ATTENTION: Wedding in ICU

As a pastor, I am not a stranger to hospitals.  I find myself going there from time to time to visit the sick hoping that as I come near that people might be reminded of the nearness of the Great Physician.  A few weeks ago,  I found myself on the ICU unit at our local hospital.   When you are on the ICU unit today, you are seriously ill.   As I was there,  I thought about another time when I was on that same ICU unit for a happy occasion.  The happy occasion was to officiate at the wedding of a young man who had a brain tumor and his fiancée.  As I recall, the prognosis for the young man was bleak.  As he prepared for surgery,  the young man and his fiancée wanted to get married whether the future brought them “sickness or health”.  The ICU staff was very accommodating even providing a small wedding cake for the occasion.  In a place often filled with the sound of  beeping life-monitoring equipment, there was the sound of wedding bells that day. In a hospital unit where people sometimes hold on for their life, a young man and a young woman started a new life. 

I think of that story during this Holy Week.  There is much about the story of the final days of Jesus’s life that seems so dark- a betrayal, an arrest, beatings, a trial, a cross,and a death.   And then, there comes the first day of the week and a visit to a cemetery.   Like ICU units, cemeteries are not the kind of place that often make us feel giddy and happy.    A visit to a cemetery can be mournful and painful.     Yet, a visit to the grave was different that day for Mary, Peter, and all the rest because the tomb was empty.    New life began in an ICU unit years ago as a man and a woman made vows to one another, and new life began in that cemetery on that first Easter day because Christ Jesus was alive and not dead.     Easter is the story of the truth that sometimes the best of life can come in the worst of times and places.   Easter is the story of life indeed that we know in Christ.  Whatever you face in these days,  may you discover hope and joy not because your life is so good, but because God is good and Christ lives.   Have a joy-filled Easter.-  Pastor Randy Wall

 

Prayer:    O God,  I  give thanks that you show up in the darkest of times and places.  I give thanks for Easter and that Christ Jesus lives.  May the resurrection truth be true for me; through the living Christ I pray.  Amen. 

The Clover

St. Patricks Day was only a few days ago.  Though I do not party on St. Patricks Day like some do,  it is a day this 10^th generation son of Ireland enjoys.   I am proud of my Irish heritage.   I had the priviledge to visit Ireland over 30 years ago… to walk the streets of towns like Galway, Waterford, and Dublin… and to visit sites like Blarney Castle and St. Patricks Cathedral.  St. Patrick is considered the patron saint of Ireland.   While he is highly respected in Ireland,  he was not a native of Ireland but came there as a missionary from what is now known as England.    One of the ways that St. Patrick shared his faith was by taking a clover and using it as a teaching tool.   St. Patrick taught the people that as the clover has three leaves, so God is known as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Through the clover,  St. Patrick helped the people of the Emerald Isle understand the concept of the Holy Trinity.

As the leaves of the clover were a reminder to St. Patrick of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit,  so it occurs to me that there are reminders of God around us all the time. Sometimes, God speaks loudly but more times than not God speaks in the daily course of  life in gentle whispers.   In the blooming flower and bush in these early days of Spring… in the loving smile of a friend or a loved one… in the laughter or frolic of a child… and in millions of other ways,  God speaks and whispers his message.   John 5:17 declares,  “In his defense Jesus said to them, ‘My Father is always at work to this very day, and I too am working.’”   Oh, for eyes to see Him and for a heart to hear Him this day and everyday.   Have a joy-filled week.-  Pastor Randy Wall

Prayer:    O God,  I  thank you for St.  Patrick and all those who have shared the gospel in the past and present.  Give me a heart that looks for you in the world around me;  through Christ our Lord.  Amen. 

A Story About Billy Graham

I have mourned with a legion of people in recent weeks over the death of Billy Graham.   While I never met Rev. Graham,  I have met many people that were connected  to him in some way. For example,  my daughter, Heather, was in high school with his grandson, Will Graham, who is an evangelist now.  My wife, Ann, is a 4^th or 5^th cousin to Billy Graham.    Back in 1999,  I had the priviledge to meet Cliff Barrows at the Billy Graham School of Evangelism in St. Louis.    Leighton Ford, brother in law of Billy Graham, was the evangelist speaking in my hometown of Burlington who planted the seed that led to my own commitment to Christ back in 1970.  I was grateful when over 10 years ago that I connected with Rev. Ford and had a chance to thank him  for his impact on my life.  

There is much that I could say about Billy Graham, but I will not use this forum to share all that could be said about his impact on my life and on our world.   I will simply share a story that his second daughter, Anne Graham Lotz, shares.   When Anne was getting ready to graduate from high school many years ago,   she asked her parents if she could drive the family car to the graduation ceremonies.  She had to be there early, and her family would come later.  On the way down the winding road from their home to her high school,  Anne hit a tree beside the road.  After inspecting the damage on the passenger side of the car,  she went on her way to the  ceremonies never telling her parents about the mishap.   Getting home late that night, she encountered her father, Billy Graham,as he was  getting a glass of water in the kitchen.  She told her father something like this:  “Daddy,  I had an accident on the way to school tonight.  I messed up the side of the car.   I am sorry I did not tell you until now.    Her father responded:   “Anne, I knew about it right after it happened because of the neighbors called me.   I did not say anything about it at school tonight.  I was just waiting for you tell me.”   

There are so many of us that have made a wreck of not our car, but of our lives. There are things we have done and not done that have made a wreck of our world or ourselves.   Whether we have been President of the United States or an average Joe or Jan, through the decades there has been a spiritual father nearby, Rev. Dr. Billy Graham, waiting for us to not only to tell him  about it but waiting to lead us and point us to Christ.     Billy Graham has gone now for a joyous reunion with his  heavenly Father.  That same Father still waits for one and all to speak to him and come to him.   Have a joy-filled week.-   Pastor Randy Wall

Prayer:    O God,  I  thank you for the life of Billy Graham and for all those who showed and shared Christ among us.   Grant that through your Spirit, I might do likewise. Amen.   

Waiting for THE Woman

Sittin' on a bench at West Town Mall
He sat down in his overalls and asked me
You waitin' on a woman
I nodded yeah and said how 'bout you
He said son since nineteen fifty-two I've been
Waitin' on a woman

When I picked her up for our first date
I told her I'd be there at eight
And she came down the stairs at eight-thirty
She said I'm sorry that I took so long
Didn't like a thing that I tried on
But let me tell you son she sure looked pretty
Yeah she'll take her time but I don't mind
Waitin' on a woman

He said the wedding took a year to plan
You talk about an anxious man, I was nervous
Waitin' on a woman
And then he nudged my arm like old men do
And said, I'll say this about the honeymoon, it was worth it
Waitin' on a woman-   Brad Paisley

A few years ago, singer/songwriter Brad Paisley wrote the above song.   I was pleased and surprised when I saw the music video for the song that featured North Carolina’s own, Andy Griffith.  The song talks  about a man waiting on a woman.   That song comes to mind this day because tomorrow will be  my 20^th wedding anniversary to my lovely wife,  Ann Blackley Wall.    I can relate to that song in my relationship with Ann.  There have been many times when I have waited for her as she shopped… got ready to go out to dinner or to some event… and the like.  I asked her to marry me on February 8, 1997 and wanted to get married  quickly.  For several reasons,  she wanted to wait and so I waited for over 12 months. 

There is a story in the book of Genesis about Jacob.   He wanted a wife.  Read a portion of this story as found in Genesis 29: 14-20:

After Jacob had stayed with him for a whole month, ¹⁵ Laban said to him, “Just because you are a relative of mine, should you work for me for nothing? Tell me what your wages should be.”  ¹⁶ Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. ¹⁷ Leah had weak^[a] eyes, but Rachel had a lovely figure and was beautiful. ¹⁸ Jacob was in love with Rachel and said, “I’ll work for you seven years in return for your younger daughter Rachel.”  ¹⁹ Laban said, “It’s better that I give her to you than to some other man. Stay here with me.” ²⁰ So Jacob served seven years to get Rachel, but they seemed like only a few days to him because of his love for her.

Jacob was waiting on a woman named Rachel.  He waited not while she shopped or got ready, but because her Dad said so.   He waited for years.  As Ann and I prepare for  a milestone wedding anniversary,  I realize that while  I  have waited minutes for Ann to get ready and months for our wedding day, I really waited my whole life for her to come into my life.  And you know what?   I can confidently and joyfully say that it was worth waiting for that wonderful woman.  I give thanks for the gift and joy of being married to Ann Blackley Wall.  Happy anniversary, Darling.  I wonder who you have waited for in your life?  Have  joy-filled week.-  Pastor Randy Wall

Prayer:    O God,  I  thank you for the gift of marriage.  I pray for marriages that are new, marriages that celebrate milestones,  and marriages that are only good memories.   Thank you, Lord;  through Christ our Lord.  Amen.