Pam Woodson
minister, writer, wife, mom
"Out of the abundance [OVERFLOW] of the HEART, the mouth speaks [the blogger blogs!]" (Luke 6:45).
"Watch over your HEART with all diligence, for from it FLOW the springs of life" (Prov. 4:23).
"Watch over your HEART with all diligence, for from it FLOW the springs of life" (Prov. 4:23).
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Date: 5/11/09
A Hug in Heaven
by Pam Woodson
This evening the high school I went to, Will Rogers High School in Tulsa, OK, is opening its doors to the public for tours of its
building. Most other schools would not consider hosting such an event, for who would want to take time to see them anyway?
But my school is different. It is 70 years old and on the National Register of Historic Places, meaning that it has national
significance as well as state and local significance. It was built as part of a New Deal Public Works Administration (PWA) grant,
established under President Franklin D. Roosevelt to boost public building programs and provide jobs for the unemployed during the
1930's depression. The building is a beautiful example of Art Deco architecture, with numerous handcarved, detailed decorations inside
and out. A teacher of mine there once told us, "The building is so full of detailed, intricate craftsmanship because
the men took their time doing each thing. As long as they kept working, the government would keep paying them; so they tried to keep
the job going as long as they could. The faster they put up a building, the sooner they would be unemployed again." Apparently, we
benefited from them wanting to put food on the table. Whatever their reasons, whether for sheer survival or for personal
satisfaction over a task well done, I'm glad they took their time to do such an excellent job. Others appreciate its value
as well; years later, film-makers shot scenes in the school, because of the unique setting it provides. "The Outsiders" book
was based on life at Rogers and in Tulsa, and the movie filmed there. Besides its outstanding architecture, it had other national
significance. In 1942, TIME magazine mentioned Will Rogers High School as part of their research in an article called "Tomorrow's
High School." TIME stated that it was "a model progressive high school" of the Progressive Education movement, which was the
nation's first attempt to transform common schools into ones that met the needs of an increasingly urban student population.Putting it bluntly, my high school was cool from day one.
Now, I'm not naive. While, amazingly, the special building decor
has remained intact over the years, some things have changed. The school in some ways aside from structurally is in need
of a facelift. Enough said; let's just leave it at that. I hope the best for the school. But when I was there, even though it
was not on the "rich" part of town, I wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else.
With this groundwork laid,
I'll tell you what is on my heart. When I was at Rogers, or "Will on the Hill" as we called it, we had a prayer group that met
in a classroom twice a week in the mornings before school. At times, the room was filled with kids. How could we do that with the
"no prayer in school" law? Easy: We became a club with teacher sponsorship. A club can meet at school; it can hold events on campus
(we held a "revival" and filled the gym); it even can get an official picture in the yearbook. When Woody became a youth pastor in
Tulsa after college, I told him how we had done things, and he helped establish and oversee several new prayer groups in local
high schools that had vanished over time. Our school had a lot of Christians, even outside of the prayer group. Fellowship and
telling others about Jesus Christ was commonplace. Now, it was a typical, secular high school with its share of drinking and
drugs and everything else teenagers encounter, but it still was a good place for a young, growing believer in Christ to be every day.
And good came about from those years. To this day, I can name you approximately 20 people off the top of my head who I went
to school with that are in ministry...with many others who are not in ministry but still have respect for God
as they once did.
I think that someone was praying for us. I understand enough about prayer to figure
that someone somewhere had to be doing it. Maybe it was a Christian mother of a teenager going there. Maybe it was
an exuberant church youth pastor. Maybe it was a retired, elderly person in the neighborhood who would look out his living
room window or sit on his front porch with the school in view and pray for those in it. I don't know who it was -- but I want
to find out. Those prayers made a difference; God answered them and worked in our lives, as He said He would do in Jeremiah 29:12: "Then
you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you." He heard and answered "to give [us] a future and a
hope" (Jer. 29:11, NASV). It's not that we are known globally by everyone for having accomplished monumental tasks or anything.
But we do love God, and we are living wholeheartedly for Him. I have told the Lord that when I reach heaven, I want to meet
that person responsible. Sure, many probably prayed a prayer here and there; but I want to meet whoever was praying regularly and
with passion for the kids at that time at Rogers, the person whose prayers helped us then and helped paved a path for our serving
God in the future. When I see that person, I will say "thank-you" and give him or her a big hug in heaven. I believe that God will
do it for me, too, because His Word says, "Nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known" (Matthew
10:26, ESV).
This morning a new thought zapped through my brain. I couldn't think anything deeper than "WOW."
What if, just what if mind you, God introduces me in heaven to who had been praying such powerful, effective prayers for the kids
at Rogers -- and it turned out to be my Christian high school pals! After all, we DID pray for the kids in our school twice a week
and on our own time beyond that. What if it had more impact than we realized? What if WE OURSELVES through prayer
helped shape the destiny, the future, of our own lives, each other's lives, and the lives of those we came in contact with day after
day in those school halls? What if it was not an adult at all, but a bunch of psyched-up 16- and 17-year-olds who had been the pray-ers? What
if when God fulfills my request in heaven and brings me to who had been praying so much, I find myself face to face
with Walli and Wendall and Kalyn and David and...? How cool that would be! I think it'd be party time, the best high school reunion
imaginable! As for me personally, having valued the prayers and what they did to help me after high school to follow God
in this fantastic life He has given me, I know I would be touched. I would give thanks to each one and hugs all around.
You might never know who has prayed for you or the impact it made until you get to heaven. Other people might never know you prayed
for them until THEY get to heaven. The hugs of gratefulness may be reserved for a time beyond time, a place beyond
this place. One thing, however, is certain: The prayers are powerful to help lives now, and lives helped will be more
than ready to dish out the hugs later.
--------------------PW---------------------
Giving:
Bible insights,
Personal trivia,
Christian world perspectives
Personal trivia,
Christian world perspectives
Copyright 2009, by Pam Woodson. All rights reserved.
Living:
Jesus-Is-Lord Christianity,
Grass roots conservativism,
Red-white-and-blue patriotism
Grass roots conservativism,
Red-white-and-blue patriotism
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Praise & Worship CD's
Hello Love (Chris Tomlin)
Beautiful Name (Church On The Move)
Hillsong CD's
Beautiful Name (Church On The Move)
Hillsong CD's
Michael W. Smith CD's
WOW Worship CD's
Top-Ten Playing On My iPod
Over
My Head, Brian Littrell
I Know You're There, Casting Crowns
Today Is the Day, Lincoln Brewster
With You, Mark Willard
God With Us, MercyMe
You're
Not Alone, Meredith Andrews
Only You, David Crowder Band
Your Grace Is Enough, Matt Maher
What You Give Away, Vince Gill
Blessings, Martina
McBride
Pam's Blog
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