Kentucky Fried Chicken and a Willing Heart
When I was about 10 years old, a new family moved into our neighborhood in Detroit. They were a young couple with two young children, a boy and a girl. The kids were about the same age as my two youngest brothers, so it didn’t take long for them to become friends.
The father, Don, owned a couple of Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) restaurants, and he would often show up at our door after the restaurant closed for the evening with a bucket of KFC and sit and chat with my parents for a while. It turned out that Don and his wife Judy were Christians and they worked with the youth at their church. They were going to have a youth camp that summer, and during one of his “KFC” night visits, Don invited my older brother and sister to attend.
Up to that point, our experience with church had been limited to the occasional Sunday sitting on hard pews being lulled to sleep by a very boring man in a robe, and during the summer my mom would send us down the street to the local Vacation Bible School. I always felt it was more to give her a break from the youngest of her 6 children, but I could be wrong 😊.
Miraculously, my parents allowed my older brother and sister to attend camp that summer. Little did we know that this was the beginning of an experience that would change the lives of everyone in my family.
While at camp, my brother and sister learned about a Jesus who loved them and died so that they could have eternal life. He was more than a Bible story. He was real and wanted a relationship with them. They also had an awesome time with the other teens and camp leaders playing crazy games and doing fun stuff like canoe trips and obstacle courses. Both my brother and sister gave their hearts to the Lord that week.
When they returned home, they couldn’t wait to go to church whenever the doors were open. My mother was worried that my siblings had somehow gotten involved in a cult and decided that she had better go to this church and check it out. What she found there were people who loved people, music that drew you in, and a pastor who was down-to-earth and made the Bible come alive. I’m not sure how long it was after that, but my mom eventually gave her life to the Lord as well.
Eventually, I began attending Missionettes with our neighbor, Judy. It was a group similar to the Girl Scouts, only Christian based. I will always remember her inviting me over to her house one day and teaching me the Missionette theme song while she played the piano. Our goal was to learn the song and then I would help her teach it to the other girls. She made me feel so important and like I could sing really well. I loved singing, but I’m sure I got on my family’s nerves because they used to always tell me to be quiet. Lol. For some reason that day will always stay with me. The way she spoke into my life and encouraged me meant so much. I knew I wanted what my brother and sister had found and what these wonderful, kind people showed my family, a relationship with Jesus.
Eventually, everyone in my family came to know Jesus. It all started because someone who loved Jesus was brave enough to grab a bucket of chicken and knock on our door. We are so grateful and blessed that they did, and this family will always have a special place in our hearts.
This Christmas season, I challenge you to reach out to a world that is looking for answers. Ask the Lord how He wants to use you and accept the challenge when He shows you. You never know how many lives will be changed because of your obedience.