A Lenten Devotion by Joe Hudock
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Matthew 6:9b
I was told something powerful by my “third father” about six years ago.
That third father I am talking about is Pastor Russ Mueller. I have said before he is the reason I am here in Framingham right now. In fact the first time I came up here to visit Debbie back in 2013, Russ brought me to the train station for my trip up here.
The reason why I call him my third father is that, he is just that. Let me explain myself.
My first Father is God. My creator, the grantor of my plan.
My second father is John Andrew, my namesake. A mechanical engineer and successful entrepreneur. My idol, rock and the bar on how to succeed in life.
What I want to talk about this morning is the “third father” in my life, Russ Mueller. A true gift from God, my spiritual father, confidant and true friend. I am still looking for the words that would adequately describe what he has meant to me.
He said this powerful statement to me over six years ago. When he said this to me he had this giddy, child-like innocent look on his face and said…”Joe, something so amazing, so brilliant, so spectacular is going to happen to you!”
Now I am thinking to myself, what would make a seventy year old pastor talk like that to me?
Why would he sound like that little kid smiling from ear to ear?
I thought about that relentlessly for the next couple of years. I knew he meant something. Was something going to happen? God, what is it? Should I be looking for something? Should I pray for more focus? Should I just keep on, keeping on? God, what should I do?
Fast forward some, with more lessons in my head.
Slowly things started happening. I was starting to get strange feelings, what were they? They made me feel just so darn good!
Fast forward some, with more lessons in my head.
Those feelings, they come from people. When there are two or more, those feelings, they are always there.
Fast forward some, with more lessons in my head.
What he said was true, something so amazing, so brilliant, so spectacular, did happened to me.
He saw it in me, now I see it too!
Awaken us, O God, so we may see in ourselves what you see in us. Amen.