Beauty for Ashes:

We count the Scriptures of God to be the most sublime philosophy.
I find more sure marks of authenticity in the Bible
than in any profane history whatsoever!
Isaac Newton


Photo:

Bill Strickland

Beauty for Ashes:

“The spirit of the Lord God is upon me;
because the Lord has anointed me
to preach good tidings....
To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord....
To appoint to them that mourn in Zion,
to give them beauty for ashes,
the oil of joy for mourning,
the garment of praise
for the spirit of heaviness...”
Is. 61:1a,2a,3a (my emphasis: bold)

In December of 1997 I met a man named Bill Strickland, who is by my way of thinking quite a remarkable man. Bill was born and raised on the North side of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. If you know anything about Pittsburgh, you know that the north side of town is a place most people would generally not like to be after dark. It has the highest crime rate in the city, the greatest concentration of illegal drug activity and all the rest that goes with that scene. It is a desolate place resembling in places, a war zone, with decaying and burned out buildings. If you talked to the Pittsburgh police department, or some of the residents of this neighborhood they would tell you it is a “war zone”. As you drive through the streets you can see the look on some of the people’s faces: defeated, tired, angry, and disillusioned.
What a startling contrast when in the midst of the squalor you step into the Bidwell Training Center. In the midst of the desolation grows an orchid of great beauty. Its founder Bill Strickland is the antithesis of what is beyond his doors. Confident, enthusiastic and compassionate, Bill has decided to make a difference in the neighborhood in which he was raised, and he has.
Bill was a poor boy, and was a marginal student at best. In his own words Bill says of his youth: “There was one man who made a difference in my life, Mr. Ross my art teacher in high school. He took a special interest in me when everyone else had given up.” Mr. Ross was instrumental in getting Bill accepted in college despite his poor GPA and personal insecurities. He was somehow able to look past the underachieving poor boy, who had little concept of his self worth, and see Bill’s potential. Following high school Bill was accepted in college in a probational status, and worked hard to achieve his B.A. in art. When Bill returned home to North Pittsburgh, he returned to the same desolate neighborhood and seeming lack of opportunity to rise above his situation.
When you look around the Bidwell Center there is no question of this man’s impact on his community. The center is a nine million dollar state-of-the-art vocational training facility. Beautiful works of art hang unpretentiously and unprotected throughout the complex. In a neighborhood filled with graffiti, not a single dissident mark can be found anywhere in the building. In ten years of operation, there has never been an act of vandalism, or theft. There has never been a need for the police. There is no electronic security system, no armed guards or security personnel in the building, despite the valued collections of art works displayed.
If you ask Bill why, he will tell you....”It’s all an attitude!” You see Bill has discovered the value of people. He says “If you treat people as though they are worth something, they will become something.” That philosophy is seen written on the faces of the students that Bill works with. They are respectful, congenial and on-task because they do not want to disappoint their “Mr. Ross” - Bill. His attitudes and work ethic are evident everywhere in the lives of those the center touches. “This is no free ride!” Bill will tell you, despite the fact that the centers service are free. He is quick to assert; “Our standards are high, and students who persistently refuse to comply with them are asked to leave the program.” Few do.
Bill isn’t the type of man who goes about preaching about Jesus, he’s the type of man who exemplifies the love of Jesus to every one he meets. What a marvelous testimony.
Now, I think in reflecting, how much more do each of us have in Christ Jesus. Despite all our shortcomings and failures, He never gives up on us. He values each and every one of His children beyond their understanding. He has made available to us the vast resources of heaven...all that we might choose to follow after Him, act like Him...and grow by His grace to be, more and more, the sweet savor of Christ to all those we meet.
Today, you and I can be a Mr. Ross to someone who has lost their way-
It only takes the eyes of Jesus in us, and an obedient heart to love.
Selah.

“As the Father has loved Me, so I have loved you:
continue in my love.
This is my commandment,
That you love one another as I have loved you.
Greater love has no man than this,
that a man lays down his life for his friends.”
John 15:9, 12,13.

If you would like to know more about this amazing achievement you can find it in Bill's book, Make the Impossible Possible. The subtitle pretty much says it all: One Man's Crusade to Inspire Others to Dream Bigger and Achieve the Extraordinary.

In His love, for His love,
because of His love....

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