And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him. —JOHN 5:14–15 AS I SUSPECTED, I didn’t have much trouble gathering material for my “Getting Religion” column. I kept stumbling across one interesting religion story after another that illustrated how faith shaped people’s lives. I met extraordinary people everywhere I turned. One was Madge Rodda, an elderly church organist, who woke up at three each Sunday morning and headed to a nearby Denny’s for some “spiritual Wheaties”—Bible study, quiet time and breakfast. It was the 70-year-old’s way of getting ready for 7:30 a.m. church services at Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa. One Sunday at the restaurant, Madge went to the restroom. Hiding in the stall next to hers was a transient carnival worker named James Bridle. High on cocaine, he had been reading a pornographic magazine. With a knife in one hand, he was ready to attack. Madge said that when she emerged from the stall, there he was.
