Just a short note to wish my friend Jim a happy birthday.
Jim doesn’t know this, but several years ago he planted a seed in my heart that has broken through the crust of the earth and is now starting to bloom. For his birthday, I want him to know how grateful I am for his wisdom.
When Jim was in St. Louis, he helped a great deal in getting the St. Louis Tea Party off the ground. He taught many of us how to maximize social media effectiveness, back when Twitter and Facebook were still open to people of the right. He also gave me personal guidance and coaching on dealing with a newfound organization full of people with varying ambitions and aims. Without him, I was lost.
About five years ago, I was talking to Jim, who has since left the St. Louis area. I was complaining about all the troubles we faced as an organization and all the threats we faced from the outside. Jim said, almost off-handedly, “Maybe it’s time we turned to God and left the political things behind.”
I carried his words in my heart the way Mary carried His words “Did not know I would be about my Father’s business?” upon finding Jesus in the temple. “And his mother kept all these words in her heart” (Luke 2:49,51).
When I was chained to the politics of freedom and liberty, I didn’t really understand what freedom was. Thanks to the Holy Spirit working through the souls around me, like Jim and my wife Angela, I am gaining a better understanding. True freedom is the freedom to chain ourselves to the right thing.
Thank you, Jim. Happy birthday.