Belief in the impossible

I have written before about my friend Don. Don Molinari is now with the Lord, but during his time on earth he had a keen eye for seeing the impossible. That is, he had an ability to trust in God in a way that defied common logic and reasoning.

Don did not find his faith in Christ fervent until later on in life. He told stories to me of his time as a Marine and as a bricklayer. (A trade that is quite similar to mine in the concrete industry)  Don’s wife and children had even stated that before Don’s faith in Christ, he was quite vocal and not the most laid back dad or husband. Don was known to be short tempered, angry, and generally rough around the edges in regards to patience and understanding.

Things changed dramatically for Don when he came to Christ. His heart softened and he began to learn love and grace and mercy for those around him. His ability to forgive and seek Christ grew and before long, Don and his wife Fran had a ministry of counseling couples and helping them to learn great communication habits and gain the ability to put the other spouse first in every aspect of the respective marriages.

When I met Don, his faith had been long established, so as he got to know me, I am sure my story was a bit of a comedy to him. I had the power of Christ working on my heart and what I know now to be the gift of discernment of men and their habits, yet neither of this shocked or surprised Don as we became great friends. The original meeting of the two of us happened through a small group occurrence, when Don and Fran “joined” OUR small group at church. I was slow to realize the wisdom and value in this man, and his marriage, but eventually I caught on.

One special gift Don held was maintaining a vision of God’s plans, and basically, seeing the impossible. For each time he met a guy and heard their story and struggles, Don seemed to be able to see right past all of it, to the NEXT STEP for that guy. Whether it involved confession of a sin to a spouse, or working to a new promotion at a career, or maybe even changing a financial situation, Don was ALWAYS able to look beyond the immediate and see into the future, always inclusive of God’s ULTIMATE blessings for the individual.

This gift included Don’s experience with me. I have shared before on the events leading to my family’s move to Texas and before all that happened, Don Molinari was the instrument of God’s choosing for my impossible plan. I call it impossible, because that is truly what it was. In the summer of 2009 I was out of a job, a drug addict, I was having cars repossessed, my marriage was broken and ending, and my life as a father had been less than pleasant or rewarding. I was a terrible friend, a crappy neighbor, and a bad husband. I was living in a home that was being foreclosed on and I needed food stamps to put food on the table. My situation was impossible.

As I got to know Don, he was very habitual about “keeping my head up” and “looking to the cross”. He was so consistent that every time I got around him, it was becoming hard to be gloomy or depressed due to HIS OVER ABUNDANT SPIRIT. Finally before the summer of 2014, Don confronted me with what had turned about to be one of our greatest future blessings from the Lord. His technique was less than graceful…

“You say you know God Brenden, but every time He shows Himself to you, you’re turning and running the other way.”   He’d continue, “You’re not a christian, you’re a wussy!”

What the hell? This guy had some nerve calling me out on my strong faith in front of MY small group…

He knew what He was saying was true, the fact was, MY FAITH WAS WUSSY. I called myself a follower, a christian, yet I never did ANYTHING for Christ and never accepted anything positive from God. I didn’t ask and I didn’t’ receive. I was a lukewarm, dormant dude, who might as well called his faith DEAD.

Well, despite some humbling tears and a HUGE amount of prayer to this God that I kept a distance from, MY FAITH CHANGED… I began asking for things that I had NO BUSINESS OWNING such as a promising and blessed marriage, and great career, and even a move across the country to a place I had never been!!!   GOD SHOWED UP in my impossible?

Yes He did. And Yes, He continues to …. not because of how great MY FAITH is… but because of CHRIST !!!    God wants for me what He wants for His Son, which is death conquering, sin vanquishing, amazing, and IMPOSSIBLE FAITH AND BLESSING.

We didn’t earn it, we don’t deserve it, but we get it through His cross…

We get the blessings of the impossible because of Jesus Christ sovereign and perfect plan of salvation.  The only question left from Don or myself to you is….

“Why don’t you ask for some belief in the impossible?”

(My photo reference is the IMPOSSIBLE “Hail Mary” football play)