Walking in the Valley A bi-weekly column, featuring one Christian's (a)musings on life's journey by Barbara Dahlgren

Laughter in Heaven Column for the weeks of September 16-30, 2007

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Barbara Johnson ministered to the same people Jesus Christ reached out to when he came to earth: the lost, the hurting, and the down trodden. Her compassion was peppered with hope and humor, like the title of one of her books Splashes of Joy in the Cesspools of Life indicates.

When 79 year-old Barbara died of cancer on July 2, 2007, Christian publishers lost a best selling author and readers lost a friend. Known as the Christian Erma Bombeck, Barbara had that rare ability to make you cry and laugh at the same time. This laughter was miraculous considering her life was not one many would consider joy filled.

Waves of tragedy engulfed Barbara beginning when her husband almost died in a car accident in 1966. For more than two years he was like a vegetable. Then God miraculously healed him, but another tragedy struck in 1968 when her son died in Vietnam. In 1973 another son died by a drunk driver and in 1975 her third son disowned her and disappeared for eleven years to pursue a gay lifestyle. As the current of trials pulled her into agonizing depression, she considered killing herself. While driving and thinking about crashing her car off an embankment, she asked God to help her with these burdens. In spite of the daunting circumstances, God gave her joy. She said, “God brought me through the deep water without letting me drown. He held me up when my mind and emotions were torn apart by tragedy. He gave me the gift of joy which made it possible to share with others the good things God was going to do with them also.”

When Barbara was approached by a publisher to share her story, she had her doubts about writing. After all, she barely passed English in school. But he said, “The Holy Spirit will propel it.” And so it did. The result was Where Does a Mother Go to Resign, a heartrending story of facing pain and the journey of survival and restoration that brought her back to a life of laughter and joy.

When her son declared his homosexuality, he changed his name and said he never wanted to see his parents again. Barbara searched for support through the church, books, ministries, and other Christian organizations. It proved fruitless. The church preferred to ignore such issues and still does in many ways. Like Barbara said, “The church has tried to sweep all this under the rug, and the rug has gotten lumpy.” She shared with a friend that, “if I ever get through this, I am going to start a ministry to parents who are going through the same thing.”

True to her word, she started Spatula Ministries, an organization designed to help parents deal with finding out their children are gay. The premise is to “peel parents off the ceiling with a spatula of love and begin them on the road to recovery.” Providing a safe place for parents to open up, her message was one of love. She said, “I learned that I can only love my child; I can’t fix or change him. I just have to love him. Love them right where they are. I think the words fix and change are two words that we should just forget. Just give your kids to God, tell them that you love them, then pray for them and let God be the one to touch their lives.”

Barbara knew how to “walk the walk” and not just “talk the talk.” A popular speaker at Women of Faith Conferences until her illness, she had an honor system at her book tables. If people couldn’t afford to pay or didn’t have the cash, she would give her books to them and say, “Just send the money in when you can.”

She also had a telephone ministry. She remembered her feelings of hopelessness. “If someone had just called me when I was going through my pain, my depression, my grief…” For years she called those who had written her with their painful stories, spending $5000 or more a month on phone bills. Though ill, last December alone she called 340 people who had lost a child to AIDS the previous year.

Being diagnosed with a brain tumor in early 2001 and her husband’s death three years later didn’t seem to slow her down. While battling Central Nervous System Lymphoma and adult diabetes, she still managed to add four more titles to her long list of best sellers, including a book about her cancer, Plant a Geranium in Your Cranium. Like she always said, “pain is inevitable but misery is optional.”

Barbara Johnson was called the " The Geranium Lady," a nickname resulting from her million-selling book Stick a Geranium in Your Hat and Be Happy. A tribute for her will be held at the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove , California on Friday, September 21st at 1:00 P.M. Visit her web site www.barbaraspatulajohnson.com or read one of her many books.

his lady is worth remembering! There are tears on earth because of her passing, but with books like He’s Gonna Toot and I’m Gonna Scoot – there must be laughter in heaven.

Be sure to visit this page often to read the next edition of Walking in the Valley. You can write to the author at bdahlgren@wcgsouthbay.org.