Joy Ride
When Was It Written
Cali is a young man that has worshiped at Trace Crossing since April and worked with Trace Crossing since June 2007, fulfilling a variety of roles. He's been through a lot in his 21 years, but God is working in his life and we are blessed to be a part of that.
Who Wrote It
Kevin Wood, Pastor
Joy Ride
On Saturday night, August 25th, I clicked through a website called Ebay Motors. My goal was to get a general idea of what kind of car we might be able to purchase for Cali Morrison if we took up an offering in our Sunday morning service on the next day. My gut feeling was that our church would respond to meet Cali’s need and I thought we might collect as much as $2,500. I even let my mind dream a little and imagine the possibility of $3,000. I set the necessary info into the website and clicked the search button. A list of cars priced between $2,000 and $2,500 came up. The options were limited. I was completely underwhelmed at the thought of buying a car that would only last a few months at best. I logged off the website, shut down my laptop, and hopped into bed. I lay there for a good 30 minutes drifting back and forth between my sleep, my sermon, and Cali’s offering.
When the moment came last Sunday morning to present Cali’s need to the church, I was overwhelmed by the response. Before I could even finish announcing what I felt we ought to do, the place erupted in spontaneous applause. The room was thick with excitement. There was a genuine desire to give. When I called for people to come forward and pray for Cali by placing their hands on him, the resulting picture was one I will never forget. Cali, with head bowed, absolutely covered in prayer beneath a blanket of hands. Hands on his shoulders. Hands on his back. Hands on his head. The very same hands that in a matter of moments would reach into wallets or write out a check to bless him beyond his dreams and mine.
As the service ended, we collected the offering. One by one people placed their gift into the joy box at the back of the room. I heard the story of how Kathy McGee’s little boy Anthony carried a crumpled up dollar bill and placed it in the box. I thought of how just three weeks ago we met Kathy and her kids at the Back-2-School Bash, how she had worshipped with us each Sunday since then, and now her son was contributing to help someone from within our body. With the offering collected, the counting team did its work to come up with the “Tally for Cali”. I can’t even begin to tell you the joy I felt when Ed Bartee and Tommy Lee came out from counting the special offering. Ed just looked at me, and with his quiet, cool Ed Bartee style said, “Forty-eight hundred.” I repeated the words back to Ed just to make sure I had heard correctly, “$4,800? Are you serious?” “Yessir - 4,800!” Ed cracked a smile. Tommy came out shaking his head, saying, “Cali’s gonna get a good one.”
When all was said and done (some folks gave later) the total was over $5,000. It was twice as much as I expected. The generosity displayed made me proud to pastor the people of Trace Crossing. This past Friday (2 days ago) I had the opportunity to be with Cali when he saw his new wheels for the first time – a black ’98 Pontiac Grand Am. I piled in the backseat of Cali’s new car with my kids and we went for a joy ride around the parking lot. It was the best joy ride I had since taking a friend’s Ford Mustang for a spin in high school. Come to think of it, the past couple months with our faith family has been a joy ride. From the passion that just keeps growing in our Sunday morning worship to the expression of love at our Back-2-School Bash to the offering for Cali’s car, the whole thing just feels like one sweet journey. So buckle up Cali – and everyone else – the joy ride is just beginning.
-Kevin 08/31/07