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| John Park and The Crooked Toe Band |
Sometimes, but not often enough, God gives us a moment. A
moment that changes everything bad going on around us, a moment that lasts a
lifetime.
I have a dear friend who is dying. As his battle against the
cancer that racks his body nears the close, I hope for a God moment. Oh prayers
for miracles continue in earnest as they have for months now. John has many
friends, people who love him beyond measure that have formed a continuous and
incredible prayer chain. Their petition for a miracle healing stems from a deep
faith in God and love for John.
I have faith that God can, but only can hope
that God will. If there has ever been any man who deserved a miracle more…
John has spent his life as a servant to God, therein rests
the irony. When our mission here is complete, God calls us home for a greater
good, a grander mission. We can only imagine what Heaven is like. So it is
difficult for us to understand that this process of dying that brings us such sorrow
is most certainly a joyful event on the other side of the heavenly gates. Even
when we know that the one we lost has gone to a “better place”. Even when we know that one
day we will be reunited, the pain is deep.
So we need a God moment. We want a miracle, we need the moment.
So what is a God moment?
It’s clarity. It’s a pause. It is the moment when we don’t
worry about death; when we don’t think about miracles, when we don’t fear what the future
will be like without our loved one. We can do none of these things because for
just a moment all we can think about is the person we love. We remove everything
else from thought, including ourselves. For just a moment, a God moment.
Last Sunday, and again today I listened as people who know
and love John spoke out loud their memories. There was a shared theme; they
spoke not of things that John has done but of words that he has said. John’s
impact as a teacher was evidenced by these remembered quotes. I was astonished
how easily I remembered John’s thoughts and teachings as others shared them
with the class.
Many were detailed, even written in the pages of their bibles. When
the words were first jotted down John was not sick, he was not dying. They were
written down in a moment as so to remember. Remember what was taught, what was
said. Now they have become a moment for us to remember John.
Listening to people share these special memories, these
special moments, moved me greatly. Tonight as I thought about John and his
family I knew that they too needed a God moment. I called Darlene and told her
about the class's stroll down memory lane for the past couple of weeks. I told
her how much John meant to the class. She already knows this, but I wanted to
tell her any way.
Then I told her about the quotes, about how different people
remembered different things that her husband had said over the years… For
Darlene this was a God Moment. For just a brief moment, for just a pause, Darlene’s
own memories of the words of John came with clarity. It was good to hear her smile.
It lasted for just a moment. Before we hung up she told me
she thought it was a good day for a miracle. I agree.
God moments are often too short, but when He grants you one
hold onto it. Hang it next to your heart where it will always be. You will
forever be able to hear its soothing melody, to feel it’s warm embrace. Miracles
come and go, God Moments last…forever.
Take a moment now and listen to John sing about memories....
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