Mistaken Identity

I, like many millions of other people, watched as Matt Lauer helped the Cerak and VanRyn families recount their heart wrenching stories. Phil and I were drawn to the story of the accident for many reasons. The accident happened right around the time we were originally supposed to be out here to interview for Phil's current job. We both graduated from IWU, not far from the accident site, my "boss" Mary Beth had been by that spot on 69 just earlier that day, and Taylor University is one of the MANY Universities I have to thank for my degree.

At any rate, this story just grabbed my heart tonight. I just kept thinking about how I couldn't imagine having it happen to me. Just as Mr. VanRyn said...God gives you the strength when you are in the situation. You can't imagine being in it, even when you are. I kept thinking about my 2 daughters and how I couldn't bear to lose either one of them. Then, I thought about my own parents and just wanted to call my mom back after it was over and say, "I love you."

The story was a powerful witness of God's strength, the forgiveness of 2 families, and the love shared among so many people. Even though the question continued arising about how they didn't know, the families share a love for Whitney as if they had loved her all her life.

You can go to to read a excerpt from the book Mistaken Identity which is due out later this year. The entire transcript of the program is available on MSNBC, and you can even watch it.

I'm thankful for a powerful testimony despite the heartache.