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“...until the day breaks and the shadows flee away….” - Song of Solomon 2:17
Often times we don’t discover a man’s stunning life story until his funeral…his wife and companion of 51 years claimed that over his lifetime the man named Patrick went “from anarchist to Fox News.”
From his own early years, dealing with congenital health problems and drug addiction, he learned compassion for others deemed by some to be hopeless cases, unworthy of help. Nobody was too hopeless for Patrick. He began walking in the footsteps of the Good Shepherd even before he met Him, driven by a fiery passion to help other souls lost in drugs and prison experiences.
The crowd-packed memorial chapel bore witness to individuals he had touched. And the two-hour long service, filled with stories from those so salvaged, with no teleprompter in sight, revealed hearts and lives changed, turned around for the better.
One young man, not interested in rehab, but seeking to hide from drug dealers at Pat’s dream treatment center, told his story. One day in a group session, he encountered Pat and his persistence. “Tell me about your father!” The man, Marvin, who towered over Pat, told him to back off. Pat moved in closer, repeating his request until Marvin found himself on the floor in a fetal position bawling uncontrollably, not sure how he even got there. When he managed to pull himself together, he reported that the whole world seemed suddenly lighter, brighter, illuminating. “It was the weirdest thing!”* Obviously Patrick, who never knew his own World War 2 hero father, recognized how the loss of one’s father can leave a big hole affecting a child’s entire life.
Mark, a quiet more obscure friend with his own life-threatening physical limitations, had been praying for Patrick over the years. He recruited others to join him in standing in the gap to make up a hedge of protection for his friend suffering from the darts of his acknowledged demons. My husband Howard met Pat through Mark, mutual friends, the three of them being brother "fixers." In their enjoyable times working together, a conversation about creation sparked a desire in Pat's heart to read more about it in the Bible. Eventually, his encounter with our Lord Emmanuel led him to our congregation.
Jesus gave new meaning to Patrick’s life as he continued to follow his passion, now helping others through a ministry of deep healing prayer. Literally surrounded by this circle of prayer partners, another brother told us how he was set free from a lifetime of severe claustrophobia, when he encountered Jesus at the forgotten source of his fear: locked in a dark closet as a child. In that moment, he heard the voice of Jesus tell him that he was never alone, there, but that He had been with him all the time.
Some might work for the kingdom on the front lines; many, like Patrick, even before they realize Who is prompting them.Those ‘behind the scenes’ can experience the privilege of seeing Jesus at work, in and through us for others, sharing the Light of the Good News to a world in painful fear, danger and darkness.
Whatever the plans our Creator has for each life, I am convinced by Scripture that the Good Shepherd will never fail to find and rescue every single lost sheep, no matter how far they’ve fallen or how long it takes. That's why we proclaim the Good News. Even in spite of our own tendency to transgression and unfaithfulness, God remains faithful.
From his own early years, dealing with congenital health problems and drug addiction, he learned compassion for others deemed by some to be hopeless cases, unworthy of help. Nobody was too hopeless for Patrick. He began walking in the footsteps of the Good Shepherd even before he met Him, driven by a fiery passion to help other souls lost in drugs and prison experiences.
The crowd-packed memorial chapel bore witness to individuals he had touched. And the two-hour long service, filled with stories from those so salvaged, with no teleprompter in sight, revealed hearts and lives changed, turned around for the better.
One young man, not interested in rehab, but seeking to hide from drug dealers at Pat’s dream treatment center, told his story. One day in a group session, he encountered Pat and his persistence. “Tell me about your father!” The man, Marvin, who towered over Pat, told him to back off. Pat moved in closer, repeating his request until Marvin found himself on the floor in a fetal position bawling uncontrollably, not sure how he even got there. When he managed to pull himself together, he reported that the whole world seemed suddenly lighter, brighter, illuminating. “It was the weirdest thing!”* Obviously Patrick, who never knew his own World War 2 hero father, recognized how the loss of one’s father can leave a big hole affecting a child’s entire life.
Mark, a quiet more obscure friend with his own life-threatening physical limitations, had been praying for Patrick over the years. He recruited others to join him in standing in the gap to make up a hedge of protection for his friend suffering from the darts of his acknowledged demons. My husband Howard met Pat through Mark, mutual friends, the three of them being brother "fixers." In their enjoyable times working together, a conversation about creation sparked a desire in Pat's heart to read more about it in the Bible. Eventually, his encounter with our Lord Emmanuel led him to our congregation.
Jesus gave new meaning to Patrick’s life as he continued to follow his passion, now helping others through a ministry of deep healing prayer. Literally surrounded by this circle of prayer partners, another brother told us how he was set free from a lifetime of severe claustrophobia, when he encountered Jesus at the forgotten source of his fear: locked in a dark closet as a child. In that moment, he heard the voice of Jesus tell him that he was never alone, there, but that He had been with him all the time.
Some might work for the kingdom on the front lines; many, like Patrick, even before they realize Who is prompting them.Those ‘behind the scenes’ can experience the privilege of seeing Jesus at work, in and through us for others, sharing the Light of the Good News to a world in painful fear, danger and darkness.
Whatever the plans our Creator has for each life, I am convinced by Scripture that the Good Shepherd will never fail to find and rescue every single lost sheep, no matter how far they’ve fallen or how long it takes. That's why we proclaim the Good News. Even in spite of our own tendency to transgression and unfaithfulness, God remains faithful.
Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him [Jesus]. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
So he told them this parable: “Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. - Luke 15:1-7
Copyright 2019 by Edy T Johnson
So he told them this parable: “Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. - Luke 15:1-7
Copyright 2019 by Edy T Johnson
*Link to 8-15-19 journalist’s story about Pat:
http://www.startribune.com/patrick-gramps-teel-innovative-mind-behind-eden-house-treatment-center-in-minneapolis-dies-at-75/543117782/?fbclid=IwAR3BbO4n0uxmexDdjg66gsf-F37Xujakkr8HgEIC9oIdXA5B66W4ZLIbDVg
http://www.startribune.com/patrick-gramps-teel-innovative-mind-behind-eden-house-treatment-center-in-minneapolis-dies-at-75/543117782/?fbclid=IwAR3BbO4n0uxmexDdjg66gsf-F37Xujakkr8HgEIC9oIdXA5B66W4ZLIbDVg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gtb-bUftspw “Until Then”
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