More Than A Wheelchair: The Untold Story--Until Now!

You all know the story of my need for a new wheelchair as a result of being part of the site. However there is a behind-the-scenes story to all of this that in my mind is even more incredible than the provision for the chair. Jackie and I have always felt callings to both ministry and education. These are often complementary fields, so it didn't seem too strange that both of those fields always seemed to be flowing through our hearts concurrently. For example, Jackie has always felt callings to be a minister's wife as well a teacher. We weren't exactly sure what forms those callings would take. When we first married, Jackie transitioned out of nursing, finished her teaching degree and began teaching in Tulsa Public schools. Meanwhile, I was hired for a temporary position at ORU which despite being well received by both students and faculty did not result in a permanent position in part because of the political climate that existed at the time.

In 2003, we moved to Dallas where my wife received a higher-paying teaching job while I continued to look for work. Meanwhile, we connected with a startup church, that, despite being led by some really neat people, never really got off the ground. This really created a lot of emotional conflict in Jackie's heart. On the one hand, she really wanted to pursue ministry while continuing to teach---at least initially---, but watching a startup fail in front of our eyes did not provide a sense of security that things would work out well for us if we sought to branch out. As it became obvious that our little community was dying, Jackie and I started attending another church on the side. It was like an oasis in very long dessert, and we felt we were home---for good! Jackie persuaded me to begin training in another field entirely with the goal of, getting another job and doing ministry on the side. This led to moves in the East Texas area away from Dallas.

On paper, it looked like a great plan. However, it proved disastrous. I ended up taking a couple of jobs that were not good fits for me. Moreover, time that was supposed to be set aside for writing and ministryended upt being consumed in just trying to survive and keep my head above water. To make things worse, Jackie had always had a great job record, but when I took the second job in East Texas, we were forced to move a third time and she found herself a victim of educational politics in a small city.

For the first time in our lives together, neither of us had a job. Jackie quickly got a job offer in a nearby district that would have been even closer to where we were living. However, this time we really tried to pray more intentionally about what God wanted. We both felt God calling us back to the Dallas area. We really missed and frankly needed our old church and felt God leading us back there. The next week we came to Dallas only to discover most principals were on vacation and board offices closed. As an act of faith, we boght our computer and coppier with us and faxed dozens of resumes anyway. Before we knew it, one principal and only one called wanting to interview Jackie for a math position. Before we knew it, we knew we were headed back to Dallas. When we went to the weekly prayer meeing at our old church to have them pray for Jackie and her interview the next day, it was like we never left! Before we knew it, Jackie had a new job and we were back in Dallas.

This move of faith proved to be a wonderful move for Jackie as she has been able to work with inner-city kids, many of whom are very poor, living on a shoestring. Jackie has a huge heart for these people because it is the exact environment she came out of as a child. Just imagine one of those commercials that are meant to pull at your heartstrings so donate to some kind of charitable cause. That was the environment Jackie grew up in as a kid. God has really used her experiences to reach a lot of the kids with whom others have had difficulty. For that reason, she is a school administrator's dream teacher. In the last two years especially, God has given her tremendous favor.

Last spring, God began doing some amazing things on the ministry front. We took in the older sister of a couple of young men we had been mentoring. Las March, their family had some personal problems that made it impossible for her to continue living at home. Even though she is older, her circumstances were such that she had never finished high school. I spent the better part of last summer trying to help her catch up on academics to get her ready for college. She is now working and will start college next semester.

Despite all these great things, both of us kept feeling God calling us to a more intentional ministry outreach. We realized God was at work, but we weren't quite sure what to do next. We just kept praying, and I kept writing by faith. Meanwhile Jackie found out the school district had decided to remove Math and Science teacher stipends as part of budget-cutting measures. Suddenly all of the old insecurities started rearing their ugly head. With an additional person to take care of, it just made them even more intense. I know it probably sounded nonchalant to her, but I did my best to remind her of how God had provided for us in the past and would take care of us again. I couldn't prove it, but I really felt in my heart God was of the something, I just didn't know what. Meanwhile, Jackie and I kept feeling this pull toward ministry. As an act of faith, I begin writing more and we both stepped up our involvement in our local church. Again, we still felt like there was more going on, but we weren't sure what.

Fast forward to Tuesday afternoon. I received a quick education on how the sale of medical equipment really works from the wheelchair provider. In short, Medicare determines the value of an item and that becomes its price for everybody regardless of whether they are a Medicare client or not. As a result, my new manual wheelchair was going to cost over $3000 with $750 out-of-pocket. When I got off the phone with the wheelchair guy, I made a post on Facebook that was meant as a discussion point. However, my long-lost friend and fellow former wing chaplain, Mike Detweiler, (who I haven't talked to since his time at ORU in the late 80s), saw my post and reached out questioning my need. I explained to him that I was frustrated with the system but because of our health savings account was starting over with the new school year effective September 15th, we would be fine because we would just spend three months of it at one time, which the government thankfully allows. Mike wasn't very happy with my "solution". He decided he wanted to help out. I reluctantly gave him my address, but at first honestly felt a little bad because I didn't want people to think I was using my friendship with people on Facebook as a means to raise funds. Then another high school friend solve the same post and also asked for my address. I really thought I would provoke a discussion on healthcare!

After coming home from prayer meeting Tuesday night, Jackie received a Facebook note from Clint Bargman asking if some kind of avenuewas set up through which people could give to help out. Of course, there was not one, because we weren't expecting money from anyone except possibly one person at churchwho had expressed some potential interest once we knew how much the chair was going to cost. (Interestingly, we never actually made it to church Tuesday night because of a tanker truck that overturned and keeping us from making it in! Instead, Jackie drug me inside Kolh's to help her buy some clothes she needed for school). So we couldn't even mention anything to the only other person who had expressed possible interest in helping us because we never made it to church! God obviously had other plans!

After shopping, it was already late when Jackie saw the note from Clint. By the time we got home, ate a bite to eat and Jackie finished preparing for the next day, she nearly fell asleep at her computer! Obviously, she failed to respond to Clint that night. The next morning, I went on Facebook and discovered that a page had been set up by Clint and Shea. This not only touched me, but it was the best "sermon" on God's provision and faithfulness my wife could have ever heard! Wednesday morning, one of the first things Jackie said referring to the site was was "I can't believe this"! To get Jackie to say much of anything when she first wakes up is a miracle in and of itself! When she came home later that day (Wednesday night), it really touched her and built her faith in a way I hadn't witnessed. Then when people kept giving even after the stated need was met, I could really see Jackie's sense of vision being renewed! I was really glad that Shea chose not to remove the site after the initial need was met, because I could see some really precious things happening on this end that were the direct result of your generosity. For example, the combined total of the amount given so far nearly covers Jackie's pay cut that officially begins15th. Understandably, I didn't exactly feel like I could ask people to continue to give after the stated need had been met. Yet, many of you chose to give anyway! A special thank you is in order for your obedience. It continues to produce great fruit!

We were really trying not to discuss this issue with the young lady who lives with us. We just did not think it appropriate. We didn't realize she had discovered what was going on despite our efforts to the contrary. Yesterday, on our way to take care of some errands she explained how much all of this meant to her and we didn't even realize how much she knew! This actually led to her apologizing to us for not trusting us when it came to certain issues, especially dealing with the opposite gender! She also explained how she felt God working in her life and even explained to us in her own words some things she was learning. Many of these were some of the same principles we had been trying guide her in,often without success. However, your generosity was key in helping to soften her heart. Our ride to the chiropractor yesterday seemed almost like an old-fashioned revival meeting!

One last thing, I had already been praying about setting up a 501(c)(3) and then last night Dave Townsend asked me to consider doing just that so people who want cold continue to give. As a result I have begun exploring our options. What's more, Jackie was actually excitedly looking at options with me! This served as an additional confirmation for me. (By the way, if any of my Texas friends know the most efficient way to pursue this, please let me know).We are not totally sure what's coming next, but our hearts are opened like never before largely as a result of your obedience on our behalf! I must close with an extra special thank you to Mike Detweiler, Clint, and Shea for their visionary efforts. Hopefully you already know I've got your back! An extra special thank you is also in order for those of you who insisted on continuing to give even after the initial need was met. The events of this week actually makes me long for heaven even more so that I have a chance to personally thank and hug every one of you! I hope you realize that you have a part in every life God gives us the privilege to touch. Your obedience makes my obedience possible!

Reality Check: What Really Matters?

Today was quite a wake-up call for me.  As I was sitting around feeling down about not having a job, contemplating what my next move should be, I received one of those phone calls no one likes to get.  On the other end was my mother informing me that our mutual friend Jim had died.  While distance didn't afford me the privilege of spending a lot of time with Jim in the later years, I always treasured every minute we had together.  More on that in a moment. 

When someone thinks of Jim three things automatically come to mind.  There was Jim's ownership and management of THE town restaurant.  I don't mean to imply that I came from a town SO small that no other restaurants existed.  They did and still do.  But everybody knew, (and I daresay still knows), that anything of significance that happens in the town is in one way or another impacted by the Court Restaurant.  There's a reason for that.  People always went there and still go back there because they know they're always welcomed, and it always feels a lot like home without the cooking and cleaning that goes with it.  No, this isn't an advertisement for a restaurant disguised as a blog, but an appreciation for somebody who could always make you feel at home even when you weren't.  That was Jim, and everybody knew it. 

One could not be around Jim for very long without finding out how much Christ meant to him. Jim took his responsibility as a witness for Christ very seriously.  Jim never needed the cue cards from Evangelism Explosion or the Four Spiritual Laws pamphlets to share his faith, his testimony spoke for itself.  Rescued out of the Satanic jaws of alcoholism, Jim never "got over" what Jesus did for him.  Jim never had to push or prod to get a response.  More often than not, by the time Jim was finished, you naturally wanted what he had -- or should I say WHO he had. 

There is a third characteristic for which I will always remember Jim: he was always an encourager.  By the time I met Jim, I had been saved several years and was just cutting my teeth in  preaching and teaching.  I always loved preaching at his church because I always knew he would have something good to say no matter how much my sermon or lesson may have lacked.  If I knew I didn't do as well a particular day, I knew I wanted to do even better the next time around, if for no other reason than to not make Jim a liar.  Jim was in many ways for me what Barnabas was for Paul: someone who had God's eyes to see me at my best even when I wasn't.  In addition to all of the people Jim personally impacted Jim now also shares in the glory of impacting many people he has never met, including those people along the way who I may get to touch.

A lot of people seem to think that it is their job to point out the faults and shortcomings of others.  I know there's a place for tough love, but if there's one thing Jim's life teaches, it is that encouragement is often much more potent and life-changing than critique.  Yes, there is a legitimate place for critique.  After all, it is hard to improve if you don't know how to improve. But Jim understood something few of us ever learn: change doesn't come apart from motivation, and motivation rarely comes without encouragement. Jim had a knack for being able to make people want to get rid of their worst characteristics by always  magnifying their best ones. The "bad stuff" always semed so out of place, so unnecessary by the time Jim finished noticing your strengths. It really makes you wonder what life could really be like with even just one "Jim" in all of our lives. 

I had more degrees than Jim, more biblical knowledge, and had been a lot more places.  But I certainly didn't have more wisdom or godly character than Jim.  He had surpassed me long ago.  What I had just begun preaching by Word, he had, for decades previously, preached By Example.   

Thoughts of Jim's life leave me with some questions for thought. Who needs our encouragement to be brought to the next place God has for them?  Who are we too quick to criticize without even stopping to consider if it's encouragement they really need first?  Do our friends, family members, and even our enemies, (see Mt. 5:44), know how much they mean to us, or are they secretly cowering in hidden fear of our next veiled criticism in the form of a not-so-funny "joke?" And, last but certainly not least, who are we taking for granted by assuming they will always be there?  If we take these questions seriously, there is no telling how many people we may impact for God's glory and his kingdom, let alone how much better life will be down here.  Jim certainly understood the power of encouragement, and that, more than anything else, made Jim one very special friend. 

Thank you for teaching us about life through your life, Jim.  You will be greatly missed for a while.  In the meantime, we will do our best to practice the lessons your life left behind.  See you soon!

 

In Christ,

Mike