"Nearly four months ago it started out as just another day. My son-in-law called and mentioned he had a surprise for Dwight and me. My husband thought it was a new vacuum cleaner. Adrian said the gift was something we would never expect but we once were expecting, and we would truly love it. Never in a million years would I have guessed what was actually about to happen. As the day went on, I was making dinner and Dwight and I began talking about what the gift might be. I remember Dwight saying, "your guess is as good as mine," and my replying that, "my guess is ridiculous." At that point I was starting to think in the subconscious of my mind that maybe… It was the one thing I wished for every year when I would blow out the candles on my birthday cake. Maybe, it was the one thing that I had prayed for day in and day out for ten long years.

"Our doorbell rang at 6:10 PM on the dot. Adrian was there with someone we knew. We were both happy to see Natalie, but we soon would find out that "Natalie" never existed. Natalie was in fact Trudy. There was proof of it of course but there was also no doubt in my mind or Dwight's mind that it was true."

"How did you feel," Martha asked Marsha.

"When Trudy referred to Dwight as "dad" she barely eked out the word but we both heard it as loud and as clear as if she had shouted it. I made Lasagna that night. If I had known, I would have made Chicken Cacciatore. It's Trudy's favorite. When I had said that she said, and I quote, "I love your Lasagna mom." Mom! I hadn't been called mom in 10 years. How did I feel? Imagine the greatest day of your entire life and times it by infinity and you might have some idea of how I felt."

"What gave you the idea that it may have been Trudy," Gloria asked, "and why was it ridiculous. I mean, GOD can do anything."

"Well to quote Pastor Gray, GOD Giveth, GOD taketh away and GOD giveth back again," Marsha said.

Everyone laughed.

"Really? Well, why did the Lord giveth back again your daughter and didn't giveth back again my husband," Maggie asked with a scroll.

Maggie's friend, Joshua, put a hand on her shoulder.

"GOD has a plan for you," he told her gently.

Marsha nodded.

"In a perfect world," she said, "Everyone would treat everyone else with kindness, compassion, love, respect and understanding. In a perfect world everyone would be accepted. We don't live in a perfect world."

"Really? Because as near as I can see your world is perfect."

"My world is wonderful," Marsha replied, "I have my daughter back. Adrian and Trudy are getting married again and Dwight and I have a week-old baby granddaughter named Hope Julia Monk. I also was the mother of a child with leukemia when Trudy was 3 to the time, she was 6 ½ and for ten years I was the mother of a "dead" daughter."

"Is that why you were positive," Jesse asked, "Because you had to be?"

"I was positive all the time," Marsha said, "even before it was a necessity."

Pam looked surprised.

"You never acted hurtful," she asked.

"Of course not," Marsha said.

"Didn't people suggest you should do things differently than you were," Sammy asked, "I know that people pressure me to do things differently."

"Uh-huh," Marsha said, "The same way I wouldn't listen to the suggestion that I go play in traffic I'm not going to listen to any other stupid suggestions either."

"What about when you were scared? Did you ever… ya know… bow to the pressure of what other people did?"

"Never," Marsha replied, "Neither did Dwight."

"So when you found out that Trudy was still alive that must have… well for lack of a better word been a shock."

"Shock would be a very good word to describe how we felt. It was not a painful shock of course. It was a joyful shock. That night Dwight and I were unable to sleep. We stayed up the entire evening and the next day. I wasn't even tired after that."

As if on cue Trudy, Adrian and the baby came into the meeting.

"Everyone," Marsha smiled in delight, "This is Trudy."

The room burst into thunderous applause.

"Honey, come on up here. You too Adrian and bring Hope."

"Sorry we're late," Trudy said as she walked up on stage, "Hope kept us up most of the night so we overslept."

Marsha hugged her daughter.

"You didn't miss much," she said, "I was just telling the story of what happened."

Trudy laughed. She knew that was her mother's favorite topic.

A young girl raised her hand.

"Yes… Susan," Marsha said, gesturing to the child who was about 7.

"Daddy always said if you want something don't be afraid to ask," she said, "Could I hold the baby?"

Trudy smiled at Susan.

"Sure," she said, "Come up here and sit in that chair… I'll show you how to hold her."

Later Pastor Gray came up to Dwight Marsha, Trudy, Adrian and the baby.

"I'm sorry about my daughter," he whispered motioning to Susan, "She loves babies. She's sensitive and her social skills aren't the best yet. She's only seven."

"I think she's great," Trudy smiled.

"She has better social skills then I did at 17," Marsha added with a laugh.

Pastor Gray gently took his daughter's hand as they headed for the car.