Truth for Life

On blustery fall days, many women curse the havoc wrought by wind in their hair. Not Andrea Roussel. To her, being a little wind-blown is a reminder of how God answered a stranger’s prayer, simultaneously demonstrating His power and gentleness. He gave her hair. Until August 2006, Roussel had spent about 20 years living with alopecia universalis, an autoimmune disease that rendered her entire body virtually hairless. Although she owned three custom-made wigs in different shades of red, Roussel was comfortable baring her head in public. In fact, that’s how she typically went to and from field hockey practice at the University of Louisville, where she was a graduate student. But when Roussel walked through the lobby in Crawford Gymnasium that fall, she caught the attention of custodian Greg Hughes, who assumed Roussel had cancer and stopped her to inquire if he could pray for her. She corrected him and explained her condition, and Hughes responded that God cared about her hair. They pray...

Eleven-year-olds don’t finance $200,000 research projects. At least, that’s what most people thought. When Michala Riggle began beading bracelets to fund a $200,000 research project for autism at Kosair Children’s Hospital last June, the goal seemed a long way off. But she’d seen how much the amino acid glutathione helped her younger brother, Evan, who is autistic. Since getting glutathione infusions, Evan was able to go on family outings like movies and ballgames. He was less combative and made progress in speech therapy. Michala wanted other kids with autism to have the same opportunity, so she began beading and selling bracelets for $3 a piece to raise money for research. Realists, including Michala’s other brother, Dawson, tried to help her face the facts. Michala would have to string more than 66,000 bracelets to reach her goal—hard work for a girl busy with sports, school and church. But Michala held onto a lesson she learned in worship at Southeast about the time Jesus fed more ...