My Simple Answer to My Pastor-The Back Story

At the end of May, I had lunch with my pastor. During our lunch, he asked me a question about what Jesus was showing me through my experience of two surgeries on my knee and all that has gone with it. It may not have sounded like a big spiritual truth, but my reply was, “that there are people there.”

The back story to my reply is from thirty years ago. Thirty years ago, I was in the midst of my first autoimmune battle with autoimmune hypothyroid, It had caused me to leave the college where I was studying for ministry. I was delivering pizza part-time just to survive. My friends from the church I went to before I left for Minneapolis to study for ministry had turned their backs on me because I was changing denominations. I went through the two year battle and year of recovery alone except one married couple ho were my friends. But I saw the perhaps a few times a month.

I was so sick that the lyrics to songs like Streets of Philadelphia by Bruce Springsteen spoke to me with lyrics like:

I walked the avenue, ’til my legs felt like stone
I heard the voices of friends vanished and gone
At night I could hear the blood in my veins
Just as black and whispering as the rain

But there were those moments in prayer that kept me going. One song that would speak hope to me was Michael Card’s song Immanuel. I will never forget listening to it one morning and feeling like I was in the presence of God for hours but it had only been four minutes. Thirty years ago, there was no YouTube, streaming services etc. There was the radio in the delivery vehicle and songs like Streets of Philadelphia would come on and bring me don. But there was my CD player at home and songs like Immanuel would keep me going and remind me God was with me.

Perhaps you can understand the significance of my answer that “there are people there:” The experience I went through caused me to not place too much trust or confidence in anyone. So when I say there are people there, it has great significance for me.

Sometimes we may look for some deep spiritual truths but the simple ones can be quite meaningful.

Thank you for reading. God Bless.