Today we remember a very dear friend of mine, Johnny Chambers.
The first time I met John, we were in a meeting, about two and a half years ago. He sat across the room from me, and he kept to himself, looking as if he couldn't decide if he wanted to hide or run away. Our paths continued to cross, and we started talking. I will never forget the first personal thing he talked to me about... He said, "can I be blunt? Can I tell you the truth about your hair? Girl, we have to fake it till we make it." I didn't know if I should hide or run away at that point either.
John & I developed a close friendship, and sometimes I know I would drive him crazy with my "mom" hair styles & "mom" style of dress, and the overall messiness of my house would send him into fever pitch volunteering to come clean something. Sometimes he drove me crazy because he didn't understand that I felt like it was okay to look like a "mom." and that I have five kids who really don't care if my home decor is from the latest issue of Country Living.
John taught me so many things, and almost none of them had anything to do with hair or clothing styles.
The most important thing that Johnny Chambers did for me was open my eyes allowing me to fall I'm love with my church family. Johnny had heard me talk about church for several months. I talked about the people, the events we had, just about everything involved with Main and Oklahoma Church. Johnny had shared with me that he had been attending church across the country for most of his life, but he never felt accepted or "at home."
John would tell me that he had a past, and that he had done many things in his past that were not accepted by the majority of Christian churches. He shared with me that the thing that he wanted most in this world was acceptance.
I have a confession to make... I never formally invited Johnny to church. I think I fell into the category of "don't ask, don't tell." He called me at 9:45 on a Saturday night, the same Saturday that his picture came out in the McAlester News Paper as he protested Westboro Baptist Church and their anti-homosexuality hostility, and he said, "hey, I think I'm going to come to your church tomorrow. What time does it start?"
Well, we all know what happened from then on. I felt as if God had placed him in my life, in our lives for a reason. I'm sure that I don't know or understand the purpose of how God moves in my life & in the lives of those around me. I am not going to tell you I understand all of the lessons that I learned or the ways that God has revealed Himself to me through my friend John Chambers. But here are a few ways I would like to share:
I realized that just like John, I also wanted unconditional love, but often I placed barriers blocking my acceptance of this love. I had the wonderful opportunity to watch a person be accepted and loved for who he was. John was a person who was imperfect, a sinner just like me. John died knowing that he had love and acceptance from a group of fellow believers of Christ. He died having his heart's greatest desire.
I am so blessed to have been able to watch as God moved through our church, and how my church family was able to show compassion, love and acceptance for Johnny as a person, without condoning the sins of his past. Johnny served as an example of person who has sinned, yet came to believe in Jesus Christ as his savior. We had a lot in common, John & I. I am happy that he was my friend, & I am grateful that he was able to be part of my life for awhile. I want you all to know that each and every one of you had a part in granting a dying man his last wish: unconditional love and acceptance. Thank you for being his friend.
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