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Bill Doesn't Fit In

Bill was an unusual college student in Portland, Oregon. Although he was brilliant intellectually, he always had this far-away look in his eyes and seemed to care nothing about his appearance. His hair was always a mess and he never wore shoes, all year round. This was probably during the 60?s, during the hippie movement when there was a vast generation gap between the older, conservative folks and the young radicals. It was like the older and the younger lived in different worlds. So Bill became a Christian and decided to go visit the church across the street from his campus. Problem was, this was a middle-class church full of well-dressed folks. So picture the scene in your mind as Bill strolls into the church, hair going everywhere, wearing blue jeans and a tee shirt, and of course, bare footed. He makes his way up the aisle but so many people are there that he can?t find a seat. No problem for Bill. When he gets to the front, he just squats down on the carpet. Now that would be fine a laid back student ministry. But at a formal church?

As you can imagine, the air was so thick you could cut it with a knife. Some of the people must have been thinking, ?What does this kid mean coming in here dressed like that and sitting on the floor.? So it was no shock to them when an elderly gentleman began making his way down the aisle toward Bill. Some of the people who were there thought, ?You can?t blame him. He?d never guess Bill is a Christian. And his world is too distant from Bill?s to understand. You can?t blame him for what he?s going to do.?

So the church fell silent as all eyes focused on the old man. But to their amazement, he slowly and with some difficulty seated himself on the floor beside Bill. There on the carpet, Bill and the old man worshipped God together that Sunday. And members of the congregation wept. I doubt anyone remembers the sermon that was preached that Sunday. But nobody will forget that act of love. (Reworded from Out of the Salt-Shaker and Into The World, by Rebecca Manley Pippert, 1979, Inter-Varsity Press, pp. 177,178)
? Copyright 2002 Steve Miller - All Rights Reserved

Shark Attack

During the Summer of 2001, 8-year-old Jessie Arbogast was attacked by a shark while playing in the ocean off the coast of Pensacola, Florida. Jessie screamed for help when the shark bit his arm and leg. His uncle Vance and another man sprinted from the beach into the bloody water. Jessie lost his arm to the shark but was taken to shore and looked after by his mother, but two girls were still further out in the water. What happened next makes the Crocodile Hunter pale in comparison. Uncle Vance grabs the vicious, 7 1/2 foot, 200 pound shark by the tail with his bare hands and wrestles it to the shore, where it continued to thrash about. A park ranger rams an expandable baton into the shark's mouth, shoots it four times in the head with a hand gun, and a volunteer fire fighter/lifeguard reaches in and pulls out Jessie's arm, which was packed in ice, rushed to an ambulance and eventually re-attached to Jessie's body.

The most amazing hero of this story has got to be uncle Vance.  I'm sure that on a normal day at the beach if he saw shark fins rising out of the water he wouldn't even think of sprinting out into the surf and attacking it! But something welled up inside him when the children were attacked. I still can't imagine how he wrestled a powerful 200 pound shark from its natural environment, with the shark desperately thrashing about trying to stay in the ocean, and pulled him onto the shore. I've got to wonder if the sharks tuck their fins and swim out to sea when they realize uncle Vance is in the water.

But it's a perfect example of how love conquers fear. Courage replaced fear because his nephew's life was at stake. Uncle Vance brought a new meaning to the phrase "shark attack." He attacked the shark! It reminds me of I John 4:18 - "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear...." If we pray for a deep love for lost people, even those who dress and act and think radically different from us, isn't it possible that we could overcome our fears of reaching out to them? (By Steve Miller)

Source of information: "Saving Jessie Arbogast, by Timothy Roche, pp. 40,41, Time, July 30, 2001

Making Others Happier

Apathy vs. Love

When We Know Something's Worth

You've Never Met a Mortal

Holtz Helps Cancer Kids

Let me tell you the story of a kid in today's world who encountered a tough situation and determined to make a difference.

When Jon Wagner-Holtz was nine years old, his mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. He and his family were devastated. After her surgery she had to take regular chemotherapy, which made her weak and sick at the stomach all the time. It made Jon really angry that his mom, being such a nice person, would get such an illness. She could tell he was hurting and sent him to a counselor, but it didn't help because he didn't like the idea of opening up to someone who had never gone through what he was going through. So he spent a lot of time alone in his room playing Legos.

His mom enjoyed going to a support group made up of other people fighting cancer. Then Jon got an idea: since many of these cancer patients had children who were hurting just like he was, why couldn't he start a support group for the children? So he did it.

He told a foundation about his dream and they gave him a little money to set up a twenty-four-hour hot line into his room. Kids started calling, opening up about their anger, sadness and fear.  Around 100 kids called him and eight or nine of them called regularly. One weekend he invited the regular callers to his house to brainstorm about ways to start a support group. The kids interviewed some Psychologists and found one who could help oversee a support group. They didn't want him to run the show just to be there so that hurting kids could listen to each other, tell about their problems and give ideas for how they were coping. Thirty-two kids came to the first meeting and they continued to meet. Kids were helped. They felt they were no longer alone. By helping others, Jon felt better himself. They called their new organization "Kids Connected."

They sent flyers to doctors to let as many kids as possible know about the meetings. Other chapters formed. More charities offered money. Six years later they've got eighteen chapters in twelve states, helping nearly 10,000 kids. They offer a summer camp, send Teddy Bears to kids in newly diagnosed families, started a grief workshop for those whose parents died. During his high school years he went to school in the morning and checked in to work for "Kids Connected" at 12:30 PM. (Copyright Dec., 2001. Written by Steve Miller for the illustration database at www.reach-out.org. Source: Teens With the Courage to Give, by Jackie Waldman, Conari Press, Berkeley, California, pp. 2-7.)

Famous athletic coach Vince Lombardi used to say, "When the going gets tough, the tough get going." I think that could be said of Jon. Could it be said of us? How can we make a difference in our world?? Copyright 2002 Steve Miller - All Rights Reserved

Index to a Person's Character

Dostoevsky on Love

Pardoning the Unpardonable

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