I recieved this in my e-mail today. Thought some other Bush lovers would like to read it. Sorry if this was already posted....I didn't check first.
Subject: THIS MAN IS OUR PRESIDENT!
Bruce Vincent is the Executive Director of Provider Pals, a nation-wide
urban/rural youth exchange program based in Montana. He was the recipient
of a Preserve America Presidential Award, presented to him by the
president in the White House. This is his account of an extraordinary moment
between him and President Bush that occurred at the end of the presentation.
I invite you to send this on to friends who may benefit from knowing the
kind
of man America is blessed with to have as her president. -JW
Stepping into the Oval Office, each of us [the awardees] was introduced to
the President and Mrs. Bush. We shook hands, received our awards with photo
op and
participated in an informal conversation. He and the First Lady were asked
about the impact of
the Presidency on their marriage and, with an arm casually wrapped around
Laura, he said that
he thought the place may be hard on weak marriages but that it had the
ability to make strong
marriages even stronger and that he was blessed with a strong one. He noted
that it would be
a mistake to come to the Oval Office and entertain a mission to "find
yourself."
He said that with all of the pressures and responsibilities that go with the
job, you'd best know
who you are when you put your nameplate on the desk in the Oval Office. He
said he
knows who he is and now America has had four years to learn about who he is.
When we departed the Oval Office, I said to him, "Mr. President, I know you
to be a man of strong faith and I have a favor to ask you." As he shook my
hand, he looked me
in the eye and said, "Just name it."
I told him that my stepmom was at that moment in a hospital in Kalispell,
Montana, having a
tumor removed from her skull and it would mean a great deal to me if he
would consider
adding her to his prayers that day. He grabbed me by the arm and took me
back toward his desk
as he said, "So that's it. I could tell that something is weighing heavy on
your heart today. I could
see it in your eyes This explains it." From the top drawer of his desk he
retrieved a pen and a
note card with his seal on it and asked, "How do you spell her name?" He
then jotted a note to
her while discussing the importance of family and the strength of prayer.
When he handed me the card, he asked about the surgery and the prognosis. I
told him we
were hoping that it is not a recurrence of an earlier cancer and that if it
is they can get it all with
this surgery. He said, "If it's okay with you, we'll take care of the prayer
right now. Would you
pray with me?" I told him yes and he turned to the staff that remained in
the office and hand
motioned the folks to step back or leave. He said, "Bruce and I would like
some private time for a
prayer."
As they left he turned back to me and took my hands in his. I was prepared
to do a traditional
prayer stance -- standing with each other with heads bowed. Instead, he
reached for my head
with his right hand and pulling gently forward, he placed my head on his
shoulder. With his left
arm on my mid-back, he pulled me to him in a prayerful embrace. He started
to pray softly. I
started to cry.
He continued his prayer for Loretta and for God's perfect will to be done. I
cried some more. My
body shook a bit as I cried and he just held tighter. He closed by asking
God's blessing on Loretta
and the family during the coming months. I stepped away from our embrace,
wiped my eyes,
swiped at the tears I'd left on his shoulder, and looked into the eyes of
our President. I thanked
him as best I could and told him that me and my family would continue
praying for he and his.
As I write this account down and reflect upon what it means, I have to tell
you that all I really
know is that his simple act left me humbled and believing. I so hoped that
the man I
thought him to be was the man that he is. I know that our nation needs a man
such as this in
the Oval Office. George W. Bush is the real deal I've read Internet stories
about the President
praying with troops in hospitals and other such uplifting accounts. Each
time I read them I hope
them to be true and not an Internet perpetuated myth. This one, I know to
be true. I was
there. He is real. He has a pile of incredible stuff on his plate each day -
and yet he is tuned in so
well to the here and now that he 'sensed' something heavy on my heart. He
took time out of his
life to care, to share, and to seek God's blessing for my family in a simple
man-to-man,
father-to-father, son-to-son, husband-to-husband, Christian-to-Christian
prayerful embrace.
He's not what I had hoped he would be. He is, in fact, so very, very much
more.
Subject: THIS MAN IS OUR PRESIDENT!
Bruce Vincent is the Executive Director of Provider Pals, a nation-wide
urban/rural youth exchange program based in Montana. He was the recipient
of a Preserve America Presidential Award, presented to him by the
president in the White House. This is his account of an extraordinary moment
between him and President Bush that occurred at the end of the presentation.
I invite you to send this on to friends who may benefit from knowing the
kind
of man America is blessed with to have as her president. -JW
Stepping into the Oval Office, each of us [the awardees] was introduced to
the President and Mrs. Bush. We shook hands, received our awards with photo
op and
participated in an informal conversation. He and the First Lady were asked
about the impact of
the Presidency on their marriage and, with an arm casually wrapped around
Laura, he said that
he thought the place may be hard on weak marriages but that it had the
ability to make strong
marriages even stronger and that he was blessed with a strong one. He noted
that it would be
a mistake to come to the Oval Office and entertain a mission to "find
yourself."
He said that with all of the pressures and responsibilities that go with the
job, you'd best know
who you are when you put your nameplate on the desk in the Oval Office. He
said he
knows who he is and now America has had four years to learn about who he is.
When we departed the Oval Office, I said to him, "Mr. President, I know you
to be a man of strong faith and I have a favor to ask you." As he shook my
hand, he looked me
in the eye and said, "Just name it."
I told him that my stepmom was at that moment in a hospital in Kalispell,
Montana, having a
tumor removed from her skull and it would mean a great deal to me if he
would consider
adding her to his prayers that day. He grabbed me by the arm and took me
back toward his desk
as he said, "So that's it. I could tell that something is weighing heavy on
your heart today. I could
see it in your eyes This explains it." From the top drawer of his desk he
retrieved a pen and a
note card with his seal on it and asked, "How do you spell her name?" He
then jotted a note to
her while discussing the importance of family and the strength of prayer.
When he handed me the card, he asked about the surgery and the prognosis. I
told him we
were hoping that it is not a recurrence of an earlier cancer and that if it
is they can get it all with
this surgery. He said, "If it's okay with you, we'll take care of the prayer
right now. Would you
pray with me?" I told him yes and he turned to the staff that remained in
the office and hand
motioned the folks to step back or leave. He said, "Bruce and I would like
some private time for a
prayer."
As they left he turned back to me and took my hands in his. I was prepared
to do a traditional
prayer stance -- standing with each other with heads bowed. Instead, he
reached for my head
with his right hand and pulling gently forward, he placed my head on his
shoulder. With his left
arm on my mid-back, he pulled me to him in a prayerful embrace. He started
to pray softly. I
started to cry.
He continued his prayer for Loretta and for God's perfect will to be done. I
cried some more. My
body shook a bit as I cried and he just held tighter. He closed by asking
God's blessing on Loretta
and the family during the coming months. I stepped away from our embrace,
wiped my eyes,
swiped at the tears I'd left on his shoulder, and looked into the eyes of
our President. I thanked
him as best I could and told him that me and my family would continue
praying for he and his.
As I write this account down and reflect upon what it means, I have to tell
you that all I really
know is that his simple act left me humbled and believing. I so hoped that
the man I
thought him to be was the man that he is. I know that our nation needs a man
such as this in
the Oval Office. George W. Bush is the real deal I've read Internet stories
about the President
praying with troops in hospitals and other such uplifting accounts. Each
time I read them I hope
them to be true and not an Internet perpetuated myth. This one, I know to
be true. I was
there. He is real. He has a pile of incredible stuff on his plate each day -
and yet he is tuned in so
well to the here and now that he 'sensed' something heavy on my heart. He
took time out of his
life to care, to share, and to seek God's blessing for my family in a simple
man-to-man,
father-to-father, son-to-son, husband-to-husband, Christian-to-Christian
prayerful embrace.
He's not what I had hoped he would be. He is, in fact, so very, very much
more.
Missyc
