Sticks and stones...!!!

Lately I’ve been thinking and talking a lot about ‘caged’ Christianity and 400-pound gorillas in reference to living out loud, and being an effective, adventurous Christian. I had the opportunity to speak at the church of a friend of mine this past Sunday, in Sioux Falls, SD. I know, I know, I must really love him to be willing to go up to Sioux Falls at this time of the year. Seriously though, I had an amazing time, and it wasn’t just at the church services. I love hanging out with Steven and his family. They are warriors and true examples of what it means to live life ‘outside’ of the cage. They are often battle scarred and weary from the many ‘skirmishes’ in which they find themselves as they defend, with all that’s in them, the mandate they believe God has assigned them.

Steven and Kristin continue to lead the charge as a voice for the unborn, not only in South Dakota, but nationally, and not only during election years (as sadly is the case with too many Christians), but at every season of their lives. Steven is passionate about his need to find justice for the voices of those who cannot speak for themselves, and he has invested everything he has to fulfill this calling, often at an unimaginably high and exceedingly painful price. My heart bleeds for him and his family, as I know they often feel alone in the battle they’re fighting on a national scale. This bloodthirsty demon that seeks to destroy the lives of countless unborn children through abortion, is a behemoth.

Because of their very vocal stand against abortion, the Hickey’s often find themselves the object of not just ridicule, but downright hostility and even death threats. This past weekend was a prime example of such hostility. As we drove by the church on Saturday evening, we noticed that someone had spray-painted graffiti all over the church bus used to transport the handicapped. The words “Despise” and “God is dead” were liberally painted all over the bus, requiring them to get the whole bus repainted. We waited outside in the biting cold while the police came by to do an inspection and file a police report for insurance purposes. Through it all Steven and Kristen’s only response was to indicate that the bus needed a new paint job anyway. What an incredible approach to living outside the ‘cage’. What an amazing example of living the adventure. Any thing exciting happened in your neck-of-the-woods lately?