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TAKING A TRIP IN TIME
By Lennie Halvorson
A sister married. Family discord followed. Ten years later their father died, estranging the family more. Those were the family dynamics when Lennie Halvorson joined Generational Crossroads (GC).l. to r.: Rev. Roger and Lennie Halvorson and Norma, Lennie's mom
Right after I went to GC, my husband, Roger, and I went back to visit both of our home towns and our families.
"There was a fracture in my relationship with my sister shortly before my wedding," Lennie said. "I didn't see her after that for probably close to 25 years."They reconnected at the wedding of Lennie's nephew, but the relationship remained weak. Compounding things, Lennie lost most contact with her mother after her mother moved out of state and remarried. But life is about change."Right after I went to Generational Crossroads, my husband, Roger, and I went back to visit both of our home towns and our families," Lennie said. "Generational Crossroads opened our eyes to want to go back there, to look and see and to reestablish relationships. We went to where I was born and where my dad had his business. We just wanted to see everyone we could and all the places we had lived and grown up."They also visited Lennie's sister. "We were there three days," she said. "We got to talk about life; where we'd been and where we were going now."More healing took place. "I got a chance to listen to what she viewed our lives to be. At the very end, we both came to the conclusion that this was the first time we were able to discuss our lives." During that trip, Lennie's sister made the critical decision to rededicate her life to Christ. That was in June. That winter, her sister died of phenomena. At the funeral, which Roger conducted, he spoke about how Lennie's sister placed the Scripture 2 Corinthians 5:17 in her window as a testimony of her new life.Lennie renewed more family ties during that time. "It was a real eye opener to see how family dynamics run down the chain in families," Lennie said. "We were so disjointed and disconnected on all sides."Months later, things changed again when Lennie's mother came to live with her after her stepfather died. However, there was a religious difference because her mother followed another faith."We didn't have any kind of closeness, mostly because what we were doing in our main lives was not anything that could be discussed," Lennie said, adding, "We just talked about how the kids were, who had a baby, and who was sick. That basically was the level of our relationship for years."Lennie researched the faith her mother followed and had long discussions with her mother. "The whole church was praying for her salvation," Lennie said. Her mother made a decision for Christ after prayer with someone from the church. Since then? "I gave her the Women's Devotional Bible and within three months she had it read and ate it up," Lennie said, adding, "Instead of watching TV in the afternoon she watches TBN. She testified of her conversion at church. They were just overwhelmed by what they saw."Lennie's mom continues in her Bible study; that is, when she is not exploring the neighborhood or reveling in new relationships with her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.Lennie reflected on how God prepared her for the changes to come. "The timing of Generational Crossroads was good. It raised an awareness of 'what do you think about your family?' Probably, until then I really didn't think much about it at all."Lennie is in full-time Christiain ministry with her husband, Roger. | ||||||
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A Transformational Ministry
Redeeming Our Futures by Biblically Resolving Family-of-Origin Issues
