Grieving mother illustrates God's forgiveness

ROMEOVILLE, Ill. -- (Catholic Explorer) Thousands of fans cheered on their favorite Major League Baseball players July 11 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh as the American League battled the National League in the annual All Stars game. Sadly, one fan will never again have the opportunity to cheer on her favorite roster of "all-stars" playing on a dusty neighborhood baseball diamond. Janet Willis recently listed her "sluggers" in a book, "A Dad's Delight," as Amy, Toby, Dan, Ben, Joe, Sam, Hank, Elizabeth and Pete.

Six of her nine children were killed in a 1994 fiery car accident that was eventually connected to a scandal that convicted former Gov. George Ryan of many wrongdoings. Although Willis stressed there is no connection between her book and Ryan, she did offer a comment about him. During a recent telephone conversation with the Catholic Explorer from her home in Tennessee, she said, "We do pray for Mr. Ryan and whatever his needs be that God would work on his heart." About 10 years after the life-altering accident, Willis turned her grief into a positive project. All funds from sales of the 10,000 books printed are set to assist three community organizations--Joni and Friends, Kids' Club and The Jimmy Fund. "It was born out of a time that I asked specifically for something to do," remembered Willis. Her husband, Scott, an ordained Baptist minister, had already redirected his attention to full-time work on the Khesed Foundation, which was created from a $100 million court settlement regarding the deaths of their children. Using a $32,000 grant from the family's foundation for publishing costs, Willis decided to write and illustrate her first book--a story they would repeat often as they spoke about their family's tragedy. She remembered, "This is a fun story. This one was easy to tell." The mother, who never lost her faith and credits her dedication to prayer for guiding her through her family's heartbreak, expressed her desire to spread the broad strokes contained inside the 40-page work. Faith, family and forgiveness are captured in a real story about how Scott taught his son, named after baseball legend Hank Aaron, about God's forgiveness through their favorite pastime. "It tells a moment in (Scott's) fathering when he did a really neat thing," she added. Scott easily forgave Hank for accidentally throwing a baseball that broke his office window at Parkwood Baptist Church in Chicago's Mount Greenwood neighborhood. Scott followed the example of the father in the biblical parable of the prodigal son. Hank's repentance for purposely playing in an area that was off-limits was acknowledged by his father and forgiven because God had offered forgiveness to Scott on previous occasions. "Jesus gave him mercy as a dad. ... And giving mercy was 'A Dad's Delight,' " explained Willis. To better explain how forgiveness was delightful, she referenced the biblical passage of Micah 7:18. A portion reads, "Who does not persist in anger forever, but delights rather in clemency." At first, the 30-month project was overwhelming for the novice artist who had taken a few semesters of art studies as a teen-ager at the University of Illinois in Champaign. She said, "I considered myself a beginner. ... I prayed that God--if it's his will--that he give me skill." The 59-year-old grandmother of 25 found a few good coaches through an independent study course at the American Academy of Art in Chicago. Rich Kryczka, chair of the illustration department at the institution, reflected upon his work with Willis on eight of the watercolor paintings for the book's illustration during a recent telephone conversation with the Catholic Explorer. As far as the professor was concerned, Willis hit a home run with the completed project. He said, "I'm proud of it." He recalled that Willis was "driven with good reason" when she arrived on campus and the "realist" painter was always concerned about turning out the best product. "Each painting got better and better," he said. Some of the illustrations depicted neighborhoods that either ceased to exist or modernization and years of deterioration made it difficult for an artist to paint the scenes in a realistic manner, he noted. Other scenes such as the one setting up the birth scene of Hank were challenging because she had to set the right lighting along the challenging Chicago skyline. Willis expressed gratitude for the assistance she received at the academy because it strengthened her confidence in being able to artistically meet the challenge of completing 27 watercolor paintings to illustrate the book. She said, "It was a step of faith. It was a tremendous answer to prayer and I finished it with joy." The art was probably the most challenging, she admitted, because her message was always clear. She said, "I had a burden to give a good father image." Despite all her trials and tribulations, Willis remains steadfast in her faith. She said her study of Scriptural passages about heaven and eternity give her hope that some day she will meet with her children again in heaven and "there won't be another goodbye."

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This story was made available to Catholic Online by permission of the Catholic Explorer(www.catholicexplorer.com), official newspaper of the Diocese of Joliet, Ill.