Park is a place about GRACE August 11, 2008
Posted by Steve in : Weblog , trackbackI was greatly touched by JR Kerr’s message yesterday about grace. As an example, he told the story about Sara Tucholsky of the Western Oregon University softball team, who hit a home run in a game against Central Washington this year, but as she was headed to first base, her knee buckled and she went down. It’s against the rules for your own team to help you around the bases, so since she was unable to run herself, it looked as though the home run wouldn’t count. But, two players from Central Washington actually picked Sara up and carried her around the bases stopping on each base so she could touch the bag with her foot. This selfless act of grace moved Sara’s teammates to tears, but it also cost Central Washington the playoffs because they were disqualified. But, doing the right thing was the only thing to do. Central Washington may have lost out on the playoffs, but their character was stronger than ever and what grace they showed.
It reminded me of an act of grace at Park a number of years ago that shows what the body of Christ should be — read and be inspired:
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Joe Barrett — His unusual donation saved a life — by Christine Tatum
(reprinted from Today’s Christian, September/October 1997)
Brad Szczecinski was looking for God when he wandered into a prayer meeting at Park Community Church in Chicago back in 1996. He figured the Lord owed him a few explanations for the troubles in his life. Chief among them, kidney failure. Joe Barrett, the group’s leader, took one look at the pale, chisel-cheeked visitor and wondered how to help him. Prayer seemed simple enough, so he invited Brad to stay after the group dismissed.”I had never considered myself the type to be able to sit down with another guy, hold hands, and pray,” Brad said. “But that’s what we did. And that night at church changed my entire life.” The Lord rattled Joe Barrett, too. He went home with Brad’s health weighing on his heart.
“I kept praying for healing for Brad,” Joe said. “Then it occurred to me that God has infinite ways of solving problems, and with his help, I had the power to be one of them.”Two weeks after their first meeting, Joe offered to give Brad one of his kidneys. But because five relatives already had volunteered to become donors, Brad didn’t think he would need to accept his new friend’s offer. He was wrong. Doctors ruled out Brad’s mother, aunt, and uncle right away, focusing instead on his brother and a cousin. The testing process took months; Brad was put on dialysis three times a week. Joe spent much of that time at his side, reading the Bible and praying. Brad’s younger brother seemed to be the ideal match until doctors discovered an undiagnosed heart condition. The day after that announcement, Brad’s cousin was rushed to the hospital with gall bladder trouble. She, too, was an unsuitable donor.
“I was going nuts and called Joe just to say I was pulling my hair out,” Brad said. “He had been my sounding board and knew what I was going through.”Joe wasted little time. Tests showed he was a suitable donor, and doctors performed the kidney transplant in November 1996. But, Joe admits, the operation never would have happened two years earlier.”I would’ve felt sorry for him and maybe wished him luck and then gone about my business,” said Joe, the owner of an international finance company. “Because that was my life—business. Being very self-centered, I did what I wanted. But that was before Christ entered my heart and changed my priorities.”Both men spent much of the winter recovering from the surgery. Brad successfully fought episodes of organ rejection. Joe said the pain he endured cannot compare to the joy he feels every time he sees a spring in Brad’s step or color in his cheeks. “God’s love has so powerfully moved this entire process,” Joe explains. “At first, I just prayed for him to perform a miracle and heal Brad. But that would have had such a limited effect.”We tend to think miracles are things that happen to others, not us,” he adds. “But I’m here to tell you that isn’t so.”
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