May 2, 2010 - Millicent McConnell

May 2, 2010

“it’s been a long, a long time coming, but I know it will, oh, a change gonna come, oh, yes it will” Sam Cook
On Sunday, March 14, 2010 my view on change radically “changed”. Until that day I was ALL about change. Yeah, baby, go for it!!! AKA Austin Powers. And then the unspeakable…Andy and Janey Hurst and family will be moving to Lubbock in June. I cried like a baby…still do occasionally! BUT, I hold on to the truth…God is. I plead with you all to recognize this change for what it can be, NO, WHAT IT IS—a God given opportunity. Yes, that may seem like the ultimate SPIN on a somber situation, but I BELIEVE! “God, is bigger than the air we breathe, the world we’ll leave, and God will save the day, and all will say, My Glorious, MY GLORIOUS”. We sing that Delirious song in the Refuge…another verse is “And all You ever do is CHANGE the old for new…”
Change…C. S. Lewis writes about one of the first changes we experience, our physical birth. We go from living inside our mother’s womb in total comfort and security to taking the perilous journey to the outside. He points out that if you polled the resident inhabitants of the womb not many would agree to the process of birth—the pain of labor, the searing burn on the lungs at the first breath of air, the blinding light…the cold air of the delivery chamber, the horror of the wide open spaces when we are so accustomed to the tight, perfect comfort of living as an aquatic being. Oxygen, we are expected to breathe oxygen, and it will be a natural ability…a God given response…but we have this wonderful umbilical cord for nourishment, air. We are truly connected to the source. A baby is not able to grasp that he cannot continue to live as he currently is in the womb…in order to survive and thrive, and not kill his mother, the baby must submit to birth and move on…
And so, we must now move on. “A change done come.” Here are some questions I ask myself and you, too…and a few not so simple possibilities to respond. What is it that you love most about Andy??? How he leads 3 or more small groups each week…consider starting one yourself! How he studies the Bible and reads through it each year…I probably have 3 or more versions of the Bible in our home today, pick one up and start reading—or go figure, do what you already know it says. (Sorry that came off a bit harsh—remember I am talking to myself, too!!) How he is such an encourager…take a look, a real look, at the people God puts in your pathway just today…make a call, write a note, engage someone hurting or just living. How Andy is vulnerable and open and real and shares his heart…we all have hurts and problems…begin to build a relationship of trust and caring with someone this day. How he is everywhere we live…you and I may have to get some Energizer bunny batteries for this one! He is really all over all of us…can you see Andy sitting on the sofa every night? “Me neither.” How he and Janey open their home for supper meetings, cooking the most delicious meals ever? VIOLA! Dust off the grill, paper plates are great! And how about those homemade Christmas goodies for everyone??? How he gets “carried away“ blowing a fuse coaching sometimes??? Ok, ok, we are already good at that—no practice/change necessary to be like Andy there. How he makes you feel like you are unique and gifted and so special to God? That’s because you are. The list goes on and on…What is it that you love about Andy???
When Billy and I moved from Texas in 1985 I cried and cried over leaving a special older mentor, Shirley White. I wanted to sit at her feet another time and soak up her wisdom and life lessons and creativity and uniqueness and goodness, her very being. I will never forget Billy’s words to me, “Maybe it’s time for you to be Shirley to someone else”…and so I end on this:
While we would love another season to sit at Andy’s feet, to soak up his wisdom and life lessons and creativity and uniqueness and goodness, his very being, MAYBE IT’S TIME FOR US TO BE ANDY TO SOMEONE ELSE.
DEAR FATHER, YOU ARE THE BEST. THANK YOU FOR THIS SEASON THAT WE HAVE HAD WITH ANDY AND JANEY. WE PRAY FOR STRENGTH AND WISDOM AND GUIDANCE AND COURAGE AND JOY AS YOU MOVE US ALL ONWARDS AND UPWARDS. KEEP OUR EYES ON YOU. TO YOU BE THE GLORY AND HONOR AND PRAISE FOREVER AND EVER. AMEN.

Millicent McConnell