Beautiful Things...

I met Larry Conlee in 1989. I had no idea who he was when he walked up to the floral counter in Kroger where I spent my summer working. He introduced himself and then told me that he had an 18 year old son that had been dating a girl for three years. It was not exactly what I expected as a way of introduction. He followed his statement by saying, “They are too serious. Would you be interested in going out with my son?” I said no, but one year later met this infamous son. Who would have ever thought that I would end up the daughter-in-law of the man affectionately known as “Breadie?”I wrestled with whether or not to blog about Larry today, but what I don’t want to keep to myself is the beautiful story that unfolded in front of my eyes. If you have prayed for years for a family member, or have been in the midst of conflict with someone you love, I want you to hear that it is not too late.My heart ached over the family dynamics for so long. Every family has its struggles; ours is no different. At Highpoint we often explain that “hurt people hurt people.” It is true. Larry had more than his share of pain before he was even an adult. Then when life may have appeared stable and successful, Larry’s oldest son was gone as a result of a car-train accident. If I heard it once this weekend, I heard it a dozen times: “Larry never recovered from losing Bubba.” How can you?For so many years, I feared the day that Larry would die. His salvation, of course, was of utmost concern, but beyond that were the wounds that lived within a son. What unresolved issues would linger? What regret would exist when that time came?What is so beautiful is that God was working multiple angles. God worked in Chris. Chris began to get healthy, even when it was not a two-way conversation. Maybe that’s where you find yourself? You can still begin the journey of healing, even if the person you struggle with is not yet responding to God. Though there was no movement in Larry, the health Chris found allowed us the ability to continue to reach out without needing anything in return. Then, slowly… little by little… there was evidence of God moving Larry past knowledge of God into a place of freedom. The only One who could begin to bring peace to his hurting heart. There was never a rehashing of the past, but there was a point where Chris gave Larry permission to just focus on the future. A burden seemed to lift and, by God’s grace, a new season of healthy growth began.We are sad. Honestly, it doesn’t seem real just yet. With every tear of sorrow, however, are two tears of joy over the fact that God wrote a story through Larry’s life that loudly proclaims that every heart can be healed and every relationship reconciled. On Friday afternoon last week we were reminded that we are not promised tomorrow. Neither are you. I pray you will not wait another day to move towards healing in the relationships that matter most to you. With or without that person’s involvement, God can bring peace. twitter | facebook