The Extraordinary and the Ordinary

My uncle Dan was an extraordinary man. He was at the invasion at Normandy Beach in WWII and had built his life philosophy from that one catastrophic event. He decided that if he lived through that horrific battle he would never have a “bad day”. He had seen the worst and nothing else compared to it.
And so, day after day, he lived “good days”, and it served him well. Through hard work perseverance, a fabulous outlook and impeccable character he built a small empire. But as the empire grew, Uncle Dan saw himself as no more important or more valuable then the “least of these”. He made himself available to others and treated all with great respect. I loved that about him…as did thousands of others as reflected at his funeral. The huge church could not contain all of his “friends”.

It is a most wondrous thing when extraordinary people live humbly in the ordinary with their fellow man and are available and willing to help whenever they can.

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As Genie and Colin (our testimony coordinators) sought out people who would allow us to film their testimonies for The Amazing Collection DVD Bible Study, one name kept coming to mind. Kay Arthur has a remarkable story of redemption. Kay is an extraordinary woman in Christendom; in fact one could consider her a “star”, a celebrity, unreachable to the ordinary person. And so we did not pursue her knowing that we were perhaps too small to even be considered.

But after several months of excuses, Colin called Reach Out Ranch, home to Kay and some of her staff, that also houses facilities for conferences and classes. There was a short conversation with her secretary along with the explanation that we could not pay for this service, and then the secretary promised to call back soon with an answer. It gave us all a ray of hope. And so we waited.

But the wait was not long and the response was startling and wonderful. Kay would be happy for us to bring our crew up to film her and indeed no payment was necessary. It would be her privilege!! We were elated!

The day arrived and Kelle and Shane, (our production team) Genie, Colin and I all drove the hundred and twenty miles to Chattanooga, Tenn. With little difficulty we found the ranch and a staff member led us to a perfect room. It had great lighting and plenty of space for everyone.

Within minutes of set-up Kay arrived. OK I admit it. I was hugely intimidated by her…all that she had accomplished, all of the books she had written, all of the millions of men and women she had inspired, and her incredible dedication to God’s Word. In fact, I had elevated her to a place somewhere very near the heavenly Throne!

But the intimidation quickly melted away with a most unusual thing … a hug! Indeed Kay Arthur went around the room and didn’t shake hands, but she hugged each one of us as if we were family. And it was at that moment I realized that indeed we really WERE family!

What was even more remarkable was her desire to serve US. If we needed her to turn a certain way, it was done. She kept a close eye on the computer screen and helped us with lighting and placement as she was an expert in that area. And she gave her testimony over and over again until it was perfect. There was no hurry; she was simply ours for as long as we needed her. In the end we were able to film a fabulous testimony for the book of Isaiah.

In Scripture, James says that we are never to elevate or lower another human being. It sounds good but I seldom see it actually played out by those who reach a certain prominence. But I am grateful for the people God has put in my life who take God’s Word and clearly, humbly, unselfishly, and remarkably live it out! The extraordinary and the ordinary…. all for God, all one family, united in Christ Jesus.

James 2:1 & 9

My brethren do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism. But if you show partiality you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors