Welcome to “The Wild Goose Chase!” The Celtic Christians called the Holy Spirit “The Wild Goose” because it was untamed and smarter than any other bird.

Dear Sisters and Brothers:

I remember in another church that I served; Wednesday mornings usually began with a Men’s Bible Study and ran late with evening studies. Therefore, Wednesdays were always a bit longer than other days.

I recall one morning was a bit different. That morning, I picked up a member of that church to ride along, and then, together, we picked up a young mother from Jordan's Crossing, a residential treatment facility for young women in addiction, with dependent children. For these young women, life has been much less than good, much more difficult and painful than what the average person would consider normal. As a result, many have been living on the street, dealing with addictions as best they can. For those who go through a program such as the one that Jordan's Crossing offers, the road to healing and recovery is very, very difficult. For many, it means time away from the precious child or children they love, but may not have the means of caring for at that particular moment.

And so, on that morning, we picked up a young woman, to transport her to a town 65 miles away to be present, as both her young daughter and 2 year old son were having oral surgery. We spent the entire day waiting while the children went to surgery and then returned as their mother waited and then held each in turn, helping them to wake up and recover from the anesthesia. Then we watched the tender scene as mom placed the child in a grandparent's car and we drove back to OKC to return the young woman alone and without her children, to Jordan's Crossing, while grandma and the children went home. We returned the young lady to the treatment program that is helping her to heal and become the woman and mother God intended her to be.

I am not sure I have the kind of courage and commitment of that young lady. I mean, yes, she has a long, hard road in front of her, but I respect and admire her so much for the strength of commitment she has taken hold of in order to heal and restore her family to wholeness. And, then, there is this God thing ... as we rode along and talked, I heard this young lady share her new found faith.

No matter how many times I hear someone like this young lady say something such as; "I am 27, the last time I went to church before coming to your church was when I was about 7, I don't know who God is, but I want to. My life has to have more meaning than it has had in the past10 or 12 years. I have never felt accepted in church until now, here, and that just blows me away.”

You see, what the welcoming acceptance of that church has done, is, for this young woman and many like her, is to simply love without judging and give without expecting. And that is what Jesus tried to teach us.

In Deuteronomy 10:14-18 (The Message) we hear: "Look around you: Everything you see is God’s—the heavens above and beyond, the Earth, and everything on it. But it was your ancestors who God fell in love with; he picked their children—that’s you!—out of all the other peoples. That’s where we are right now. So cut away the thick calluses from your heart and stop being so willfully hardheaded. God, your God, is the God of all gods, he’s the Master of all masters, a God immense and powerful and awesome. He doesn’t play favorites, takes no bribes, makes sure orphans and widows are treated fairly, takes loving care of foreigners by seeing that they get food and clothing."

Thank you God for my long, long Wednesday, what a blessing to be a part of that young women's journey as we worked to break the generational curse of addiction and poverty. May your heart be without calluses such that you too may feel the love of God and share it with those who NEED God's love to heal!

Remember, God loves you and so do I, and all you can do about it is love back.

Still In One Peace,

Stephen