Before today I really never understood the difference a "W" can make.
What separates the 43rd president from the 41st? A "W"...
What stands between being whole or being in a hole? A "w" of course...
What is often the difference between being in the playoffs and staying home? A "w"...or in the Cubs case, approximately 11 "w"s...
Why did I almost miss the memorial service of a new friend? The dreaded "W"...
Before I explain...let me tell you a little about my friend. His name is Frank. Frank knew me better than I knew him. He watched me every week from inside a theater in Irmo, South Carolina. I couldn't see him...but he was there. More than there, actually. Since the beginning of the new campus, Frank pitched in and did his part. You would expect him too...his son is the campus pastor. But it wasn't about that...not for Frank, anyway. He took personal pride in making sure that everyone was greeted at the door. That's what he knew he could do and he did it well. When Frank greeted you there was no doubt that you were welcome! I felt it on the few occasions that I've visited. But I didn't really know Frank until I got an e-mail from his daughter-in-law that said he wasn't doing well. He'd fought the cancer for years...but it might not be long now.
I made an appointment to meet with him...just he and I...at a little sandwich place by the theater. He drove himself...Frank was like that...independent...till the end. Would have rode his Harley but the family probably hid the keys. We visited for a while...talked about nothing and everything at the same time. I told Frank that I came for two reasons...first to thank him for pouring into our church...and then to pray for him. He was uncomfortable with the former and coveted the latter. "Oh, it's nothing...just what I ought to be doing", he said, in his semi-tough guy way. "I would appreciate your prayers, though". So we did...joined hands in the corner of that noisy little restaurant...and I made a new friend. It really felt like that. I thought about it most of the way back to Charleston...how busy is life that we don't take time for the important things? I could easily have missed this moment. Frank would have been okay, but I would have been poorer for it.
About a month later I got the email...Frank went home. They sent me the address of the memorial service...1303 Sunset Drive, W Columbia, South Carolina. This morning I fed the numbers and letters into my computer and out popped a map, complete with driving instructions... from my door to Frank's last service. I gave myself some extra time and enjoyed the ride...thinking about this weekends message and remembering my new friend. When I got to the place the church was supposed to be...there was an empty lot. Near panic set in...why is there no church? Who can I blame? (Those two often go together in my world...why and who.) I called the office...then we figured it out.
It was the "W"...we left it out. And it just so happens that there are two 1303 Sunset Drives in the Columbia area. One holds a church...one a vacant lot. The difference? A "W"...and about 20 minutes.
I missed most of the service...Frank wouldn't have cared. I got there in time for them to play "Sweet Home Alabama" and a great song about heaven. Then they passed out chocolate to everyone...someone roared off on Frank's Harley...and it was over. He would have wanted it that way. I wished I'd seen more of it.
I know it's the thought that counts...but next time I'll remember the "W".
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