This year, having fallen further than ever before (see previous blog entry "Humbled by a Fall"), what I most "want" for Christmas is simply to thank the people who have deigned and dared to reach a hand downward to help me rise up. I offer my deepest thanks to these angels in no particular order...
The folks of The Lake Forest/Lake Bluff Community Church...who collectively sent me over $3500 to help pay for my medical bills on the heels of my accident, when I was uninsured - Thank You!
Pete and Judy Petro...who are the truest friends I could ever have. You managed to draw closer amidst my divorce rather than giving into the awkwardness that comes when a couple you care about splits up. You have been genuinely good to Molly and to me, taking no sides, refraining from judgment, loving as Christ loves - Thank You!
Dad...who gave me the greatest, most unexpected gift ever by getting and staying sober at age 78 against all odds. The summer of 2010 staying in the cottage together without the shackles of alcohol has healed me in the deepest places - Thank You!
Mark and Nancy Rondel...who gave me a refuge in the flower shop that was so much more than a place to stay. Being your neighbors gave Weezie and I a sense of family, a sense of belonging, a sense of home - Thank You!
Dick and Julie Collie...who hired me when I most needed work, invited me when I most needed companionship and an amazing meal, and visited me when I least expected it - Thank You!
Aunt Linda Matthews...who reached out to me when other family members freaked and fled. You listened to me with understanding and acceptance, believing in me when I couldn't believe in myself - Thank You!
Dr. Brian Lehky...the greatest therapist I've ever had. With you I've always been able to count on no nonsense and no tolerance of my self-flagellation. You have given me the ability to distinguish between the tapes that need to be silenced and the one that needs to be listened to - Thank You!
Ric and Lisa Loyd...who have served me without asking anything in return. From helping me move to loaning me a car, and from giving me a job to doing my laundry, you have taught me what genuine service to others looks and feels like - Thank You!
Tamara and Louise...who gave Eloise a haven, a sense of belonging in a busy office that always had time for her - Thank You!
Randy Evans...who helped me prepare to hunt on one leg, salted and shoveled my precarious stairs so that I wouldn't fall again, and offered me a quality of friendship and brotherhood that I plan to emulate - Thank You!
Tom Dickelman...who gave me the courage to take the plunge of leaving the institutional church and has shown me how to give when someone is down without the slightest trace of condescension - Thank You!
The Men of the Tuesday morning Men's Bible Study...who have prayed for me without ceasing in the last 18 months. I covet your prayers, my brothers - Thank You!
The Living Vision Community...who has given me the gift of spiritual community and the sense that my vision really can come true - Thank You!
Lindy Bishop...who splashed down into this world a mere 17 days before I did but then managed to live the better part of 49 years without the slightest knowledge of my existence, while I was equally oblivious to hers. And yet we find ourselves in gifted companionship, old friends reunited for an encore of a play we've never performed - Thank You!
Jim Kopka...who has always understood, always listened, always been there, and knows the value of humility - Thank You!
Eloise Anna Jones...who has completely re-organized my priorities, my activities, and my heart - Thank You!
And to the rest of you angels out there too numerous to name, I am in your debt - Thank You!
Now what remains is for me, having been so lifted up, to turn my attention to lifting up others in the very same ways that all of you have so graciously lifted me. My path from here is clear. With my crutches laid aside and my cast finally off, I rise to "go and do likewise," gratefully...Amen
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