Brotherhood
12.28.2014
My family has had one of those Christmas stories that you
hear about and hope it never happens to you. Five days before Christmas we
found out that my wife's aunt had passed away unexpectedly. One of those happy,
funny aunts who is always glad to see you and makes you feel loved. Add to that
loss that we still don't know exactly what happened, and we've had a few heavy
days leading up to Christmas.
Then I got a call from my mother-in-law asking if I would
speak at the memorial service. Grandma was hoping I would share a meditation
and words of comfort for the family. Well, for Grandma I agreed to do it, but
speaking at memorial services is a little out of my comfort range. I tend to be
pretty emotional at that kind of service, and I'd rather be emotional sitting
in a pew than standing in front of several hundred people. And what do you say
when some of the questions don't have any answers?
On the other hand, I felt a sense of opportunity. An
opportunity to comfort a lot of people who are special to me. An opportunity to
express my faith. An opportunity to share the Word of God with some people who
will mostly ignore it this Christmas.
One of my first moves was to send out some texts and e-mails
and ask some friends to pray for me. I dug up the most recent e-mail about
planning the next Faith in the Field event, replaced the subject line with
“Prayer Request,” and sent a note off to the guys. Over the next few hours I
got a bunch of replies expressing sympathy and encouragement and agreeing to
pray for me. It was a huge boost to get that response.
All I can say is that their prayers were answered in
unmistakeable ways. I spent several hours putting together the thoughts I
wanted to share, but when I finished, there was no doubt that this was what I
was supposed to share. I was actually a little fired up to get up there and say
it. And I got up in front of those several hundred people with Kleenex box in
hand, and I needed...none. Maybe I hit a home run, or maybe it was just a solid
line-drive single, but I have to acknowledge that the prayers of my friends and
family were huge.
So the next time you visit the Faith in the Field Facebook
page or check out a Seeking the One DVD, I hope you'll recognize that we love
to hunt and fish and talk about hunting and fishing, but we're not just about
hunting and fishing. Following Christ is a full-time calling, and God touches
every part of our lives. It was such a boost to my faith these last few days
that when I needed support, I could even call my hunting buddies, and their
prayers were answered.
Thanks, guys! It meant a lot to me.