Good morning…

“She did have one fear: missing the call of God,” writes author Ron Hall of his wife Deborah. “And she felt called to work at the mission. I wish I could say I felt God had tapped me for the assignment, too, but I didn’t. But I did feel called to be a good husband, so I went.

The Union Gospel Mission sits just beyond the beauty of the restored section of Fort Worth, a city that became a national model for downtown revitalization, thanks to the billionaires who loved it. …Travel further east, though, and the colors and flora of restoration fade into hopelessness and despair. Drive under the I-30/I-35 interchange, pass beneath an impossible pretzel of freeways called the Mixmaster and through a tunnel that efficiently separates the haves from the unsightly have-nots, and there are no more plazas or monuments or flower boxes and certainly no more dazzling urbanites. In their place: tumbledown buildings with busted-out glass. Walls scarred with urine stains and graffiti. Gutter choked with beer cans and yellowed newspapers. And vacant lots blanketed in johnson grass tall enough to conceal a sea of empty vodka bottles and assorted drunks.

Driving out of that tunnel shocks most people into realizing they made a wrong turn. But on a sun-splashed Monday in the early spring of 1988, Deborah and I drove out there on purpose, she propelled by her passion to help the broken and I propelled by a love for my wife…

‘Ron, before we go in, I want to tell you something.’ She leaned back against her headrest, closed her eyes. ‘I picture this place differently than it is now. White flower boxes lining the streets, trees and yellow flowers. Lots of yellow flowers like the pastures at Rocky Top in June.’

Deborah opened her eyes and turned to me with an expectant smile: ‘Can’t you just see that? No vagrants, no trash in the gutters, just a beautiful place where these people can know God loves them as much as He loves the people on the other side of the tunnel…’

She hesitated, then spoke again: ‘I had a dream about it.’

‘About this place?’

‘Yes,’ she said, gazing at me intently. ‘I saw this place changed. It was beautiful, like I was saying, with the flowers and everything. It was crystal clear, like I was standing right here and it was the future already.'” (Hall and Moore’s Same Kind Of Different As Me, 81-81)

Sometimes God’s purposes appear in our dreams. Propelled by our passion, might we gaze intently at the crystal clear vision of God’s future already?

I heard a voice thunder from the Throne: “Look! Look! God has moved into the neighborhood, making his home with men and women! They’re his people, he’s their God. He’ll wipe every tear from their eyes. Death is gone for good—tears gone, crying gone, pain gone—all the first order of things gone.” The Enthroned continued, “Look! I’m making everything new. Write it all down—each word dependable and accurate” (Revelation 21:3-5, MSG).

…Sue…

P.S. Thanks to Paramount Pictures, through this book-turned-movie, Deborah’s crystal clear vision comes to life on the big screen. Harnessing the power of the movie premiere, please join me and many in our community at the Carry the Torch luncheon at the World Congress Center on October 25, 11:00 to 1:00 pm. Author Ron Hall and actors from the movie (possibly Renée Zellweger, Greg Kinnear, Djimon Hounsou, Jon Voight, and/or Olivia Holt) will be interviewed about the way this movie has impacted them personally. It will be a special day of raising awareness and funds for the homeless men, women, and children in our Atlanta community. We are now filling seats for free tables to this event. If you would like to be a table host, filling seats with ten of your friends, please reply to this email. If you would like to sit at tables hosted by our “Sue To You” online community, please give me your name and the names of friends who will be attending with you on October 25th.