WARNING.....THIS IS GONNA BE A LONG ONE
You know that question people ask you "If you could meet one person, who would it be?"
I think at one point in my life, my answer would have been Bon Jovi, maybe Oprah, or even Jesus (except I knew I'd meet Jesus in Heaven) Truth is, I'd say that in the past several years, my answer has been Rick Warren, the pastor of my church and author of "The Purpose Driven Life"...BUT, I never gave that answer, in fact, I never even said it out loud. I just did not answer. I guess I was confused on why I wanted to meet him because he is "just a man".
This is super personal...but worth it to me to share....
Saddleback Church, Pastor Rick and me finding "my purpose" have been in my heart, right next to GOD, my family & friends for the past several years...the years that I found great love and devastating loss, the years of tremendous growth and life altering mistakes. Throughout my journey, God, family, friends & Saddleback have been my source of support, have been with me on that rubber dingy with the broken oar, have been with me as I went through divorce, have been with me as I took a leap of faith and traveled around the globe in the name of paper and helped me to be able to appreciate & absorb the true sense of God as I witnessed the sunrise and the sunset in South Africa.
My life has changed for the better because of many many factors, including Pastor Rick...
But he is "just a man", so "wanting to meet him" felt like I was a groupie, waiting back stage...therefore, I never said anything....
Something has changed in the past year as I really started to identify with my Purpose. I started to answer that "Who would you meet..." question when asked, especially when I was around the people that I knew"knew him" I even said it out loud in our small group and my own husband said "he is just a man"..."duh...I know that " was my response, but I still was unsure "why" and could not defend my reasoning for wanting to meet him (as if I need a reason???) & I continued to share my wishes & thoughts with my small group and said that I did not think that God was going to make it possible for me to meet him because I was unsure of exactly "why"...
long story short....fast forward to today...
The morning got away from me, John was helping a neighbor, Ben was at a friends so I decided to stay in my jammies and watch church. During the message....Rick spoke about how we are jars of clay and more importantly that "God puts his glory in ordinary thingsand how God wants to be inside of us, so that he is exposed through us and Rick continued on by giving this example:
Rick : "I am just a man, but through me, people see God in me...and I see God in people because it comes out through their actions, through their gifts & through their purpose"
light bulb moment....He, Pastor Rick..."is just a man"
...Insert screeching breaks sound effect...
THAT'S IT.....
that is MY ANSWER.....
I know why....
because he is an ordinary man (Rick) and I do see GOD in him...
longer story shorter...
showered, got ready, Jack & I went to Church...
met up with some friends and look what happened...
I got my answer and I got my wish...
an amazing full circle moment for me...and guess what he said (not just to me, because I heard him say it to another...)
"Have you hugged your Pastor today???"and he gave me a big ol' bear hug.
if you are wondering what I said...I said "It is a pleasure to finally meet you"and he looked at me and said "God Bless You"
(and I did not even sneeze!!!)
such an amazing day.
I live in TX, but we visited your church about 4 years ago? Your pastors wife was in the hospital with cancer and he had also had surgery, so he wasn't in the pulpit, but we still received a blessing by being there. We had heard them both speak at a Gary Smalley Marriage conference before that in Branson, Mo. We liked the book Purpose Driven Live and are thankful for the blessing it has been to so many people. I'm glad you are in such a great church where you can grow through Bible study groups and hear his messages. You have been in my prayers lately. I like your work and ideas and I see you as blessing others with your talent, your blog and your ezine. Keep on keepin' on!
Blessings, Verona, aka quilter
Posted by: quilter | April 26, 2009 at 09:37 PM
You are right--he looks just wonderful --I'd join his church in a minute and wish I could but too much distance from So. Oregon! Are his broadcasts local or do they go all over? Karen
Posted by: Karen Greenfield | April 26, 2009 at 09:39 PM
wow!! sounds like a great day! I'm soo happy for you!
Posted by: miranda Montiel | April 26, 2009 at 10:02 PM
That is a really cool story! I'm glad you got to meet him. Oh, and by the way, I drove on the toll road Friday night and my windshield was COVERED with dead insects!! :)
Posted by: Tricia Gray | April 26, 2009 at 10:27 PM
That IS amazing. Some times we don't need a reason. I sense that Pastor Rick's words have changed your life (I've never heard his message nor have I been able to read his works) and that is reason enough to want to meet him. God works in mysterious ways and answers prayers with yes, no or wait. He heard your prayers, you waited, and that wait became a YES!
Posted by: Jenny | April 26, 2009 at 10:35 PM
Congratulations on getting your wish. Not many people are blessed enough to get it.
He does work in amazing ways. Thanks for sharing your uplifting story. May you have many more blessed moments. Ü
Posted by: Janna | April 26, 2009 at 11:33 PM
That is awesome! It is always cool when you meet someone that you have been wanting to meet for a long time. I am also a fan of Bon Jovi. And when I was younger I told my self that when and if I ever had a chance to meet Jon Bon Jovi I would handcuff myself to him. Well on one of the Jingle Ball Concert with Star 94.1 Bon Jovi was there and I was Lucky enough to be in the Floor Level and on the last row. And he started singing right in back of me. So while he sang towards the front of the Stage I got to hold his hand and he sang (to ME) for what felt like hours but it was just for a couple of seconds. Then after the moment was over, I remembered my handcuffs. (darn) Boy, if I knew I was actually going to hold his hands that day. I really, really would have brought those handcuffs. (Hee hee hee) Thanks for sharing! Hope that you come down to El Cajon for another class, again.
Posted by: Joyce Teague | April 26, 2009 at 11:47 PM
So happy for you. Love Rick Warren's books and listening to him online. You are truly blessed to have him there.
I also love your blog and your honesty...God Bless!
Posted by: Tina Wishart | April 27, 2009 at 07:38 AM
you can watch Rick on TV!?!?!?! from the website?? where,where?!?! that's so cool you got to meet him!! so very happy that you got your hearts desire!! many more blessings to you sweet pea.
Posted by: karla | April 27, 2009 at 08:03 AM
great story! congratulations on your meeting and for speaking it out loud!
Posted by: janet higley | April 27, 2009 at 09:07 AM
he's a great regular ol' guy! so glad that you were finally able to meet him!
Posted by: Suezi gurzi | April 27, 2009 at 09:50 AM
You must have a really big church if you have never actually met your pastor till yesterday! How awesome for you! What a good experience :]
Posted by: Ambrosia Clark | April 27, 2009 at 11:32 AM
Stephanie, I love when things come full circle. I am in the middle of the circle right now, not knowing what to do...(and I too tend to ramble). However, I am holding on for the ah-ha moment when God's plan will be revealed. Looking forward to your doodle class:)
Posted by: Tammy Wathen | April 27, 2009 at 01:35 PM
He does give good bear hugs! and a strong hand shake. :) Glad you finally got to HUG Pastor Rick. It's amazing to me how many people will be in Heaven becasue of this one man. :)
Posted by: Cori | April 27, 2009 at 01:43 PM
I was at the Catalyst West conference in Irvine the end of last week and on the second day Andy Stanley interviewed Rick Warren. He was transparent, encouraging and surprisingly funny! His love for God and the church came across in everything he said. I'm glad you got to hug your pastor!
Posted by: robin | April 27, 2009 at 04:53 PM
A beautiful blessing for you! And I know you will never forget this day! Thank you SO much for continuing to share your faith and inspiration with all of us.
Posted by: Linda Ford | April 27, 2009 at 06:31 PM
Hurray for you - that is awesome :o)
Posted by: Traci | April 28, 2009 at 03:06 AM
Oh that's so sweet! I'm so happy for you - we are incredibly blessed to have him as our pastor!
Posted by: shelly | April 28, 2009 at 06:31 PM
Well, my answer to all that is that he was blessed to have met you!
Like you said, its the God in him that is the attractor, because God just gave him a different gift...all the parts of the body are important and from what I am reading on your blog you are "doing your part" in spades! ... and THAT is what makes you every bit as special and someone to be "met".
And I, for one, am glad God let me "meet" you today ... through your blog anyway :-)
Posted by: nancy | April 18, 2011 at 08:40 PM