I Sure Hope You Mean That!

My dad, while in Chicago, went through a LOT.

Betrayed trust--by family and other.

Disillusionment.

Bereavement.

He was pretty down. He had tried a church or two--searching, but was disappointed.

Daddy was working as a driver's license examiner for the City of Chicago. I'm not sure exactly what that entails, but i know this part of the story. Daddy was at work one day, in some public building where people get their licenses renewed and such...when he saw a man wearing a little button on his jacket. Daddy says the small button looked like it was about a food wide instead of the half inch or so that it was, and it read "Jesus is Lord."

Daddy's searching heart couldn't let that go, and he stopped the man and said, "Young man, i sure hope you mean that!"

Well, the man wearing the button didn't wear it half-heartedly, and he sort of snapped to attention and told Daddy, "Yes sir, i sure do!"

And thus began a conversation that was divinely inspired. The man wearing the button invited my dad to the Philadelphia Church of Chicago, a fairly large, spirit filled church; and my dad accepted his invitation.

Daddy remembers that when he walked in he thought these people were pretty strange. People were singing and raising their hands, and sometimes one of them would start talking very strangely. He says he wanted to run out of there, but somehow the way out would always be blocked. But he kept coming back--said he couldn't stay away from the love he felt there.

It wasn't too long before the man with the button got to lead Daddy to Jesus there at that church. Soon thereafter, the youth group got to praying for Daddy, and he received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Daddy remembers that moment too....says he thought he was gonna climb right out of there--like he had a direct ladder to Heaven or something. =) heehee

Daddy has a lot of good memories from that church. He got saved there, deliver there, baptized there, baptized in the Holy Spirit there, developed Godly relationships there.....got married there......

God's so cool.

I'm always in awe to the point of tears when i get to glimpse a bit of His tapestry--what He's weaving together through the smaller details in our lives......

You remember the man with the button--i'm sure you do. I have the pleasure of knowing him also. The man who was "the man with the button" is now my Uncle Chris. It happened that he had a younger sister, named Maud, who would catch my Daddy's eye........but there will be more about that later.