"Leave room for the Spirit to work." Billy Yates

Now y'all probably don't know him from Adam, but he's one of those guys who was there from the beginning of my spiritual journey as a child growing up in the UM church, downtown Dyersburg branch. The building sits at the dead end of Highway 51 business route and the front doors are presently adorned with the British flag, a shout out to Dr. Reginald and Brenda Mallet from England. Forty four years ago, our church sponsored a pulpit exchange with Dr. Mallet's Methodist church in England and our minister and his family traded places with he and his family for several months. It is his seventeenth journey home to the congregation that welcomed him when he was yet a very young man with small children. Dr. Mallet is not only a physician but an ordained Methodist minister which gives him a unique perspective on the ministry of the church outside of the building proper.

Another of the icons of my faith journey is Mrs. Elizabeth Todd who died not too long ago. Her daughter and I have been friends since childhood even though she lives in Tucson and I'm still right here in the 'burg. She was home for a visit last week to go through her mother's things and we spent a little time visiting with some other friends. I was sitting on the floor enjoying the antics of Kay-Kay's five month old grandson when I glanced up on the wall and noticed a stunning portrait of Ms. Elizabeth staring down over the improptu gathering. Regal, as always. Poised and elegant. Whispering to us keep the faith, especially when times are hard.

My mother gave up driving after a horrific wreck on Easter Sunday of 2006 that she was lucky to survive. Daddy has driven them everywhere they've been since that day except for an occasional lift home by one of the girls after the bridge club. They plan their trips carefully to Wal-Mart and the Dollar General and out to eat, piecing together important missions like church and volunteer work as they run the route that is their daily lives together in the golden years. Lately, Daddy has had some trouble with balance and perspective which caused some alarm not only among family members but their many friends. His GP sent him to a neurologist who, in turn ordered a battery of tests with strict instructions for him not to drive until the testing was complete. They are both scared, she more than he, for she has always depended on him to be the "one in charge".

I took Mom and Daddy to the opening night of the "Festival of Faith" last night to experience Dr. Mallet's spiritual magic once again. He is a master story teller who carefully weaves his own life experiences with those of others into a tapestry that gleams with golden threads of hope and grace. Forty four years later, I still see Big Ernie at work in his words. He steps away from the pulpit gracefully, always, and speaks without notes or books from the heart about how simple men and women of faith practice the principles of kindness and goodness simply to enjoy the pleasure of true servanthood. His sermons always consist of three points, whether he vocally announces that fact or not. This particular message centered around a phrase that his high school German teacher spoke to the class every single day as a greeting: "How do you find yourself?"

In my personal experience, the only way to do that is to let go.

And leave room for the spirit to work.

^j^