Every parent had to take a turn working in the concession
stand. That was the rule if your child was playing soccer, and a few years ago,
if you knew us while we were living in Pennsylvania, you would have known that
we had a child who played soccer—our youngest son. Like many of you, a few
years ago, it felt like our lives revolved around his schedule. Anyway, it was
my turn to work the grill, and I was doing that with the father of another
player on the team. We started to talk, and for some reason, he started talking
about his mother. She had fallen and broken a hip, and he was deeply concerned
for her and for how he was going to care for her. I listened. I nodded my head.
I made small comments. And as he was winding down from the story, I said to
him, “Please know that I’ll be praying for her—and for you.” That was the only
religious thing I said. He wasn’t a particularly religious guy, but he was
caught up short. “Thanks,” he said, a tear actually in his eye, “I really
appreciate that.” Given that our sons played soccer, there was another game two
days later. When I saw him, I asked how his mother was doing, and again, he
gave me the full story, and again, I offered only one religious comment, “Well,
I will keep praying,” and again, he thanked me, sincerely. His mother was not
miraculously healed, nor did he turn into a church regular, but I like to think
that a seed was planted. I think that those of us who find meaning in religious
commitment need to find ways to talk about that, but I think that we need to
talk about this part of our lives in ways that are not obnoxious—in ways that
are authentic and compassionate.
-Pastor Don Steele
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