Short Stories
Keyheart
March, 1998
I walked slowly down one of Keyheart's residential streets in the old part of town. The day was warm for this early in March. The snow was melting and the sun was shining. It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon. If this wasn't spring, then it would be coming soon. The weather was changing in Keyheart.
But that's not all that was changing in our sleepy little town. The spiritual atmosphere was also changing. I knew that God's hands were directing some of the changes in Keyheart, but other changes I believed were being affected by other hands. There was a tension in the air, and I knew the tension had a spiritual edge. Still, I could see evidence of it in the physical world around me. People were on edge, as if they were anticipating something, but didn't know what was coming – almost like children the day before Christmas, but there aren't any presents under the tree yet.
I tried to think back to when the changes started. I had only noticed them in the last few months, but I now realized that it had been coming for a long time. Had it started thirteen years ago when my sons, Robert and Ian, started praying with Robert's wife, Lizzy? That one group of three had grown into three groups of five. As more people had started praying with them, they decided it was getting to big for each person to contribute significantly. So they separated into three groups – each of them leading one group. Then on a different day of the week, the three would get together to fellowship and pray.
Was that when it started, or was that one of the changes? I have heard that they were continuing the prayers of others who had prayed before them. Perhaps it was those people who had started us on this road of destiny. Or maybe it started long before that. I was beginning to think that God had planned this a long, long time ago.
Regardless of when God began the process in Keyheart, I knew one thing as I walked the sleepy streets of my small town. I was glad to be a part of it, and I was glad to be alive in Keyheart today.
A man approached me from one of the houses I was passing. I didn't recognize him from my congregation. He leaned on his fence and said,
"Are you the pastor of that church on the hill?" he nodded in the general direction of the church.
"Yes, I am."
"Well, I want you to stop messing with my son. We were doing just fine before he started going to your church. Now he's all up in my face about getting saved. Sometimes it's all I can do to keep from slapping him. I just have to leave the room."
Yep, it was a beautiful spring day. I extended my hand – hoping a friendly gesture would calm him down, "My name is James."
He shook my hand, "Greg," he said, "And my boys name is Dave. Look, I don't mean to be coming down hard on you. I know it's your job to try and make your church bigger and to recruit people, but can't you leave my boy alone?"
Suddenly, I realized that his son was Dave Avery. He was a twelve-year-old boy who had started coming to our youth program about three months ago. A couple of weeks ago my granddaughter, Jenny, had a long conversation with him, and he had received Jesus into his life. He was the first conversion I had seen in the church in almost five years. Now, his father was telling me to abandon him. I wanted to just tell him, "No," but I had to look at the bigger picture. Greg needed Jesus, too. While I knew this wasn't a good time to talk to him about that, I also didn't want to eliminate any future possibilities.
"Is Dave inside right now?" I had a hunch that maybe they had just been talking, and Greg had walked out to avoid the confrontation escalating too far.
His dad went back to the house and called for his son to come outside. Then he joined me back at the fence.
A moment later Dave stepped outside. He saw his expression change several times in less than two seconds. At first he was curious to know why his dad had called him outside. Then he saw me and smiled. That suddenly changed to worry – thinking that his dad talking to his pastor could be nothing but trouble. Then I think I saw a little bit of hope – like maybe I had succeeded in converting his father. Dave walked slowly over to the fence.
"How are things going, Dave?" I asked.
"All right," he said.
"You're dad and I have been talking a little bit," I paused to let that sink in, "It sounds like you two have been having some pretty serious talks about Jesus. Is that right?"
He nodded, but didn't say anything. Right at that moment, I would have given a million dollars (if I had it) to know exactly what was happening in his mind. The thing I worried about most was alienating this new-born believer. Still, I knew that I had to do something to alleviate the pressure between this father and son. I knew that Dave's mother had left them five years ago, and that his father worked very hard to support them. Then he would come home and try to be father and mother to a son just entering adolescence.
"It's pretty tough when we can't agree with the people that we love most," I watched their expressions to try and get a reading about their relationship. Both of them looked subdued – as if they had been battling a great monster and it had beaten them; now they were unwilling to attack it again for fear of more pain. I thought it was a good sign. At least they both cared.
"Your dad was worried about you coming to our church ..." I started, but Greg interrupted me.
"It's not that really. You see we had a weekend fishing trip planned for the beginning of June. Now, Dave is telling me that he can't come, because he's not supposed to miss church on Sunday. I don't know all the rules about being a Christian, but I know lots that stay home from church more often than they go. And we're just talking about one week anyway."
Now, I thought I had all that I needed to solve their question right there. It would have been easy enough to just agree with Greg and tell Dave to enjoy their fishing trip. I could have explained that family is important to God and that even I take a vacation every year. But I never have taken the easy route, and a different idea was forming in my mind. I thought maybe I could change this from damage control to advancing the kingdom. So I nodded my head in understanding and said,
"That seems like a perfectly reasonable request; however, it also is quite reasonable to want to go to church on Sunday. So here we have quite a conflict, because I believe that Dave really wants to do both. He always has good things to say about you whenever we talk, so I know that he doesn't want to hurt you.
"Here is what I propose. Let's all get together at Stars and talk about this. There are a couple of things that I would like to share with both of you, but I think that it would be better done over a cup of hot coffee."
Neither one had expected this, I could tell. That was good. Now they would be curious and come with an open mind. They did accept my offer, so we set a date for Thursday evening at 7:00. I said my good-byes and then walked away.
"God, I hope this works. It's awful to see a father and son alienated by small things."
***
The next Wednesday evening, I prepared my notes and headed over to one of the other churches in town. I was meeting with all of the other clergy in town. It was the first of its kind in Keyheart. Before, I had been meeting with a couple other churches who follow closely to the traditions of my denomination. Now we had with a little effort managed to convince all of the Bible preaching churches to agree to this clergy meeting. Hopefully, it would continue on the second Wednesday of every month.
Arriving early, there was only one other person in the church – its pastor. He showed me to a small meeting room in the basement then went about his business. With a little bit of free time, I started to pray. I prayed that we would all be lead by the Spirit of God. I prayed that God would be glorified through this meeting and in this town.
As I watched each of the 12 ministers arrive and find a seat, I noticed three distinctive groups emerge. There were 6 from denominations that pre-date North America. They sat at the right side of the table. At the other end of the table sat 3 pastors of very liberal churches. I sat in the middle and across from the 2 other pastors I had been meeting with previously. We viewed ourselves as preaching the Bible, the whole Bible, and nothing but the Bible. Without pre-arranged seating, we had already managed to divide ourselves, and not a word had been spoken.
The hosting minister, Mike, opened with a prayer similar to the one I had been praying – asking for the blessing of God on the meeting and His glory in our town. Then he put forward the agenda.
"I think that we can all agree that Keyheart needs to turn towards God," people nodded in approval and Mike continued, "And perhaps one reason that they have not come to the church and to our Lord Jesus Christ is the fact that his church is not united. We are so busy arguing over traditions and viewpoints that we have forgotten the great commission. We are meeting here to say that we are finished with undermining our brothers. It is time to be our brother's keeper. And it is time to support our fellow workers in Christ."
Mike sat down and a minister to my left, Mark, stood up, "What we need for this community is to arrange an interdenominational revival meeting. We need to reach out to the community and show them that we care."
Aaron stood up on the right, "The only thing that will show the public is your desire to increase your church attendance."
Mark jumped out of his seat, but I motioned him back down with my hand. Reluctantly, he sat. "We are here to try and put our past behind us, Aaron. We want to try to encourage each other. I appreciate that you don't share Dave's point of view, but we need to try to form our disagreements constructively."
There was silence in the room for a few minutes.
"At least we can all agree that this town is not what God wants it to look like," another man on the right side of the table said.
We all nodded in agreement – something had to be done.
"Perhaps, we could start with a prayer meeting with all the different churches involved." One of my fellow moderates suggested.
Paul, a minister on the right, stood up slowly, "Your idea is noble," he said, "But I think that even that is too big of a step for our town right now. You see in this room twelve of the most learned and experienced men of our faith in this town, and we are in sharp disagreement. Do you think our congregations would be more apt to agree, or would we see even greater division than in here.
"Would your congregation be patient as someone from our faith prayed to one of our saints? Or would you be offended, because you believe that you must pray to God alone? Do you think that some among us would not be offended if one of you started to pray in tongues? I do not mean to discourage all of you, but we must face the truth. If we don't then we will expect something that cannot happen."
I responded, "I see a wisdom in your words. Let's start with this agreement if we can." I paused and looked around. I could see that many were uncomfortable even with this agreement. How much resentment we had stored up over the years! I was beginning to see that the solution might take almost as long as it had taken to develop the problem. "Let's call it an evening for tonight – even though we have only been here a few minutes. Then, let's meet here next week, and we can all bring the smallest ideas that we can think up."
Everyone stood up, and I took that to mean agreement. As everyone turned to leave, Paul said, "Excuse me, but I was just thinking that it would honor me if we could all meet in my church next week. I would enjoy having so many men of such caliber in my church."
We looked around at each other and shrugged. Why not? Sure. Without a word, we all agreed. Then we left.
***
Thursday evening, I sat in Stars. As I waited for my two companions, I wished that I had come more prepared. I had spent the entire day stewing over an idea I had to bring the churches together. In my mind it was both simple and Grande. Something that could revolutionize the church community, and at the same time would not offend too many people.
My thoughts were interrupted by the approach of Dave and Greg. I motioned them to sit and gathered my thoughts. The next few minutes could decide the stress level in their house over the next five years. The thought made me cautious.
"I've really been thinking about our conversation the other day," I said, "And I feel a little better prepared to suggest a proper course of action." They both sat silently and stared at me. I wished that I could open with a prayer, but I didn't want to offend Greg. Instead, I prayed silently and tried to look like I was thinking.
I turned to Dave, "First, I will say that church attendance is very important, but you already know that coming to church didn't make you a Christian and doesn't make God love you. You became a Christian when you asked Jesus to forgive you and said that you would obey him for the rest of you life. There are more important things than going to church. The life we live and how we act are seen by God. He is the one that we have to please. So, when we have a choice like this – should I spend time with my father on a special once-a-year trip and miss church, or should I miss the trip and go to church – we have to think what would make God happy, and what would Jesus do?"
Greg looked uncomfortable about how much I was talking about God. He didn't say anything though – probably because he thought he could see where I was leading.
"What do you think Jesus would want you to do about this?"
Dave looked down at the table. He didn't answer immediately. I wasn't sure if he was afraid to answer or if he was thinking it through. "You told me," he said, "That God is my heavenly father; and that one way I can show how much I love him is by obeying and respecting my father on earth. But you also told me that I shouldn't be distracted from obeying God with all my heart." He sighed and looked back at the table.
I decided to take another approach. I hoped the Holy Spirit had dropped this thought in my head. "What do you think, Greg? Is church as important as a fishing trip?"
Greg took a deep breath. "I'll tell you something; a week ago my answer would have been pretty quick. Now, I'm kinda not so sure. Don't you be thinking that I'm gonna come to your church or anything, but I can see that it means a lot to my boy, and that makes it important to me.
"It's kinda like you were almost saying – church is important, but it's only once a year. On the one hand fishing isn't very important. It would be a whole bunch easier, not to mention cheaper, just to buy a couple of fish at the store. But on the other hand, there is something really special about going fishing. I remember going with my dad. It was some of my best memories with him. I want to have those memories with my son now.
"So, I think yes, in this case, fishing is more important that church ... or at least as important."
I looked at Dave. He was looking at his dad; a tears were forming in his eyes. I could tell that this was no small decision for him. Immediately, I was glad that I had taken this much effort in helping him decide this. If I had just told him, "Go, it'll be ok," it wouldn't have helped him grow, and it wouldn't have given his dad this opportunity to share with him. This difficult decision would equip him to make other hard decisions in the future.
Dave said, "I think maybe it would be good to go fishing. Jesus thought family was important didn't he?"
I nodded, "One of the last things that he said on the cross was for one of his disciples to take care of his mother. Remember, God was his father, and he loved him very much – not just as God, but also as his dad. It was God that invented the family." Dave nodded. I had one more thought that I wanted to bring up.
"Another thing that you could also do together is the church picnic. It's not until late July, so it wouldn't interfere with your trip or anything." I turned to Greg, "We just get together by the lake and do regular picnic things. It's not too churchy or anything. Bar-B-Q and Frisbee – that sort or thing. You're welcome to come."
Dave said, "Would you come, Dad?"
Slowly, Greg agreed. We sat in the restaurant for another few minutes chatting idly. Then Greg excused himself and his son and they left. I turned my thoughts back to a plan to bring unity to the church of Keyheart.
***
Wednesday evening, I arrived at the church about ten minutes before the meeting with the other clergy in town. Paul greeted me at the door and showed me to a small meeting room just off the sanctuary. Most of the other men were already here. I noticed the same segregation that I had seen in the previous meeting. Only this time I decided not to be a part of it. I sat at one end of the table right between two very traditional ministers. They greeted me warmly and I reciprocated.
A few minutes later, the last of the ministers arrived. He looked at me for a moment. I could tell that he wanted this chair nearer to his allies, but being the professional that he was, he sat at the middle of the table and said hello to those beside him. Paul said a quick prayer then sat down. It was time to start.
We all stared at each other waiting for someone to start the conversation. I could feel the room getting more tense. No one wanted to risk their heart by putting their idea our first. I couldn't blame them. I had planned on going last. Then everyone who had torn apart all the other ideas could see how mine was truly a workable alternative. I finally decided to go first and put my hands on the table to push myself up. Just then Paul stood up and started speaking,
"I guess I'll put my idea forward first. I have been thinking very much over this week on the issue of unity, because I know that our Lord Jesus would not tolerate the in-fighting and mistrust that he would find in his church if he were to walk into Keyheart today. No doubt he would rebuke us as strongly as he did Peter saying, 'Get thee behind me, Satan.' However, there is mercy combined with his wrath and his mercy is great. I think that in many ways our Lord would treat us as children. So, what do you do when little children fight about some little matter? You get them together and you make them tell each other that they are sorry. Then you tell them to forgive each other. When you have done this, you tell them to play nice with each other. That is the essence of my proposal.
"The thing we have done as churches to hurt each others feelings is this: we have used our pulpits to malign each other, to point out the errors in each other denomination, and to make our brothers and sisters in Christ to appear to be heathens and heretics. Is there any surprise that our feelings are hurt? Is it any surprise that we lash back at the brother that has hurt us? But then he lashes back and we hit back again and again. This is what we have been doing for years, and Keyheart has been watching.
"So now let us repent for our childish behavior. But let us not stop there. Let us go beyond simple repentance and agree to change our behavior. We must agree not to attack each other from our pulpits, and from those pulpits we must tell our congregations to do the same. I think also that we should write down a statement of unity that each of us would sign."
His thought was interrupted by a sudden flurry of movement. Everyone was still in their seats, but one half of the room had changed position – an outward expression of an inward feeling of awkwardness. I could not blame anyone because I too felt suddenly uneasy. I had agreed with everything that Paul was saying until he said, "write down and sign." I knew that his denomination has many traditions and rules that they must follow. Now, this idea was beginning to sound the same way.
Mark stood slowly and looked around the table, "What our brother has suggested is good," he said, "I know that we have not always seen eye to eye, but I hear the truth in what he says. We have been acting like children, and it is time to grow up. As he spoke, I found myself trying to find something wrong with what he said. Then my spirit spoke to me and said, 'This is exactly what he is talking about. You are fighting with him in your heart even though you know that he is speaking what is right.' I felt ashamed, and I gave him my attention. Then he proposed to write it down and my heart said, 'Aha!' for surely now I had a reason to stand up and argue – just like his friend Aaron did to me in the last meeting. Again, I felt ashamed.
"The truth is my friends – if I may call you friends – that we need something solid. A written message is something that we can show to our congregations. They may ask what we really agreed to and a written message will include everything that we have agreed to and will leave out everything that we have not agreed to. A spoken agreement may be treated more carelessly and may have less effect. People may think that their pastors agreed to abandon their own traditions or to embrace the different, conflicting traditions of all of the churches, thusly making their faith useless.
As to signing it, it will show beyond a doubt that each pastor has agreed to it. No one will be able to say that so and so is not really with us, because his signature will be on the paper. When someone from a congregation asks if this or that church can really be trusted, we can say that we sat with them and watched them sign this agreement with their own hands.
"My friends, this is not a return to the law or being bogged down in the traditions that we have worked so hard to move past. Though I mean no offense to your traditions, Paul. I know that many around this table were feeling what I was feeling. I know that you also sensed that something was amiss, because you stopped talking even though no one interrupted you, but you did not sit down.
"My friends, I think that Paul has an excellent idea; I believe that it was inspired by God, and I think that we should all give him our full attention without thinking how we can disagree with him just because he didn't agree with us last meeting or last month or last year." Then Mark sat down and looked at Paul. One by one we all turned to face Paul and hear the rest of his idea.
Paul looked stunned, "I thank you Mark – brother, Mark – for your kind words. You see we can all agree on something. Mark has just proven that we can move past our disagreements. We have hope, gentlemen, and we have a chance.
"I have told you my idea, and now I will start the first step.
"I repent for my own actions and the actions of my congregation for whom I am responsible. I have not led them in the way of peace, and I have often abused my position to tear down trust and friendship with the rest of Christ's body. I ask that each one of you will forgive me for my ignorance and for my actions. I will not malign the body of Christ any more."
The minister on his left stood up as Paul sat down. In his own word he repeated the sentiment that Paul had spoken. He repented for his actions and for the actions of his congregation. Then he asked for the forgiveness of this group. When he sat down, the next one rose, and so we continued all around the table – each one asking for the forgiveness of all. Though we never said the words "I forgive you" forgiveness was extended to all. The church of Christ was more united on that day than it had been in the entire history of Keyheart.
We sat silent for a few minutes, and it appeared that people were getting ready to leave. I stood up.
"My brothers, what we have done tonight is a good thing. I would ask that we take one more step in the near future. In my congregation, are those who have been faithfully praying for this town – some for many, many years. I know that you can say the same about your congregations. I would ask that we allow some of these faithful prayers who have a heart to see God change our town to meet together and pray together. Perhaps, we cannot have our entire churches meet together, but we certainly can have a few mature believers come together and pray. If you will hand pick two or three members of your congregation, I will do the same. Then we can set up a few groups with one representative from about four different churches. Then we will each have a constant gateway of communication and prayer with each other congregation in Keyheart."
I sat down thinking that my few words could not possibly have done justice to the dream that I had in my spirit. What could bring people closer together than praying together?
One minister across the table from me said, "I know some people that I could ask."
Another agreed and then the rest also gave their consent.
"Thank you all," I said, "Now, will we work on that statement of agreement tonight, or will we wait for another day?"
In the end we agreed to meet on Friday evening at my church to write up the agreement. We wanted it in place for Sunday, so we could share it with our congregations. I had a pretty good idea what all of the sermons would be about this week.
***
I walked home after the meeting that night. The wind was blowing hard from the north and the temperature had plummeted to minus ten degrees. "So much for an early spring," I thought, as I wrapped my coat tightly around me and pulled my toque down. I was hurrying home as fast I could walk when I heard a shout behind me.
"Hey, you!"
I turned around.
"Yeah, you!"
A big man – at least six foot four inches tall and weighing over two hundred fifty pounds was pointing at me as he walked up.
"We know what you're up to," he yelled over the sound of the wind, "We know what you're trying to do with your secret meetings, and we're not going to let it happen. If you Christians try to take over this town, you'll find yourselves in for a fight."
His eyes were blood-shot and his skin appeared pale under the street lights. I wondered how long he had been standing outside the church.
"We're not trying to take over this town," I said, "We were just trying to agree on some things that we have never agreed on before. We're going to pray together and meet together. That's all. You have nothing to worry about."
His anger suddenly flared, "Do you think we are stupid? We know what you really want. You are trying to take our children. Then you poison their minds, so that they will try to convert us. We're not going to stand for it. We'll fight back! We're not going to let you change Keyheart. We've owned it for too long. We will own it forever! Your churches don't stand a chance."
Just then a car pulled up. The passenger window unrolled and I heard Greg's voice coming from inside it, "It's pretty cold and windy out there. Would you two like a ride?"
The big man turned around and walked away. I got into the car, and he pulled away from the curb. I knew that I had just received a declaration of war from the powers that had held sway in this town for generations. "Good," I thought, "Now, I know that they're worried. That means God is finally starting something in Keyheart."
It started to snow, as Greg drove me home. He sat in silence, while I directed him to my house. When we arrived, he put the car into park and asked me what the man had wanted.
I told him the brief conversation then added, "I'm sure glad you came along. I was beginning to think that I might wake-up in the emergency room."
"So, you pastors are meeting together, eh?" Greg paused for a moment, "Can I tell you something pastor?" I nodded, and he continued, "I'm not a church person and I never will be, but I respect you as a person. So I'm gonna give you my view as an outsider.
"Sometimes I hear Christians at work talking about the different churches, and what they have to say isn't nice. My friends and I always kinda laugh at you guys, because you're not all that different. Now, it's kinda like you're getting united. That may scare some people, because there are only two ways that you can be united. You can unite under something or you can unite against something.
"A cult unites under their leader. They'll do whatever he tells them. No one betrays him, and no one fights too much, because their great leader might be watching.
"In World War Two the Americans and the Russians united against the Germans. A common enemy brought them together, but as soon as that enemy was gone so was their unity.
"It's easier to unite against something. People know this even if they haven't thought about it. So when we see your churches starting to get united we ask a question. Who or what are they uniting against? We've seen in history that the church unites against things like liquor. But we love our liquor, and we're not about to give it up.
"So, here's what I'm trying to say to you. Please, don't unite against us. Try and find something that you can unite under. Then you won't have to come and interfere with the rest of our town to be united. If you did start messing with the town, it would make us normal, everyday people unite against you, and that wouldn't be good for our little town."
I thanked him for sharing his views with me and for the ride. Then, I went inside. He was right on two things. The churches needed to unite under something not against something, and greater unity in the church could polarize public opinion against us.
What he didn't know was who we would unite under, or the fact that our leader had already declared war on the the spiritual forces behind such things as alcohol. Still, what he said came as a caution to me. We would have to be careful to keep the war on a spiritual front and not attack the people or businesses in Keyheart.
***
Sunday morning, I stood at my pulpit. My sermon was over. I had preached from 1 Corinthians 3. The Corinthians had been fighting saying that they followed Paul or Apollos, and they argued about which was greater. I paralleled this to what the churches in Keyheart were doing and then shared about what the ministers had done. Now, I read the agreement:
"We believe that God created the earth and the whole universe in seven days.
"We believe that God created man in his own image out of the dust of the earth. Man sinned by disobeying a commandment from God.
"We believe that God in his infinite mercy sent his Son Jesus to the earth to become a sacrifice for man's sin. He was born of a virgin. He lived perfectly and showed us how he should live. He died on the cross to pay the price for our sins, and was raised back to life.
"We believe that God has offered the gift of Salvation to all without prejudice or price. We believe that all who believe the above statements and confess Jesus Christ as lord are brothers and sisters in the body of Christ. As such we will give them respect that is due each member of Christ's body. We will not speak badly about the body of Christ. We will not malign the body of Christ. But we will build it up with our words. We will encourage the members of Christ's holy body. And we will welcome any who want to join our body.
"Below this are the signatures of all the ministers in town that confess that Jesus is the Son of God and Lord of all. If you want a copy of this agreement you can speak to the office and they will provide it.
"A new day has dawned in Keyheart. It is time for the body of Christ to unite under Jesus Christ, the head of his body. If dark forces or the powers of this age come against us, we will not allow them to divide us again. We are united in belief. We are united in purpose – to bring glory to God.
"Now, let's take a moment to pray for the growth and well being of all of Christ's churches in Keyheart."
THE END
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Hi David: I liked the unity theme. And your writing and gift for dialog is really great. Christians need to be unified. I like it that Greg is used as a kind of example of the tension of the town towards this new idea of unity. A few suggestions: When we meet Greg, I really couldn't see him, his features, his clothes, his social status. I think the events in the story need to be more stretched out. I want to see some personal stuff in the main character's life. Yep, he's a man with a mission but doesn't he have money problems or something else to make him a living person in addition to a person with a calling? I wonder, too, if Greg's reasoning is a bit too pat. It was said very rationally. Many people avoid churches because of supposed Christian hypocrisy. But most folks who avoid have different reasons. I think you have a great character in Greg. But he came around too soon. He might have given the piece a little more creative tension and the reader would have to really get involved in Greg's emotions. Make the story longer and live in it more. Maybe develop another strand of storyline. This is just me, though. Others may have another opinion. By the way, your proofing probably is almost as bad as mine. We've got to commit to lookoing the piece over before we post. God bless. Carole
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