The Power of God
“I have to forgive my mom.” Woah. I knew the Gospel was powerful, but didn’t expect it to be that powerful. Only an hour earlier, my new friend Simon* was describing the emotional pain his mother had spilled onto his life. His dad had been a seafarer, a job which often means 6-9 month absences across the world—a recipe for relational strain. His mother, back home in the Philippines, had decided to run off with another man when Simon wasn’t even 6 years old. Enter life with a stepmother who played favorites. Ironically, the profession that ripped his family apart would bring Simon closer to God. On his fourth year working as a seafarer, his ship docked in Seward, Alaska for a few days. He had been to a seaman's mission in Norway before, so he decided he might as well check out the Seward Seaman’s Mission on his break. About 8:00 pm on a Monday night I found him lounging in one of the worn plastic chairs out back. Instead of devouring the free Wi-Fi, he was absorbing the mist-...