Lessons On a Napkin

When I was 25 and my husband was 26, we met a couple named Dick and Donna Sorenson. We had 3 sons, ages 1-8, and lived south of Caldwell. We had not been Christians for long but were leading a home group and participating in our church. A couple in our home group were experiencing some problems, the wife wanted to find a Christian counselor, and they asked us for help. I don’t remember who told us about Dick. I just know that we contacted him, took our friend to see him, connected with him and Donna at lunch, and from there, a lifelong friendship was formed.

In addition to the friendship, Don and I found a group of people who were hungry for God and from whom we could learn great lessons for life. There was a patchwork quilt of young people gathered together at a place called The Yellow House of Jesus in Nampa. All of us were eager to live our Christian lives in a way that mattered. Although Dick has never considered himself to be a Pastor, we all did! And, he filled that role for so many. As he and Donna ministered truth through their lives and words, they also imparted great wisdom to all of us in teaching. Most of the teaching actually came through conversations and stories. Although, I can’t repeat the stories or remember them in detail, I do remember the life-changing lessons I learned.

No matter where we or they have been, we had and have, the kind of friendship in which you might not talk for 2 years, but when you meet up again, it is as if you were never apart. Dick and Donna were always there for us. They were living in Nampa when we moved to Twin Falls. We drove back to see them, and they came to see us. Long conversations in each other’s homes deepened our relationship with Christ and each other. Sometimes, Dick would start telling a story and I would wonder where in the world he was going with all of it. Then he would start drawing on a napkin! Sometimes it felt as if there would never be a point and all of it seemed like a jumble until he brought it together into a ‘revealing’ of the life of Christ in each of us. Lessons learned on a napkin!

They don’t point fingers. They don’t rebuke you. Yet, they pierce through to the depths of your soul with a drawing on a napkin. Donna pours out her wisdom quietly, pointedly, yet gently. She has always shared her life with Christ in songs and worship. Together, they have brought healing to the hearts, souls, bodies, and lives of thousands. The two of them literally have friends all over the world.

We have been together through great highs and great lows in our lives and the comfort of that type of relationship is immeasurable. I have known them now for 44 years. They continue to be my closest friends. When my husband, Don, passed away in 2015, Dick came from Missouri to speak at the Memorial Service. I have remarried and they have embraced Roger as a new friend.

I wanted to share this because, even though many of you have known them for years, it is good for all of us to be reminded of the value which lies in friendships like this. I know that Dick and Donna Sorenson would help me in any way they possibly could, should I have the need. I would do the same for them. It isn’t a matter of giving money or food. It is a deeper matter – giving your lives to each other to support and build up in the faith and in life. Wherever they have gone in this world, that is what they have done. They have sacrificed more than most people know in order to give to the body of Christ. Today, they continue. The stories, the drawings, the teaching, the changing lives – it is all happening today! If you don’t know them well, I encourage you to press in. If you do know them, be thankful for God’s gifts in them.

I know they will be embarrassed by what I’m writing, and I understand. However, what I’m saying is the truth and we all need to do more of it for each other. I love the two of them and appreciate, now more than ever, what they have meant to me throughout my life. Lanyap and DSM are tools for getting their wisdom out to those who may not have the opportunity to connect with them. It’s also a way through which, in our busy lives, we can all be reminded of these great friends and the wisdom each of them can share with us.

 -Fleda Bennie