Andy

Heading into the north end of town, you’ll find Courson’s Body Shop. A few years ago they bought one of those high-powered digital signs in order to display a pixelated version of Old Glory waving on one side and verses from the King James Bible on the other. But for the last  2 weeks it has flashed “Pray for Andy” in bright bold letters, beside a picture of a smiling 8 year old boy.

I noticed the same trend at three of our banks and on xeroxed signs in the windows of a dozen stores and businesses: “Pray for Andy.”  The High School notice board said, “Wear Orange, Andy’s Favorite Color, Every Monday!”

Fiesta Linda, the local Mexican eatery, still has an old style sign that has to be tended manually by someone with gumption, a ladder, and a can of wasp spray. Even so, it now reads “Taco Lunch 8.99. God is Love. Pray for Andy.”

Yesterday I decided to avail myself of one of those taco lunches. After I ordered, I told the server that I’d been seeing messages about Andy all over the place. “Andy is sweet boy,” said my waiter, Manuel. “But he have the cancer of the brain. They find out 2 weeks ago. Very sad.”

Andy wants to be a weatherman when he grows up. But for now, he  faces storms of a different kind. 

Andy is indeed a “sweet boy” who, despite his illness, writes notes to friends and supporters. 

Heading into the north end of town, you’ll find Courson’s Body Shop. A few years ago they bought one of those high-powered digital signs in order to display a pixelated version of Old Glory waving on one side and verses from the King James Bible on the other. But for the last  2 weeks it has flashed “Pray for Andy” in bright bold letters, beside a picture of a smiling 8 year old boy.

I noticed the same trend at three of our banks and on xeroxed signs in the windows of a dozen stores and businesses: “Pray for Andy.”  The High School notice board said, “Wear Orange, Andy’s Favorite Color, Every Monday!”

Fiesta Linda, the local Mexican eatery, still has an old style sign that has to be tended manually by someone with gumption, a ladder, and a can of wasp spray. Even so, it now reads “Taco Lunch 8.99. God is Love. Pray for Andy.”

Yesterday I decided to avail myself of one of those taco lunches. After I ordered, I told the server that I’d been seeing messages about Andy all over the place. “Andy is sweet boy,” said my waiter, Manuel. “But he have the cancer of the brain. They find out 2 weeks ago. Very sad.”

Andy wants to be a weatherman when he grows up. But for now, he  faces storms of a different kind. 

Andy is indeed a “sweet boy” who, despite his illness, writes notes to friends and supporters. 

“We said a special mass for him,” Manuel told me. But the Catholics have not been alone. The Baptists, Methodists, and Pentecostals have all held special prayer services for Andy and his family. 

The Catholics are raffling, the Baptists are selling tickets to Gospel singings, the Pentecostals are selling peanut brittle, and the Methodists are even dipping into their trust funds–all for Andy. Despite our differences, a need in the community calls forth a healthy ecumenism.

These spiritual requests have been followed by financial relief as fundraising campaigns sprang up around the county. One of the local printers even designed a shirt so that folks could show their support. https://southern-perfection-103360.square.site/product/ab-strong-shirts/46?cp=true&sa=false&sbp=false&q=false&category_id=2&fbclid=IwAR06tU4N3ueT5r0gretnRFWwiwFCORz4cNE9GtxchoRu1GkVlQMsUFfyxCI

Say what you will, but I thank God for small, bible-belt towns where this sort of thing still happens. The sacred/secular divide is quite porous here. Remember, my call to prayer came from the banks and the body shops. 

Whether he knows it or not, little Andy is doing what popes and politicians have rarely been able to do: he is bringing people together. I don’t know Andy or his family, but I will be praying for them. And you can bet that I’ll be wearing orange on Mondays.

“We said a special mass for him,” Manuel told me. But the Catholics have not been alone. The Baptists, Methodists, and Pentecostals have all held special prayer services for Andy and his family. 

The Catholics are raffling, the Baptists are selling tickets to Gospel singings, the Pentecostals are selling peanut brittle, and the Methodists are even dipping into their trust funds–all for Andy. Despite our differences, a need in the community calls forth a healthy ecumenism.

These spiritual requests have been followed by financial relief as fundraising campaigns sprang up around the county. One of the local printers even designed a shirt so that folks could show their support.

Say what you will, but I thank God for small, bible-belt towns where this sort of thing still happens. The sacred/secular divide is quite porous here. Remember, my call to prayer came from the banks and the body shops. 

Whether he knows it or not, little Andy is doing what popes and politicians have rarely been able to do: he is bringing people together. I don’t know Andy or his family, but I will be praying for them. And you can bet that I’ll be wearing orange on Mondays.