HAPPY/SAD ABOUT DOROTHY CHICK

When I write these blog entries, I have a choice of "moods" (from AOL) to enter.  I wish they had "reflective" on their list, as many times that's my mood.  Back in the early 1980s, Amy Grant recorded a song in which she sang about being "Happy/Sad".  Today, I'm "happy/sad" but I had to choose "sad" as a mood.

Today is the funeral of 77-year-old Dorothy Chick.  Dorothy Chick was a frail little thing....short and thin.  While she did not have knockout looks, she DID have a knockout smile.  My first contact with Dorothy Chick was back in 1992.  I came into my office one day to find a message on the answering machine.  She did not do well leaving recordings.  I could hardly understand her or what she wanted.  I called back, and learned that she had attended her daughter's church (Assemblies of God) on an out-of-state visit, and that she was looking for an A/G church and for a ride to church.  She was from Natick.  At that time, I had one young adult from Natick attending our church.  In those days, we met at a school and all of our key people were involved in set-up and break-down of the sanctuary every week.  I just did not want any of those people to have to take on another responsibility.  I recommended she call Wellesley Park A/G who had van service for the elderly and brought a lot of people to church from Natick.  About an hour later, Dorothy called me back.  She felt Wellesley Park had brushed her off and she did not want to go there.  I called Chrisine Huey, the young adult, and she brought Dorothy Chick to our service on the following Sunday.  THAT Sunday, Dorothy Chick responded to a salvation altar call, knelt down, and received Jesus Christ as her Personal Lord and Savior  I have the privilege of leading her in the "sinner's prayer".   That evening I gave her a big pep talk about how much she would grow in Christ in the next five years and about all God had in store for her.  It all came to pass.  For the next ten years, she was a "regular" at our church and was much loved.

In 2002, Dorothy Chick abruptly left our church.  I phoned her numerous times but she would not return the call.  Claire Grimes, our Church Secretary had the same experience.  Finally, it got back to me third-hand that Dorothy was very offended at something I'd said or done.  I still could not get any response from her.  I do know that I can be very blunt, and I can recall a very blunt statement (and frankly a very true statement) that I made to her about her son.  I have no idea if that was the offense, or not.

Last August, I did see Dorothy briefly at a service outside of our church that I attended.  She WAS pleasant, but there was that feeling you get from a Harry Chapin song.  You know, the "she said we must get together, but I knew it'd never be arranged..." kind of thing.

This week, someone let me know her obituary was in the paper.  I am attending the local Assemblies of God District Council over these days.  Had she still been a member of our church, I would have opted out of District Council, but with the current circumstances I just could not justify doing that.

So, I'm Happy/Sad. I'm happy Dorothy is in heaven.  I'm happy for the time I knew her.  But, I'm very sad it ended up this way.  As Claire Grimes said,  "There is no closure".  There isn't.  It's a bad ending to a mostly good story.  Well, mabe someday in heaven Dorothy Chick will tell me what I did that was so bad.  Or even better, in heaven, we won't care.