Sunday, April 12, 2009

Resurrection Tapestry

I spent part of the day wondering about this guy. A youth pastor at a large Presbyterian church back in Kansas City. In 1971 he issued an invitation to follow Jesus to those attending an Easter Sunrise Service. Among those listening was a quiet young gal about to graduate high school. She had been worried about cancer, not sure what would happen to her if she caught it...and died. Anyway, something the guy said was compelling, and Nancy Leah Freeman gave her life to Christ that morning.

She went off to college eventually helping this worried, sensitive farm boy put the pieces together. And they embarked on a life of great adventure. Adventures that took them to the classrooms in Philadelphia, and the streets of New York, Dublin and London telling anybody who would listen that HE had risen. Together they raised three unique children who honored them and who follow Jesus through their own pilgrimages to this day. Their adventure ended last August, when after hearing her husband say the words, "It's okay, sweetie," Nancy fell into the arms of the Savior she loved, the One she embraced after hearing the words of that young pastor back in Johnson County, Kansas.

I don't know what else that guy stirred up in his ministry, but I do know that the fruit of his impact on Nancy helped birth churches in Dublin, Prague, and Vienna, and continues to encourage others to follow Him as the man she discipled for 34 years retells the story she lived out so well.

I can't wait to meet this guy someday. I have a lot to thank him for.

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