From Janet Gilliam

Dear Friends,

Several weeks ago, a middle aged woman and three elderly folks rang the bell at our church and asked if they could come in to see our sanctuary (it happens fairly often). Since I was on the way over to the church to return restocked share bags, I gladly volunteered to give them the tour. As it turns out, what they were really interested in were the four stained glass panels in the two front doors, given in memory of Alphonso Nelson Parish (1885-1962) and Lillian Crone Parish (1890-1925). The middle aged woman was Mr. Parish's granddaughter and the older folks were also relatives. It seems Mr. Parish had attended and participated in the life of our church for many years before moving to Florida. The family very much wanted me to know how much "Lonnie" loved Good Shepherd and that he continued to make a pledge to Good Shepherd even after he had been gone for many years. Indeed, upon his death, the family learned that Lonnie's will stipulated that his pledge be paid off for that year! The granddaughter said that "granddaddy just really believed in what you folks were doing here." This story about the faith of an ordinary man, his children's love for him and his dedication to what Good shepherd was about, genuinely touched me. I believe that Lonnie and I have had some shared experiences. As simply as I can possibly explain it, Lonnie (a man I never met and who died when I was five) and I fully understand that we are only a small part in a great, holy and mysterious plan that God has for all his saints. We do not see, nor do we understand, what the fruition of the plan is, but we have a clear sense of our vital link in making the story whole. I delight in the knowledge that, though separated by time and space, we have this shared understanding.

I also delight in the thought that, in fifty or so more years, someone will stand in front of the nursery and say, "hmm... wonder who Janet Gilliam was? Wonder what life of faith she experienced, and with what children?" They could not begin to know! They could not begin to imagine the joy of opening this new parish life center, the thrill of watching the buzz of children's play in the nursery, the excitement of watching children pour up the stairwell to the second floor like a geyser, spraying out giggling children as they run down the hallway searching for classrooms. They will not know the stories of our lives-how we shared birth and life and death. They will certainly not know how Janet Gilliam got blindsided in church on All Saints' Sunday back in 2008 by an entire congregation keeping a huge secret from her for three months!!! They will not know how God worked His will through us, because they will be too busy trying to figure out God's plan for their own lives. I suppose our stories, like Lonnie's, will have to be lost. But perhaps in the midst of discovering that God is actually REAL, future generations will smile and say, "Wow, I bet I'm having a shared experience with Janet Gilliam and those families!"

From the bottom of my heart, thank you for the extraordinary honor of naming the church nursery after me. Sunday surprised me by becoming a day that I can only rank up there with the day I got married or the days my children were born. It's officially a day beyond the stratosphere! When I pray, I sometimes imagine pounding on the doors of heaven and shouting, "give me eyes to see and ears to hear, because I don't get it!" In prayer on Sunday night, I realized you are God's answers to my prayers. When I look at you and our children, I see God and heaven in you and them. Every now and then, I think the veil gets lifted and insight becomes abundant. Even more than the naming of the nursery, I thank you for this. I thank you for being here with me and Lonnie Parish to make the
story whole. I thank you for believing in what God is doing at Good Shepherd.

Thank you for sharing in this thick, rich, luxuriously, abundant life. You are of tremendous value to my life-and to God's heart I expect.

Walk in love,
Janet Gilliam