Victory in Jesus: Part 2. To My Friend Jon.

Dear Jon,

I have been thinking about you for a while and wanted to write you a letter.....

It seems like yesterday. I walked into the foyer of the church and you were sitting in a chair. Talking to those around you, greeting people as they walked into the door. You greeted me.

It was the first time my family had attended that church and I am sure that we were a little nervous. This was actually our first service away from my "childhood church."

My sister and I enjoyed meeting new people and enjoyed service. We told my mom that we wanted to start attending Davison Missionary.

We attended each and every service, church event, open gym, party, etc. It did not matter the time or place..... if it was a youth group event..... you were also there. At first, we didn't hang out much because you were a couple years younger than I.

As time went on, we started hanging out and became great friends. You always made me laugh.... okay..... you always made me laugh out of control..... until the point of my stomach hurting. Jon, you were sooooo funny.

We joined the quiz team... and that was a joke. Not the quiz team.... but the fact that we actually thought we would be serious.... and quiz.... HA! I remember all of the fun that we had.... during quizzing. Your mouth never stopped moving while you were on the bench.... you would make up funny answers.... sing..... and tell jokes.... At our Davison quiz meet, you played your guitar on the hood of my red caviler. You told me that you wrote me a song.... and it was...... terrible. Sorry, but I never believed you..... I knew that you were making up the words as you went along.... you didn't really stay up practicing "my song" for me....

Brown City Camp was also another adventure. Remember the time that our group of friends went to the Goodwill Store in town and you bought clothes?? AND you wore those clothes all during camp. I also remember several meals at the Subway in the local grocery store. You purchased a bunch of "things" out of the gumball machine. And of course, you would sit in my purple grand am and repeatedly ask me if you could drive it? Jon, the answer was always "no"..... why did you keep on asking??

Then there was your white station wagon. We would drive around Davison.... with the radio turned way too loud. And of course, we had to wave our hands out of the windows at intersections. I'm sure people really enjoyed our show. Then there was the shopping carts at Kroger...... no comment.

Then....the drum lessons. Remember those? You decided that I needed to take them..... even though I could not make a beat. Can I ask you a question?? Did you really see potential..... or did you just need a good laugh?? I think we both know the answer to that question!! Oh, and I'm sorry for throwing the drumstick across the room......

I was so excited when you came to Bethel. Can I ask you another question?? Did you ever study or do homework?? It appeared to me that you were always having soooo much fun. And you were all over campus...... I would see you in the dinning commons...... then walk to the library and you would be there...... then I would go the acorn..... and there you were..... of course Jon, you were right...... I WAS following you all over campus.....you figured me out. I remember sitting in an english class one day and you whizzed by the window on your skateboard...... I'm sure that it was the middle of winter.....

Jon, you were a great friend. You were so caring, funny, and kind. You always looked out for people who needed help, or needed a hand.

You wore knit hats in the summer and flip flops in the winter. You had long hair, buzzed hair, fluffy hair..... you wore rings, bracelets, and lots of hooded sweatshirts. You were you..... you were who you wanted to be and you never let people get you down.

Jon...... you stole my chap stick, ate my donuts, took my seat when I got up, locked me out of cars, tripped me, stepped on the back of my shoes while I walked, always caught the volleyball and ran out of the gym while I was in the middle of a game...... and of course enjoyed yelling things like "eewwww, what stinks? Was that YOU?"

Jon...... can I tell you something?? I wish that you would whizz by on your skateboard again.... I wish that you would make me trip..... write me another song..... make me laugh until my stomach ached.

I wish that I would have let you drive my car.... I wish that we could cruise around Davison.... I wish that I could see you laugh out of control..... I wish that you would steal the volleyball. I wish that I could hear another joke, see another hair-do, I wish I could visit you at Doogie's.

I know that I have a lot of wishes....... but the truth is..... I wouldn't wish you out of heaven if I could. I'm sure that you are skateboarding with Jesus.....rock'n out with angels..... I'm sure that you are wearing rings, flip-flops, a hooded sweatshirt, and giant wide-legged pants..... Is your hair fluffy, Jon?

Jon, I have so much more to say..... but I will wait for now. I do, however, want to thank you for being such a great friend. Thank you for greeting me on that Wednesday night..... thank you for being you.

Until we meet again.....

All Things Are Possible,
Stephanie Miller

Victory In Jesus

The room was cold and I was extremely bored. As I sat shoulder to shoulder with my parents and grandparents..... I thought that I was going to lose my mind. I was cold because my mom forced me to wear frilly dresses.... either my legs were bare or I had on tights..... either way..... I'd rather wear jeans and a sweatshirt. I was bored because I had sat in that pew for what seemed to be hours.... I stared at my grandma's watch..... which wasn't moving.

I counted beams in the ceiling.... started at the red floor...... and bit my fingernails. The pastor yelled as he preached..... the more he yelled..... the faster his arms waved in the air.

Then finally, I hear Bibles closing.... papers shuffling.... it's time for closing prayer..... again my grandma's watch hasn't moved.....

As prayer concludes, I hear music and the congregation rises to their feet. As excited I was that service was ending... I was even more excited to see that the people surrounding us had come to life..... I had sat in that pew, again for what seemed like hours, and watched those sitting around me. I wondered if some of them were still alive. I had noticed many nodding off.... so I knew that they were still "with" us.... but I had serious questions about some others.......

Suddenly, the church was alive..... there were people tapping (YES! Tapping!) their feet and clapping to the beat of the music... as we sang an old, familiar hymn.

Several months ago we sang the same song in church..... as the words flowed out of my mouth, I smiled as I revisited my elementary days..... I am proud to say that I am, slightly, more patient as I now attend church services.....

As we sang, I thought about ALL of the times that I have heard and sung that hymn..... church camps, mission trips.... my bum had sat in so many different pews..... benches..... and rows as that song was played......

Then, towards the end of the song, I came to these words.......

"I heard about a mansion
He has built for me in glory.
And I heard about the streets of gold
Beyond the crystal sea;
About the angels singing,
And the old redemption story,
And some sweet day I'll sing up there
The song of victory."
(http://my.homewithgod.com/heavenlymidis2/victory.html)

Of course those words always made me visualize heaven. I'm sure that many picture heaven and what it is going to be like while singing this verse....

All of the sudden it hit me.... all of the sudden I realized..... all of the sudden I was amazed. See, while I was standing at a pew, singing about a mansion on streets of gold.... I realized that my friend Jon was there.....

Jon was already in that mansion.... he was walking on streets of gold...... he was listening to angels sing......

To be continued.....

All Things Are Possible,
Stephanie Miller