DailySusan Humor Blog

LEGACY BIRTHDAY

But he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.
-- 2 Corinthians 10:17

My adorable, zestful friend Julie Erickson was facing The Big 5-0 this summer. People wanted to throw her a stand-up cocktail party with lots of black crepe paper, prunes and the Grim Reaper. There’d be lots of hoopla, lots of funny cards rubbing in her advancing age.

But that’s not Julie. She’s fun, but she runs deep. She hatched a big, fat, hairy wish: she wanted to share a concert on the beach with her friends, featuring songs that would glorify . . . not Julie . . . but God.

And that’s exactly what she got. By all accounts, it was the most fantastic 50th birthday party anyone had ever seen.

“It really wasn’t about me,” she said. “It really was for His overall glory.”

Eight couples came forward to co-host the sunset picnic and put on a beautiful spread for 125 people.

Instead of gifts, donations were encouraged to www.SharedHope.com, which delivers girls out of international sexual slavery, one of Julie’s “heart burdens.”

Dear friends donated their longtime family cabin on a gorgeous pond outside the city. There was a picturesque fountain, the sprawling Platte River nearby, and most of all, the beach. It wasn’t fancy: the building was like an old sleeping porch, there was an old mossy staircase, tiki torches were stuck in the sand, and the electrical wiring was from the 1920s or so. But it was perfect: unique, private, and oozing with personality.

Her husband, Bill, put his back into the task. He rented thousands of dollars worth of sound equipment, and assembled a band with two vocalists, a keyboard artist, a bass player, and himself on drums. They worked up 12 songs by Julie’s favorite Christian singer, the incomparable Nichole Nordeman.

These lyrics had seen Julie through crises like the death of her father. They were precious. These songs told what she was feeling on this big milestone birthday better than she ever could. She was eager for her friends to hear them, knowing that many had never heard a note of Christian music outside church, or weren’t church-goers at all.

The day of the party dawned searing hot, eventually reaching 100 degrees, with 100% humidity. Bill built a stage, shoveling sand, laying in place big eight-foot by four-foot boards, stringing out a million miles of electrical cord, and adjusting the amps, instruments and lights right up to the start of the party.

Everyone went into overdrive doing last-minute tasks. Julie was stressed out, hot and sweaty. Would the wiring hold up? Would people get lost? Would they think the whole thing was weird, corny and colossally dumb?

Suddenly, a supernatural calm came over her. “It was like, we set the stage, and we could step back now and let the Holy Spirit work,” she said. “I knew it didn’t matter if my makeup was running off my face as if I’d jumped into the pond myself. He’d take it from there.”

Everything went beautifully. The lingering sunset gave way to darkness. There was soft clapping between songs, but otherwise, everyone just soaked it in. A sign-language interpreter stood up for a song about gratitude, and someone shined a spotlight on her. All you could see were her hands and her face; the song was about asking God for the simple things in life, and how He is so good at giving us what we need.

And then the finale, the song called “Legacy”:

I want to leave a legacy.
How will they remember me?
Did I choose to love?
Did I point to You enough
To make a mark on things?
I want to leave an offering:
A child of mercy and grace
Who blessed Your name unapologetically
And leave that kind of legacy.

When it ended, people rose quietly, hugged Julie, and filed out, as if they’d just been to a holy place. Which they had.

Happy birthday, Julie. Your wish came true. The light that shined that night outdid 50 candles by far, old girl. You left a legacy, because you took the priceless birthday gifts He gave you . . . and passed them along. †

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Miles For Mali Update

Goal: Raise $5,600 by walking 56 miles in 56 days, obtaining sponsorships to help build a much-needed maternity hospital in impoverished Mali, Africa.

Second to last week’s report: 47 miles walked, $3,931 raised. Deadline: Aug. 20. Wow! The goal is in sight, and I’m excited. I hope some biggies roll in this last week. It has been such a joy, and so good for me, physically and spiritually, as the miles and the donations have piled up. It is such an encouragement to receive those sponsorship checks and know how much each dollar is going to mean!

If you haven’t had a chance yet, please consider sponsoring me for $1 a day, to help bring decent medical care to nearly-destitute women and children in West Africa. Any amount would be greatly appreciated, of course! Let me know your prayer requests, too. Your generosity and kindness to people who are literally at the end of the earth will be noted in prayer, every step of the way.

DEADLINE FOR RECEIVING DONATIONS: I must have them by Saturday, Aug. 19.
Please send checks made out to Christ Community Church to:
Susan Williams, P.O. Box 995, Elkhorn, NE 68022.

Donations tax-deductible; you will receive a letter for your files after the money is turned in next Sunday, Aug. 20. On the personal side, I’ll endeavor to thank our sponsors in a special way in next week’s story. I literally kiss your feet, but after putting in 56 miles . . . you won’t want to kiss mine! :>)

Learn more at: www.themaliproject.org or www.christcommunityomaha.org