Breakthrough
Reaching Lois Lane.
“Vince Gil is my boy” were the first words Mrs. Lois Lane said to me after the service, then asked, “Do you know the story about the song?” It was Vince Gil’s song Go Rest High on That Mountain. It is a song written in memory of the late country star Keith Whitely and Gil’s brother, Bob, who died of a heart attack.
Mrs. Lane is a big fan of Vince Gil. Some members of the Church bought her tickets one year to see his concert when he toured South Carolina.
That was a breakthrough, albeit a minuscule one, but a breakthrough nonetheless because she talked first about something good. And for a few minutes, we had a pleasant conversation before the bitterness came out.
I visited Congaree Presbyterian Church, Mrs. Lane’s home church, to update her friends with the good news about the tiny breakthrough. They were happy to hear the good news and grateful for my efforts. I then stayed to observe the service.
The Church seats 350-400 people, and only twenty-eight souls filled the pews. Most of the congregants are at least sixty years and older. Mrs. Francis is the oldest member at ninety-three years old, though you would never know it unless someone told you. But they are all sweet people.
I wonder if Mrs. Lane wrote a poem about forgiving others. She had several poems about Christ’s forgiveness of sins but none about forgiving others. I did come across this one that comes close:
Bramble or Rose As you go from day to day, Think of the people on you way. How do they see you do you suppose, A troublesome bramble or a sweetly scented rose? Do you give a friendly smile, A welcome in your arms enclose? Are you a troublesome bramble Or a sweetly scented rose? As you weave you life with others, What patterns do you make? Lovely shaes of happiness Or a cloud with stormy quake? How will you be remembered As you lie in a quiet repose? Were you a troublesome bramble Or a sweetly scented rose?
The thing is, that is precisely what I hope for Mrs. Lane. On the day when she lies in quiet repose, everyone will know her as a sweetly scented rose.