Psalm 63:2

I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and glory - Psalm 63:2.

Mike knew his job was coming to an end on Nov. 10 but it wasn't official.  Rather than worry me (when it wasn't a "done deal" yet) Mike got up on the morning of Nov. 11, knowing he wouldn't be reporting to work, he made the decision to go to church.  I've since asked Mike why he choose church?  After all, many men would have picked a bar or a gambling boat or who knows what else.  Mike tells me he figured he had nothing to lose, he wanted to see if there was something to the  whole God thing.  Before I start writing this blog I must warn you that this will be my hardest blog to write, not because it's hard for me to talk about, just the opposite.  It's hard for me to put into words what happened to Mike and in fact when I tell people this part of our story, sadly, I leave certain parts out and trust me, this is the best part of the story.  I don't intentionally leave details out, I just can't even begin to do justice to the story and there are still parts of the story that I don't even know about.  I imagine there will always be parts of that day that will forever remain between Mike and God. 
There are a few things you have to understand about Mike.  He didn't go to college which has nothing to do with anything except to understand his work ethic.  He graduated from high school and went right to work and literally worked himself to the bone. No matter what an employer asked him, he did it and would usually do more than what was asked.  When his prior employer asked him to be in Chicago at 6 a.m., no problem, Mike got up at 2 a.m. and started his work day.  When Mike was asked to work overtime on Saturdays and Sundays for 10 hours, no problem, he worked 14 hours.  When our boys were 2 & 6 he left us for 3 weeks to work Hurricane Ike in TX.  He worked 20 hours days.  Getting four hours of sleep or less was nothing for Mike.  He was the only person in his entire department that could run his job himself.  Every other person in the country had to have help.  He was the only person in his department who earned the highest rankings in his performance review.  The point is, nothing was ever too much.  I tell you this so you have a better understanding of the worker Mike was (and is) and how devastating this job loss was to him.  He has recently told me that in the months leading up to his job loss he knew he should slow down and he had every intention of doing so.  When Mike lost his job he had accumulated 85 days of vacation.  Yes, 85 days!  Every year he would maybe take 5 to 7 days off, that's it & that's only because I forced him to.  For Mike, it was all work and no play. 
On Nov. 11 he got up, dressed and left the house.  He got to church about the time that the sun was coming up.  Mike desperately wanted to see a sunrise (since he hadn't seen one in years.  He was always working by sunrise).  On this particular day it was cloudy and overcast.  Mike said all the sudden the clouds separated and right in the middle the sun beamed down into Mike's car.  The suns direct light wasn't meant for anyone but Mike that morning.  Mike went into the church about 9 a.m.  We go to a big, big church.  Our church has a mega auditorium and in September they created a quant sanctuary.  Mike had never been in the sanctuary.  When he entered the church he was greeted by church workers, asking Mike if he needed anything.  Mike said simply he just needed time.  The employees told him he could find a bench anywhere in the church but the auditorium and sanctuary were locked up.  As Mike searched the church for a quiet place where he could sit by himself he was drawn to a set of doors which were wide open.  The lights were on and he realized the sanctuary was open and God had prepared a place for him.  Mike has shared his story with a church worker and this gentleman has told Mike there is no explanation as to why those doors where unlocked, in fact, he says those doors are always locked during the week days.  Mike sat in the sanctuary and I understand a few things about those hours he spent there.  The presence of God was real to him.  During that time he was hunched over, when he got up five hours later, he had no pain.  Mike describes asking questions of himself and after awhile he stopped asking the questions and realized questions were still coming at him but he wasn't the one asking them.  He repeatedly asked God for time.  Time was a common request throughout the day.  Mike has never been given the gift of time.  He didn't beg for his job or a job but asked God for a light at the end of what would be a long and difficult road for his family.  When the day was over he went home but he wasn't remotely the same person he had been before he entered that sanctuary.  Mike says what should have been the worst day of his life was the best day of his life.  God filled Mike with peace and strength.  Mike drove home that afternoon to tell me what he thought was the worst news ever.  He tells people that when he told me my reaction was such that it was like someone had already gotten there and prepared me for the news that Mike would deliver.  But that someone was God.  He had given me the strength I needed to absorb the news.  And so on Nov. 11 began the journey.