Christian Living

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Larry Lilly's Letter Thursday January 10, 2008

I do not have many "bad" habits and for this I am thankful. As an adult I have never been on a drinking binge for a wild weekend, though the stark realities of many a Monday morning have forced the thought into my mind! The list goes on of things I haven't done, but have given serious consideration to. I do have one very bad eating habit. I have partaken of a tasty snack utterly forbidden by all health food nuts. I love big, salty hot pretzels dripping with real butter. And in spite of all the warnings about the use of Lye in the making of them, I throw caution to the winds and like an alcoholic trapped in a distillery overnight I revel in the baked dough of the peasantry. I presume some of the Reformed people will assign me to the pit for this presumptuous and willful excursion into apostasy.

With this nagging guilt fresh in my mind from finally giving into the Great Blonde's demands and whining that I go shopping with her, and my joyful backsliding at the pretzel place in the mall, an article in the January 2, 2008 Washington Post by Tamara Jones leaped off the page and strange as the imagination of Stephen King, I found redemption, as low, these many years and tons of Lye washed dough, I discovered that all along I have been in my own small way contributing to the personal growth of one of pretzeldoms most worthy icons.

The Post article by Tamara Jones, gives some highlights of Anne Beiler. Anne's story is a quintessential American rags to riches story, with plenty of heartache along the way. Anne Beiler started as an Amish girl, turned Mennonite flipped to Assembly of God. She also has the Amish work ethic and while as a young girl working for a pretzel maker decided to do her own thing in farmers markets around Lancaster, PA and the rest is history. Auntie Anne�s Pretzels.

Auntie has a book coming out in March detailing her life of pain, yes Hersh, into every life some rain must fall, and it is an eye opener and a heart wrenching tale. Anne sold her business for $293 million dollars and now the 58 year old grandmother and her husband Josh ride around on personal Harley's. My kind of Granny.

Ah, the rain. Anne and Josh's daughter, Angela, at 19 months old was killed in a farming accident. They describe the time as their "seven years of grief." Anne came near suicide. One time Josh and Anne joined with a super duper pastor and went off to Texas to help him start a church. During this escapade the pastor seduced Anne, one of her children and several ladies in the flock. He was caught and defrocked by the Assemblies. The scene where Anne tells Josh about this is a memorial to her repentance and the mercy and grace of Josh. God worked it out for them.

Why all the grim muck? God is using the rough ruts along the way to use the Beiler's pain, along with their fortune to help many secretly struggling people in bucolic Lancaster County to find relief from their sins through the well oiled counseling ministry of Josh and Anne.

So, when you throw common sense to the wind and get one of Auntie Anne's pretzels think of me, I think they sell gift certificates, and say a prayer for Josh and Anne. And by all means in March buy the book, "Twist of Faith."

Larry Lilly Copyright (C) 2008 Use with credit

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