Monday

Monday was a long, wonderful day. It started at 4:30, getting up, making lunches for the boys, bustling them off to Don and Laura Ellis’ house right around the corner. They would get them off to school in Don’s work van (a real treat for the boys), because I was headed down to Knoxville. At 5, I had the boys at Don and Laura’s—Laura is already up by this time, because she is a sick woman! Next stop to pick up Jessica and Russ on Twelfth Street, and then Becky and her two youngest, Selena and Justin.

Russ had to go back to Knoxville for a court date. He was worried he might end up in jail. Becky’s mom lives near Sevierville, and she had not seen her two youngest grandkids, so Becky would stay there while Jessica and I provided moral support to Russ.

The first case came up, and the judge threw the guy in jail, and Russ was pretty worried that was where things were headed for him. But the judge dismissed the charges and waived the fines. At that point, we were able to have a good talk with Russ about giving God the thanks, glory, and credit. He agreed, and felt like a burden had been lifted off of him. Pray that he can keep a thankful heart, and that we can keep letting him know how Jesus dropped all the charges Satan has laid against us.

Becky had a good visit with her mom, and it was important to her for us to meet her mom, to learn a little bit more about her story.

Becky’s family and Russ’ family were both homeless a few months ago. We have been working with them, getting them places to live, but mostly loving them. This simple thing Jesus was talking about, that people will know we’re His disciples by how we love each other, it works. Both families went from people who were hardened against the church by a life of poverty, to people who are coming around to accepting that they are in a family of believers now.

Becky and her man Charles are going to be married in our church on Friday. The 12^th Street Dinner is going to be the reception. How appropriate! It was there on 12^th Street when they lived next door to Jessica, Laura, Seble, and Rebecca, that all this stuff started happening. They not only came to dinner, but found themselves surrounded by people who would visit with them, pray for them, teach them the basics of life together, and sometimes press them to make better choices, to push through the places where people in poverty generally give up trying.

The Kingdom is happening in our midst! But we don’t always see it. It’s slow, hidden work, this building relationships, loving people in Jesus’ name. I sometimes get the credit—because of the blog, because I show up and have more apparent authority because I’m the pastor. But it has taken Meg’s prayers and gentleness, Jessica’s refusal to let go, Laura’s willingness to keep the house open for a bunch of kids, Peter’s having my back when I wasn’t sure how a confrontation with the evil landlord was going to turn out. And there have been people who have come alongside the families in ways that I don’t know about. I know you’re out there, and thank you.

The Kingdom is happening in our midst. We’re going to have to find some way to express the importance of it without being self-conscious about it. An awesome wedding will happen. And then, we’ll walk over to where the Jesus life started breaking into this family. Somehow, I don’t think we’ll ever quite get the importance of it. At the bluegrass concert we had a few weeks ago, apparently I was looking pretty content. Peter said something like, “You looked like you were really happy. You didn’t sit still much, moving all around, shaking hands, talking to the people who have never come to the church.” I think I said something like, “They’re my people. They don’t know it yet, but they’re my people.”

Peter asked, “do you think sometimes after Jesus performed a miracle, like the loaves and fishes, that He said to Himself, ‘That was awesome!’?”

Yes, I do.