The day this episode was published marks the 27th anniversary of the Bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City. It is a date that changed the lives of so many people. Amy Moffiet was home with my two month old son, Christian. But the family of Pastor Nick Harris, knew that their dad was across the street.
We are excited to introduce a new friend of ours and survivor of that day. Amy Moffiet was at a women’s conference and met a lady who asked how she was doing. It was shortly after Amy had lost her dad, Pastor Harris and answered honestly, that she was sad. The women expressed her empathy for Amy and she appreciated the woman spending time with her that day.
The next time Amy saw Arlene, she was speaking at a conference and shared a story about Pastor Harris. When Arlene] connected that Amy's dad was Nick Harris, Arlene couldn’t wait to tell her about the connection she had to him.
See, Arlene had attended Pastor Harris's lunchtime Bible study called Loaves and Fishes. Every Tuesday and Thursday people from the downtown area would come to First Church to have lunch and listen to a teaching by Pastor Harris. He loved this time with these people. They were not all people who attended his church, for some, this was their church, and he loved it!
When Amy introduced Arlene to Pastor Harris's wife Crystal, she spoke these words to her, “Your husband saved my life.” Often, we never know how our lives impact that of others. Arlene shared that she had been in the building that fateful morning and survived. She also shared that there was much more to survive in the weeks, months and years to come. Anxiety and fear were the challenges she had to survive.
She told us about a specific teaching that she recalled and held on to every time she was faced with fear and anxiety in the wake of the trauma she had endured. That teaching became Arlene's mantra. She also recalled how she experienced love and grace from a man who did not KNOW her but he still displayed love to her.
Arlene is so much more than a survivor of the OKC Bombing in 1995. She is a mother. She is a child of the king. She is a woman on fire for Jesus. And she is a bearer of His Joy. I am so thankful that Pastor Harris was obedient to what Jesus asked him to do in hosting this Bible study week in and week out so that people could come to know more about relational grace. Our prayer is that we are able to continue to share this message of grace for many years to come.