burn new priorities into your life.

            Start all over like Larry and I did.  Put God first, then each other, and then your children.  It will be a new beginning for your marriage!