A Brother Stumbles...

A friend has fallen.  About six months ago his wife left him.  Her family doesn’t like him much so they convinced her to leave the country.  The two talk on the phone and email occasionally, but he is clearly a broken man.  He isn’t even a shell of who I knew a few months ago.  His fire is gone; his joy is gone; his passion is gone.

I confess I forgot him.  I stood beside him at the airport the day she left.  Then I disappeared into my own life.  I got caught up in my stress and my own busyness.  I can’t believe I left him, but I did.  I regret that I left my friend in his time of need.  

His mourning has caused him to make some bad decisions.  He works with us at a center we have.  He runs the place.  I guess more appropriate is he ran the place.  It came to our attention in the last couple weeks that he was possible making calls to his wife on our dime.  Then we found out he might be stealing some money.  We hoped and prayed we were wrong.  We looked for any other option.  It became clear there was none.

This week my boss, with the help of two colleagues, confronted the situation.  Our prayer had become not that we were wrong but that it could be handled well.  It happened.  He confessed to everything immediately.  He stood up as a broken man, but an honest one.  He had integrity in confessing his wrong doing.  He chose to resign from his position.

My boss drove our broken friend home and prayed with him and shared scripture with him.  He told him he was loved.  He demanded that he not flee from us.  I hope we keep our friend.  This type of shame usually runs people off.   I hope God allows him to stay in our midst.

Remember my friend.  Ask that his wife will come home.  Ask that he will again discover who he is and who he has been created to become.  Pray that he will cling to his faith and that it will bring him out of this place he resides in.