Loving even when it's hard

Her name was Sheila. She started coming to our church and just quietly attended and left services for a number of months. We came to find out we were neighbors. Sheila never really graduated from a silent Sunday-only relationship with our church. But our family relationship grew a bit with her.

My boys mowed her lawn for her. And a lot of small talk was held on either of our front porches. But Sheila got sick. She got really sick. We continued to keep up the lawn, but now it was for free. When she went into the hospital, we made sure the house was okay and her trash would get out on trash day and her mail wouldn't pile up.

I remember going to visit her on Christmas Eve and then on Christmas day in the hospital. She was pretty depressed those days, but she smiled when I brought the boys in to see her.

Sheila's health continued to deteriorate. She became weaker and more frail. Her stays in the hospital would grow longer at each interval. When she would be home for a while, my wife, on more than a few occasions took her over chicken soup (or some similar dish) to cheer her up.

Then she got really bad. It became apparent that she wasn't coming home from the hospital. One of the numerous visits I had up there I met her sister. On one particular visit, her sister asked me to step out of her room where she proceeded to dress me down in the hallway for not having done more for her as a pastor.

In my own defense, I began to enumerate some of the things I had shared here earlier. But she only told me I should have done more. Then she began to tell me how the church should have done more (even though 90% of the church would never have even known who Sheila was due to her incognito attendance patterns).

I left Sheila's hospital room that night hurt and angry. Sheila died a couple days later. In anger and spite (I presume), Sheila's sister hired another pastor to perform the funeral (who at the graveside forgot her name). The whole ordeal stung me to my core.

But my wife was a great support and encouragement through the whole deal. A little later that year, the week of Christmas, there was a knock at my front door. It was cold and had recently snowed.

When I opened the front door, there was Sheila's sister. I was more than taken back, but composed myself quickly enough to invite her to step in out of the cold. She did.

When she came in I noticed tears on her cheeks. She told me in a shaky voice, "Mike, I wronged you. And I need you to forgive me for how I treated you when Sheila died."

Her words were like warm apple pie. I told her, "There's no need. I forgave you when it happened. I can't imagine how much hurt was in your heart when you lost your sister."

Those words seemed to release a flood of tears for her and then she embraced me there on my front porch. After a good hug and cry, Sheila's sister pulled out some homemade chocolate chip cookies she had in a zip lock bag she had put in the pocket of her parka. I humbly accepted (inwardly, that was almost as exciting as the whole forgiveness thing!)

Now Sheila's sister still comes over. She hasn't sold her sister's home yet, but is hoping to soon. We talk when she comes. And things are good.

Proverbs 17:17a "A friend loves at all times..."

Friends

In life we are given very few, what I would consider, "close" friends. We all have friends...at least, for the most part. People that we enjoy the company of and people that we occasionally like to just hang out with.

But from time to time, we come across a certain kind of relationship in the friendship realm that really is special. I have been blessed sincerely to have a few myself.

I have four guys that I can easily say I think I would do just about anything for any one of these guys. Steve, Kyle, Dave and Corey.

I was just kind of thinking about my friendships today. And realizing that I really am a very blessed man.

I really do thank God for these kinds of friendships. I hope you have close friends like this too.

Now I have a couple woman friends...but there really isn't a comparison. My wife is my closest friend and Miss Margaret is another dear friend.

But I really appreciate God sending some other guys into my life to help me walk my walk and talk my talk.

I probably don't tell them enough how much I appreciate them, but I know I get far more out of the friendship than they get from me. So thanks guys! Thanks for your friendship!

The Bridge (Finished Product)

Okay, here it is. I am very excited about this. We worked very hard. I would especially like to thank my youth pastor for all his hard work at putting flesh to the skeleton of my vision for this. What do you think?

The Bridge Video Shoot

We shot our latest video today. We will be posting it up on Youtube soon and embedding it on our main site at Godsfort.org. I am very jazzed about this because we are also mailing out over 5,000 postcards in the neighborhood where my church is located. The mailing will be directing people to our website where we will have the newest video on the main site.

This video is the promo for the upcoming sermon series I will be preaching in September entitled "The Bridge." The Bridge series has a simple premise...God bridged the gap between fallen man and himself by sending His Son Jesus to die for us.

Another cool feature will be that each week at the church we will be constructing an actual bridge in the auditorium as the series progresses so that by the last week the bridge will be complete. And then the invitation will be given for people to walk across the Bridge into a right relationship with God.

I will embed the video here a little later this week when we get it done. We still have one more pick up shot to get tomorrow evening and then editing. But I promise you won't be let down. It will be our best video yet.

Betty Reno's Two Moons

She was one of the most interesting ladies I had ever met. She had a strong personality and was always just a little "off", if you know what I mean. I was fresh out of Bible college, which means, of course, that I knew everything. That is, until I met Betty Reno. She helped me learn several things about life.

I remember one particularly beautiful night getting a phone call around midnight from Betty. She was frantic and scared. She told me, "I know He's coming back. I just know it!"

I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and asked her what she was talking about. She said, "I see two moons! There are two moons! Jesus is coming back!"

I again asked her, "What are you talking about, Betty?!"

She told me to look outside. I did. One moon...it was a particularly beautiful clear evening. I told her plainly, "Betty, I only see one moon."

She insisted, "I can see them as plain as day! There are two moons in the sky. Jesus is coming back!"

I told her, "Betty, do me a favor, go look out of another window at the moon." She did.

She said, "Well I only see one moon out of this window."

I said, "Betty, I think you are seeing a reflection through your other window. Good night."

That was what it was like dealing with Betty Reno. Just a little off but definitely someone that kept me on my toes because I never knew quite what to expect. She didn't fit any mold. There was only one Betty Reno.

On another occasion as her health was failing, she unfortunately had to have a colostomy bag because of her failing colon. I went to see her the day after the long surgery. After only being in the room with her for a couple of minutes, Betty pulled up her hospital gown to show me her new bag that they had put on her.

I was completely unprepared to see Betty in all her post-surgery and completely nude glory. Being that she was almost 83 at the time, I can honestly say that this is something not one of my Bible College Professors prepared me for.

What do you say to an 83 year old nude woman with a colostomy bag? That should have come up somewhere between Interdisciplinary Studies 101 and Homiletics. But no. I didn't get that part of the course.

So I said what I guess your supposed to say in that circumstance, "Nice bag."

A little later, less than six months, actually, I buried Betty Reno up on the hill from the church building in Putnam where I ministered at the time. I remember the evening of her visitation how I noticed one of our lights went out in the sanctuary. So I waited until everyone left the church and then pulled out the ladder to change the bulb.

As I was on top of the ladder I swear I heard a noise come from Betty's casket. I got off of that ladder quicker than it took me to climb up it and made an executive decision that the light changing could wait until daylight the next morning.

I didn't want Betty giving me one final lesson from that coffin that evening. So I went home. The funeral went off just fine. Early that next morning I got the light bulb changed before anyone get there.

But I will never forget Betty Reno. Definitely one of a kind!