HONORING THE DIFFERENCES

This morning our MASTER-FULL MOMS class talked about learning to walk more and more with the Holy Spirit as we learn how to HONOR THE DIFFERENCES in one another. There are so many differences in people: personalities, male/female, birth order, intellect, preferences, health, culture, upbringing...

Last week we had several vans full of teens from the Green Valley church in Noblesville, IN here at the Pitman church for our VBS. Most of them go to Pat Arthur's (Indiana Ave. c of C preacher in Bloomington, IN) session at Spring Mill Bible camp....small world. They did VBS and Patrick Mead, preacher of the Rochester, MI c of C taught the adult class. It was going well when God decided to make His presence known in a powerful way...He took one of our members to his eternal home via a brain hemorrhage. Franny was 46 years old and had only been born again since April 2007. Yet, to those who knew Franny this past year his conversion was truly life changing.

In May, Franny was replacing the upstairs toilet in our house and he and I were visiting. He asked me if I knew his "story" and I said maybe just a little. He preceded to tell me about his relationship with Rich, one of our deacons and the owner of the construction company he worked for. Franny and Rich had been friends for 18+ years. Franny said that there were many things he had done to Rich that were not good and that he was not proud of, yet "through all the times I disappointed Rich, he never stopped loving me." Over the last couple years, Rich has brought several of his workers from his construction company to the LORD, Franny being one of them. Rich and Franny had recently started sponsoring AA meetings in our Pitman church building on Monday nights. More and more people were coming.

Franny was rushed to the hospital on Tuesday afternoon. Tuesday and Wednesday many gathered to pray at the building, in homes, and at the hospital. Steve stayed at the hospital with Franny's friends and family into the night. John P. was there, too. Franny passed on on Wednesday night just before VBS was to start with members of his estranged family gathered around him. Estranged family who could not believe the stories they were hearing about this man they had grown up with. One of his brothers said, "I do not even know this good guy that you are talking about."

On Thursday, Steve, Crystal, and I went on a planned trip to New York City with some from Pitman and the Noblesville, IN group. We took a big bus full of 59. We rode over on the Staten Island Ferry, passed the Statue of Liberty, walked to "Ground Zero", took the subway to Manhatten, walked through Central Park, spent time at FAO Schwarz toy store...then walked and walked and walked down Fifth Avenue past Tiffany's, Fox News, many famous stores until we got to St. Pat's cathedral. Then, there was Saks Fifth Avenue, Rockefeller Center, Radio City Music Hall, Broadway Shows, NBC, ABC, Times Square....getting tired yet??? We were! We did!

On Friday, back in the office, Steve leaned over to pick up a water bottle and his back snapped...oh, no, his day in NYC had exasperated an old back injury. Steve remained in bed Friday, Saturday, Sunday...I have been trying to keep up with things he needed done or contacts he needed to make. On Monday, I helped him dress to preach Franny's funeral service. Steve had been so "out of it" that he did not know that the printed program listed the song: "I Can Only Imagine!" Steve's sermon title was the same. Go God!!! It was powerful. I've been to some extremely inspirational and remarkable services in my life...but this one was really up there...why? Oh for many reasons...but one was...

At the end of the service, Dan Cooper, the other Pitman minister asked for people to take turns coming forward and telling their stories. From an old drinking buddy who want to know this Jesus who had changed Franny's life, one who wants to learn more about this Philippians book that Preacher Dan was talking about, to a neighbor who said she hadn't taken out her trash in the last 2 years because Franny considered that as his way to serve her, to family members who expressed their astonishment at this changed life, to christians who talked about praying with family, being served by him, and his relentless prayer requests for his physical family and friends from his "past life". Whew!!!!

Steve is still icing down his back, visiting the chiropractor, had x-rays, and is waiting for the results...pray for him that he might be able to go the Sikes Family Reunion next week, that he will be able to speak at the Marriage Retreat in Boulder, CO on July 12-13, and then go with Patti to Oregon the next week....BUT most importantly pray for all of Franny's family and friends who need what Franny had: the life changing TRANSFORMATION that only JESUS CHRIST can give. This TRANSFORMATION includes coming into God's family of believers who HONOR people for WHO'S they are, not who they are.