Every year, around this time, I often reflect on the past year and what I have accomplished (or not accomplished). I try not to think about "getting older".
My thoughts brought me to a friend who recently past away. I went to a memorial service for her not too long ago. She was about 65. I made my travels to Kings Mountain to this memorial service on a gray afternoon. Now, if you have been to Kings Mountain, you would know that there is not much going on. It's a pretty sleepy town; a good town to retire in. The only thing that really happens is high school football and sports. And maybe the Christmas parade.
The service was held in a United Methodist Church in downtown Kings Mountain. If you have been to a traditional Methodist church, it can be quite... well... boring. The service started with some usual hymns and prayer. Then the reverend started his message.
You can tell that this reverend really knows my friend. She was pretty involved with the church, so I'm not surprised at how much he talked about her. In the wake of her death, many friends and former students called into the church to expressed their condolences and well wishes for the family.
One interesting story perked my attention. It is regarding a AME pastor who was a former Spanish student of my friend. (My friend was a retired high school Spanish teacher.) This pastor used to be a trouble maker in high school and was in the wrong crowd. But my friend challenged him (not sure how) in that if he past high school, she would give him a little book about John Wesley. It is probably the same little book she gave me when I went through high school. I thought that was a strange little gift to give a troublemaker.
Well, this pastor did read the book and was very moved by John Wesley's work and practice, that he went on to become a pastor of an AME church in California. When he called to talk to the reverend, he had already cried for days mourning the lost of a friend who God have used to changed his life.
It reminded me of my own journey. This friend invited me to this same Methodist church many years ago. Through high school ministry, I got my first taste of Christianity which later gave me the foundation on me accepting Christ.
It also reminded me that every little action we take as Christ followers can greatly affect a friend, a colleague, a teen, a child. You never know where God can take a person and what God can do in the hearts of people.
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