During my cancer journey, since May 25, 2009, there have been so many people who have done or said just the right thing at the right time to buoy my fighting spirit. One of those things happened a few days ago. I have waited to share this incredible story until it played out. It fully played out during our All Saints Feast Sunday at St. Matthews in-the-Pines Episcopal Church in Seale, Ala.
If you’re familiar with the Episcopal Church calendar, All Saints Day was November 1. We celebrated the day in a very interesting way this past Sunday. The Rev. Donna Gafford, our priest, challenged us all to come to church on Sunday and bring a story about our favorite saint. This saint could be a real saint, or it could be a favorite relative, a pet or a teacher from our past.
I am kind of a church curmudgeon in that I really don’t like to participate in church. I don’t want to do any kind of interpretive dance (Several years ago that happened at our church once. I’m not kidding.) I don’t like to try to stump the priest. (That has happened, too.) I want to go, hear a great sermon, sing some soul-stirring songs, pass the peace and go home. So, I had decided not to participate in the saint discussion.
Jill felt that I was being unreasonable and that I should reconsider my curmudgeonly stance. As you know, I’m still recovering from two back surgeries and food poisoning. Sunday, two weeks ago was the first time in many weeks that I had been to church. So, I was feeling disconnected and really didn’t want to do the saint thing.
Late in the day this past Friday, Jill handed me a package. I was involved in a payroll situation, so I dropped it on my desk without looking at who might have sent it. After I finished my task, I picked up the package and noticed that it was from an old friend, Kate Nerone. We worked together many years ago at Aflac and I have always had great respect for Kate’s sense of humor, her writing ability — and her legs.
Several years ago, Kate joined me for dinner at the old La Grotta restaurant in the basement of a condominium complex on Peachtree in Atlanta. There is a new version of the restaurant in the Holiday Inn Ravinia on the north end of the city. I like the old world feel of the old place, the mustachioed wait staff who speak very little English and their penchant for strong-arming diners into choosing Italian bottled mineral water over Atlanta tap water.
I had arrived early and was sipping on a drink when Kate strutted in, decked out in a low-cut black minidress, ridiculously high heels and fishnet stockings. She stopped the show that night. She has a habit of stopping shows when she walks into a room. I’ll just say that we got snappy, grade-A service that night. It was quite a lovely evening and it was fun to watch Florio trip over himself to serve us.
I ripped open the package. It contained a box, which I tossed onto my desk, and several sheets of paper. I read the sheets in order, because that is just the way I roll. The first sheet was a note from Kate. The other sheets were an Easter meditation she had written a few years ago for her former sister-in-law Amy Nerone, who puts together the meditations each year for the Chattahoochee Valley Episcopal Ministries, an outreach arm of the local Episcopal parishes.
She also included a riveting poem, which her friend Hope Winsborough shared with her. Here’s where the story gets really interesting: Kate mentioned that there was a box in the package. It contained, she said, a St. Michael medal, which her husband carried as a paratrooper in Baghdad, Iraq. She said that it had protected him and that now she wanted me to have it. The medal was being repurposed to protect me from cancer.
By the way, St. Michael is the patron saint of paratroopers, firemen, policemen, drunkards and fools. You all know I don’t wear a uniform or a badge, but I’m glad I made the cut! Jill walked into my office and said, “What did Kate send you?” I held up the medal, which was then and now attached to my car key. She got that wry smile and said, “Well, there’s your saint!”
Fast forward to Sunday. I walked into church with the poem in hand and the St. Michael medal in pocket. When Donna described how we were going to substitute the saint discussions for the sermon, I asked if I could go first. Selfishly, I knew my story was going to blow everyone else out of the water and I wanted the shock and awe effect of a great story to kick off the festivities.
The time came and I went up to the lecturn and delivered my story. I read Kate’s favorite poem and I told our parish about why I was the new owner of the medal. Needless to say, the story killed! The fact that this wonderful story dropped into my lap just over 24 hours from the time I needed it is just so cool.
The icing on the cake was that Karen Rankin’s favorite saint was me! She delivered a tearful thank you to me for being an important part of their life here in Seale. This service that I was dead set against participating in, turned out to be an amazing love fest with sweet sentiments, great food and fellowship under the pines in our little church. This is exactly why I love our church. It is casual, warm and friendly. I leave there each week feeling great and uplifted and during the summer, I get to wear shorts. How cool is that?
Pat Diaz-Verson says
Mike,
“Coincidences are God’s way of remaining anonymous.”
Sounds like your unexpected package personified that definition 🙂
Pat
Allison Kennedy says
Great story, Mikey! Glad you got out of the curmudgeon mode, if just for a little while 🙂
Callie says
Now I know why you seemed so much more yourself on Monday–you had a great Sunday! If you keep tapping into the wealth of warmth flowing from the legions of your adoring fans, your curmudgeon days will permanently relegated to the past!!
It’s wonderful to see your light on in the office again–figuratively and literally.
Kisses & Hugs,
Callie
Betsy and Buddy says
I’m with you Pat, there are no coincidences!
What a great story. Thanks for sharing! Love to you and Jill!
Grandin Eakle says
Drunkard or Fool?? Drunkard or Fool?? Drunkard or Fool?? Hmmmmmmmmm??????? Well it is pretty obvious you are drunk with love for your wife so I guess…….. ??????
Glad to hear you had a great day at church. God is good ALL THE TIME!!!!!
Grandin
Betsy Covington says
Dude, you’re not nearly the curmudgeon you think you are. So glad you’re open to the sweet experiences that a life open to God – and to great friends – can bring. I’m praying for continued strength building for you. We all need you back 100%!
Margaret Angell says
What a wonderful story, Mike! Thanks for sharing it with all of us. Glad you went to church and shared your story. Coincidence? I think the good Lord was making sure you had what you needed, when you needed it!
Judy Sheppard says
Hey, Mike — I have a couple of “coincidental” meetings with St. Michael myself. And you know us Methodists — we’re not that conscious of saints. I don’t know why.
Because I’m curious (or something,) I pick up scraps of paper when I see them on the sidewalk, and one day I picked up what a friend explained was a St. Michael prayer card. There he was on the back of the card, righteous as hell, muscular and fiery-eyed. Pretty cool, I thought, and put the card on my bulletin board.
I used to give journalism students a short New Yorker piece as an example of what you can find just by following around someone who usually isn’t “newsworthy.” This one was fduring one of NYPD’s horrific corruption and violence scandals. The writer found a doing a quiet beat cop and walked with him one night in the bad neighborhood he patrolled. Like a good writer — you’ll appreciate this, Mike — he glanced over when the cop took off his hat to rub his forehead. Imagine the writerly joy: Taped inside was a card of St. Michael. It meant, to me, that this solitary cop was scared to death, just as he should be out there alone, but he kept walking the walk. But inside his hat, the symbol of his identity — you know how hats often identify your work, like a firefighter’s or a cowboy’s — he kept St. Michael near him, a powerful weapon against the evil things he might encounter.
The next time I taught that story, I grabbed that prayer card and took it in to show other non-Catholics like me. And a Vietnamese-American student told me about the Feast Day of St. Michael. And we all looked at the calendars on our computers in amazement. It was that day.
I think St. Jude’s my saint — the name and because I’m in journalism and so we know about “lost causes” — but, for the good fight, St. Michael is your man.–Judy
Ellen Brooks says
What a great story! I love to see how God works. I am so glad you have such a sweet church 🙂 You are an encouragement to us all! You and Jill are always in my prayers.
Cindy Hodnette says
That’s the way God Rolls! You never know when He will tug at your heart or get right in your face! Good for you Mike. I enjoyed the story and am glad things are going better for you. I enjoy your blog. Keep up the great writing.
Cindy
Terry Baxley says
Mike so happy to see a story like this praying you are doing better and to know it’s so cose to Veterans Day and my saint story would be in high school a friend who owned a jewelry store talked me into byeing a Saint Christopher and not knowing this saint he told me all about him,I purchased this for a very good girl in high school give it to her and I moved from my hometown for a few yrs. I came back for a visit and stoped at a home to see a old friend who had lived there at one time not sure if he and his wife still lived there, a girl who I did not know came to the door I explain the situation to her and she said she knew me from school so I asked if she would let me use her phone to call someone to see where they moved to,in a room someone was crying as I was on the phone being the door was not open I asked the girl if the person in that room was ok,she said no very sick and she did not have a car to get her to the E.R. I said I would take them well she opened that door and it was the girl in high school that I gave the necklace to,took one look and cryed harder but she had the St Christopher in her hand the girl she will not put that //// thing down some boy gave it to her LOL and said stop crying we have a ride she looked at me and I was crying LOL took us a little bit till I said I’M the boy that gave it to her she didn’t say a word took out of the room cosed the door and I bet both are believers, God is Great!!!! PS- that girl as she cosed that door looked back and was balling.
Eddie & Nancy Reid says
Mike,
We are so happy to have you back with us at St. Matthews on Sundays. With the love that God has for you and his constant Holly presence with you and the love and prayers of all of us who love you, I know that you are going to make a full and complete recovery. It so wonderful to see your old self coming back more and more each week.
God’s Peace
Eddie and Nancy
Kate Nerone says
Dearest Mike,
I thought you might like to know a bit more about “your” Saint:
Michael the Archangel — Archangel. Leader of the army of God during the Lucifer uprising. Devotion is common to Muslims, Christians and Jews, and there are writings about him in all three cultures. Considered the guardian angel of Israel, and the guardian and protector of the Church. In the Book of Daniel (12:1), Michael is described as rising up to defend the Church against the Anti-Christ.
Born — wasn’t
Died — hasn’t
Name Meaning — Who is like God? (the battle cry of the army of heaven)
It’s so cool to have a certified WARRIOR on your side, isn’t it? Love you — Kate
Jessica Tucker says
I love all your post..You are a gifted writer and inspire me with every blog..You guys are in my prayers everyday. : )
Grandin Eakle says
Mike… Where are you and more importantly…. HOW are you?… Grandin