Adam

This is a letter Andrew received from a man, now forty, who many, many years ago - as a five-seven year old, or so, lived underneath us with his mom and brother in our first Toronto apartment. Andrew was then four? Tim a baby. He found Andrew on Facebook.

Dear Challies Family,

I have wanted to reconnect with you for many years now. While I, like most of us, have wanted to reconnect for the sake of sharing good memories, my purpose for reconnecting was renewed in the summer of 1996. That was the day I became a follower of Jesus Christ. So, quite simply I wanted to say:

Thank-you for your presence in my life! Perhaps I could have said it more poetically. Ray Bolyz in his song, "Thank You for Giving to the Lord", wrote earlier the words that elaborate on the feeling of my heart:

Thank you for giving to the Lord,
I am a life that was changed.
Thank you for giving to the Lord,
I am so glad you gave.

You gave to the Lord simply by being present in our lives. You were present by participating in our lives while allowing us to participate in yours all the while demonstrating the presence of Christ.

Only now, through spiritual eyes can I fully appreciate your presence in my life. As well, John and Barbara, as a parent I now better appreciate the efforts you must have taken to raise a Christian family with God's help. I see now how the presence of Christ was demonstrated in so many ways. I would like to name a few:

Your lifestyle seemed refreshingly different from some of our other friends and family. I often remember walking into your apartment and sensing spaciousness and a sense that went beyond cleanliness - there was a strong fragrance of purity. This sense was reflected not only in the decor of your home, which was later matched in your house near Bayview, but was evident in how you conducted yourselves at home. The time spent at your home was time well spent. It was re-creational in the truest sense of the word.

A moment for Andrew: I so enjoyed spending time with him. Often we would hang out in his room listening to the song, "Leaving on a Jetplane" on his record player. I would often enjoy watching him draw countless circles and listen to his profound insights. He was a sage at an early age! Then came the train set and the entire bedroom was transformed into a miniature train station. John tenderly showed us how to play with the station.

Tenderness was part of your presence and personality. You demonstrated the fruit of the Spirit in many different situations. Two I can remember most clearly.

Once at the cottage you brought us to, Barbara, you allowed me the privilege of watering the forest lawn. You warned me NOT to spray anyone and I promised not to. Somehow, however, I missed my intended target and splashed water on you as you were sitting down. You reprimanded me gently. That was it. No yelling or punishment. I was impressed!

The second episode involved some punishment. For some reason, while talking with Andrew at the corner of Palmerston and Vermont, I had pushed Andrew off his trike and quickly ran home to avoid the consequences of leaving my friend behind on the ground. Minutes late, you appeared at our door asking to speak to my mother. You recounted what happened and you then suggested some appropriate punishments. I was quite impressed by the list and to this day I have never forgotten them. The list included" going to bed (with or without supper -I can't remember), doing some chores (or something like that) and most remarkable, having a bath! This was the most intriguing list of suggestions for a bad boy - all of them were beneficial yet served to get the point across. I felt remorseful but relieved at your response to my actions, Barbara.

Finally your love for us was obvious not only in how you livingly brought us into your home, shared the fruit of the Spirit with us, but also how I felt this love from your family, and could "read it between the lines" of our time together. This is harder to explain with any particular example, except I just felt your love for my family and me.

This was maybe the most important quality for my family and me. My mom, Cathy, was most of the time a single mom and while I had the opportunity to visit my dad on occasion, my younger brother, Damian, had a more difficult relationship with his dad, who left our home when he was about three.

I want to share more about the moments spent with your family and their impact on the present but I will leave that for another letter. I really wanted to share these words with you:

Thank you for your presence in my life!

Thank you for your presence in my life!

Thank you for your presence in my life!

Hallelujah!

Amen.

Love in Christ,

Adam



You know I am not passing this on to vaunt ourselves. I am way past that...I am just amazed at the wonder of a little boy who saw everything, "sensed" everything and stored it away until God activated it to convert him. A gift beyond words for me. I feel like I have found Nancy's son...

And, I think, Adam is a pastor. He is in Tim's fellowship group, I believe....