The Blessing Goes Both Ways

I had the opportunity to participate in an event today that was meant to bless those who attended, but as these things go, I came away blessed as well. My friend, Shane Wood, is youth pastor at Immanuel Lutheran Church here in Centralia, WA. It is near to the school year again and something that this church does every year is an event called "Kids Closet' where they give away all kinds of supplies to kids as they are getting ready for the school year. This much I knew before i got there. Once i got there though, i was blown away by the magnitude of this project.

The church has this large gymnasium that they used as a large "assembly line" if you will, that allowed each of the kids to collect 2 pairs of new underwear, 2 pairs of new socks, 1 new shirt, 1 new pair of pants, 1 new pair of shoes, 1 dontated (used) sweatshirt or coat, 1 packet of toiletries and 1 packet of school supplies. The Gideon's were also there handing out new testaments in English or Spanish.

My job was to be a "personal shopper" or "guide" for these families of kids. They came with their parents, of course, and most of the kids were 4-10 years old but there were some that were as much as 18. There must have been about 40 people there from this church and, i presume, other churches there to help with this project. In al, 720 kids came away with the above mentioned items.

What impressed me the most was the heart of love that the people showed to these families that came through today. I was also impressed with need for Christians who love the Lord and who love God's people to learn Spanish! I felt very convicted that i have not learned more Spanish because most of the people i helped today were Hispanic and spoke as much English as i did Spanish. We got through it but it was difficult! I think of the apostle Paul who knew Aramaic, Latin and Greek so that he may win some to Christ. While i am not sure about learning three languages, i could at least learn Spanish!

Thank you to the army of people who came together to make this day possible to bless the people of our community. I am sure that everyone involved was also blessed to help, as i was, and we all felt the blessing go both ways.

A Tribute to Saint Dale

This picture is my dad by my side on my wedding day, June 21st, 2003. Little did i know that 2 years and 43 days later i would be by my dad's side as he passed from this life to the next. It has been two years ago today since my dad passed and it is appropriate that i share some thoughts on my dad, death and sainthood.

For a long time i thought it was so foolish, this Catholic idea that we would pray to saints. How absurd to think that they could take the place of Christ! Then, my dad passed and my view on this took a turn. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that my dad is hanging out with Jesus and his angels now. The Bible gives me that confidence. Now about talking to my dad instead of Jesus, well that's easy. I know that my dad is a guy that i can talk to at any time about anything and i know that he would be the one who would put in a good word for me with God Himself. (Bear with me here, i really am going somewhere with this) I actually found myself talking to my dad as if he would talk to Jesus for me instead of the other way around. It sounds weird now, looking back, but at the time it seemed quite rational. I missed (and still do) my dad very much and wanted to connect with him again and to somehow restore that relationhship. However, this was not the way to do it, as it was revealed to me.

Last year, we had our family reunion on my mom's side and i had the opportunity to give the Sunday morning service. As i thought about what to say, God lead me to 2 Kings and the story of Elijah and Elisha. Elisha was the servant and student of Elisha, who was a mighty prophet in a hard time of Israel's history. It was no secret that it was time for Elisha to go home to be with the Lord and Elisha did not want to leave his masters side. Three times when Elijah tried to leave Elisha so that he could depart and three times Elisha said to him, "As the Lord lives and as your soul lives, I will not leave you!" I can relate to this attitude because when my dad was getting weaker and weaker, i did not want him to leave. My dad has been a spiritual mentor for me for so many years. So much wisdom has come from this man and if he leaves, then what?

Elisha then asks that a double portion of the Spirit of the Lord that was upon Elijah be placed upon him as well. When Elijah does depart in that chariot of fire, Elisha receives a sign that the thing of which he asked has come to pass. He returns to the villiage and everyone asks if they can go look for Elijah. Elisha implores them not to go look but they insist so he allows it and after three days they come back to tell him that they couldn't find him. Elisha does kind of an "I told you so" and then they carry on. The thing i get from this is that after someone has passed and God has taken them home, looking for them is futile. More importantly, though, is that they were searching for Elijah because they felt that God and His blessing rested with Elijah and without Elijah, where is that blessing going to come from? How foolish! To think that God can only rest in one man! But that is what i was doing by thinking that through my dad's passing that a portion of God's power was also put in the ground with him. God is so much bigger than that!

My fond memories of my dad will always be with me and i look forward to that big hug i am going to give him on "That Day". The lesson i learned from this experience, though, is that my dad is not the only one that can carry the Spirit of the Lord. It was my dad's goal that everyone at his funeral would take the baton and run the race. That is why he had baton's made up to give out to anyone who wanted one that read, "Run in such a way as to get the prize 1 Corinthians 9:24". Hopefully, this is a constant reminder to all who took one that each one of us is to run the race that has been set before us. To each of us kids and to my mom, he had a baton made for us that read, "My race is over now and i pass the baton to you. Run the race in such a way as to win. I'll be waiting for you at the finish line. - Dad"

Dale Max Wilcox was born in Toledo, OH December 13th, 1942 and died in Lynden, WA on August 5th, 2005. He ran his race in such a way as to get the prize. May we all do the same.