Part II
As our story began, Fran was asked by her manager to be on a committee to plan the company Christmas party. She really didn’t want to do that, because the party is notorious for its drinking and bawdy atmosphere. Certainly she does not want to be associated with anything like that, but she felt trapped.
However, Jesus encouraged her to be an assertive member of that committee and work to get the party changed this year to a more family-oriented affair. So, at his urging, Fran volunteers to head up the committee and suggests they change the format to a party for the children, with gifts and games and prizes and no alcoholic beverages.
Bill, who headed up the party for the last few years, was indignant at the suggestion, and eventually stomped out of the committee meeting, claiming no more association with the party and Fran’s “Sunday school ideas.”
As Bill left, the room was quiet and the other committee members seemed nervous. Fran knew it was her move, but she wasn’t sure what to say. She didn’t want to railroad her idea through; yet she believed the others felt the same way she did but were reluctant to stick their necks out.
Finally Fran says to the group, “I’m sorry about Bill leaving, and I’m going to try to get him to rejoin the group. But I still believe we ought to have a different kind of party this year and just see how everyone likes it. We’ll never know until we try. But I need to know how the rest of you think about this.”
Elizabeth says, “Well, I don’t want to spoil everybody’s party. I mean, if the employees really want the same kind of party we’ve had in years past, I guess that’s the easy way….I don’t know.”
Fran is disappointed in Elizabeth because she had been in favor of the family party idea. “Well,” Fran says to the group, “the question is, do you think most of the employees want the same kind of party we had before, with lots of drinking and stuff like that? You know the people you work with; what have they said to you?”
John finally pipes in and says, “Well, I know three people in my department who said they’re not coming to the party this year because things got so noisy and rough last year.”
“Yeah,” Virginia suddenly finds her voice, “I just told my husband that last week. I think there are several people in my department that would prefer a family party.”
And with their comments, the others seem to be in agreement that it would be a good idea to have a family-oriented party this year. Fran is encouraged, and they set out to make the necessary plans, assigning jobs and duties for the various things that must be done. By the time the meeting is over, there is enthusiasm in the room and they leave in a spirit of unity and excitement about the party.
“Wow,” Fran thinks as she walks back to her office, “that seemed to turn around pretty good. I think we’ll have a terrific party and it will go over a lot better than the out-of-control events they’ve had before.”
Fran shakes her head in amazement at what she’s learning about being a Christian in the marketplace. It’s really different than she would have imagined, much harder in some ways, but with many opportunities she had not dreamed of.
When she gets back to her office, the phone rings. It’s Marilyn, her boss. “Fran, Bill just stopped into my office hopping mad because—to quote him—you took over the committee meeting and forced your Sunday school ideas on the group. What happened?” she asks.
For the next ten minutes Fran explains what happened. Marilyn says, “Well, okay, but don’t be surprised if Bill causes a stink over this. He was pretty heated.”
When Fran hangs us, she prays, “Lord, what can I do about Bill? He could sabotage the whole thing if he gets to the right people and they believe his story.” She thinks quietly about the situation, and refuses to allow the panic feelings to take over. “Lord, I know I did what you wanted me to do, so I have to trust you with the consequences. Please give me wisdom about Bill.”
She gets back into her work and at quitting time, as she is getting ready to leave, Jesus seems to say to her, “Why not invite Bill to have a cup of coffee with you?”
“You mean, now?” Fran asks. The last thing she wants to do is have another confrontation with Bill, but she recognizes that it would be a lot better to address this issue early on and up front, rather than let the rumors fly and people start to choose sides. So, she walks upstairs to Bill’s department and finds his desk.
As she approaches, he’s on the phone and doesn’t see her coming. “Yeah, can you believe it,” Bill says to the person on the other end, “she’s got them to all agree to have this Sunday school picnic party, with kids and games. Who in the world ever heard of such a stupid Christmas party.” When he realizes someone is approaching his desk, he looks up and abruptly concludes his telephone conversation.
“Hi, Bill,” Fran says, “I was just wondering if you have time to have a cup of coffee with me before you leave. I’d like to talk with you about the Christmas party.”
“What’s there to talk about, Fran,” he replies. “You’ve railroaded your idea through and that’s that. Well, I can assure you there will be lots of people who won’t show at this party. It’s going to bomb, but you have to have it your way, so go ahead.”
“Bill, honestly I wasn’t trying to have it my way. Everyone else on the committee thought it would be a good idea to try something new just for a change,” Fran says in defense of herself.
“Fran, what are they going to say. I mean, it’s like being against apple pie and motherhood to say you don’t want a party for kids,” Bill continues, getting angrier by the minute. “But Christmas parties have always been a time to let our hair down and have some laughs after a long year. It’s like a little reward for the hard work. Well, you’ve ruined that for us this year.”
“Bill, really, if you’ll just give us a chance, I think you’ll see this party will be lots of fun. Why don’t you come back and join the committee and help us plan it? We need your help,” Fran says.
“You don’t need my help, Fran. Forget it,” and with that he turns from her, making it obvious that their conversation has ended.
Fran walks away feeling defeated. She had high hopes that Bill would soften and they could patch the bad feelings. But it didn’t work. But she is reassured that it was the right thing to do, and she realizes again that when you do the right thing, it won’t always be accepted and appreciated, but it doesn’t mean you didn’t do the right thing.
So, Fran goes home and tries to focus on the positives. She talks to Louise on the phone and asks her to pray about the party. Louise assures her it will be a big success. “Don’t worry about Bill,” she says, “he’s a loser anyway, Fran.”
“What do you mean a loser, Louise?” she asks.
“Oh, his reputation is not very good. Nobody thinks too much of him,” Louise says. “I think he’s an alcoholic.”
“Is that right? Well, it doesn’t surprise me,” and with that she hangs up, feeling rather smug.
“Fran,” she hears Jesus’ voice and it startles her for a moment, “remember that I love Bill as much as I love you.”
His words are a dagger to her heart, as she thinks about the unkind and insensitive things she said about Bill to Louise. “Oh, Lord,” she says, “I’m sorry. I should not have talked about Bill that way, but Louise brought it up and I guess it felt good to beat up on somebody who’s been beating up on me.”
“Poor Bill,” she says, “if he really does have a drinking problem, he must be so miserable. I wonder what his life is like?” And for the first time Fran sees Bill through Forever Eyes. It always makes a difference. She prays for him right at that moment and asks for forgiveness for her malicious attitude toward him.
The party planning proceeds and they are able to plan a really special party that includes all family members. Fran talks the company into more budget for gifts and prizes, and the Christmas spirit starts to spread around the office.
Except for Bill. Every time Fran sees him, he walks the other way. She prays and prays for him, and asks the Lord to give her an opportunity to talk to him, but it never happens. She does a little digging and finds out that he is divorced with two school-aged children, but he hasn’t signed up to bring them to the party.
Finally, after praying about it, she decides it can’t do any harm to give Bill a call. “Bill,” she says to him, “this is Fran, and I noticed you haven’t signed up to come to the party. We’re buying gifts now for the children, and I thought I’d check with you, because we’d like to include your two children. Will you be bringing them?”
“I don’t plan to be there, Fran,” he says, “and so my kids won’t be coming either.”
“I see,” Fran says. “Well, I know you’re upset about the party, but I think your kids would really enjoy it. How about letting them come anyway?”
“Well, I figured it’s too late now. The deadline has already expired,” he says.
“Oh, don’t worry about that. And it’s not too late for you to come with them either, Bill,” Fran says.
There is silence on the other end of the phone, and finally Bill says, “That’s nice of you, Fran, but I couldn’t come…” Fran realizes it is a face-saving problem for Bill, because he’s told everyone that he’s not coming to this party.
“I see,” she replies, “but if the kids won’t come without you, then you’d just have to come, wouldn’t you? I mean, you couldn’t disappoint them.” She realizes he needs a face-saver and she’s trying to give him one.
“Yeah, guess you’re right about that. They did want to come when I showed them the invitation. But I’d hate for them to be there without their parent, so….”
“So, you’ll be there! Great,” Fran says. “Any good father would have made the same decision, Bill. Thanks for being willing to come.”
As she hangs up the phone, a big grin spreads on her face. “Lord, Bill’s coming to the party with his kids,” she says.
“Thanks, Lord, for softening his heart. That had to be you, because he was so mad at me,” she tells Jesus. “But then, that’s your specialty, right?”
The day of the party is a bright, crisp December day, and everything goes off without a hitch. It was the biggest turnout they ever had for a Christmas party, and it seemed like everyone had a good time. Fran even had the pre-schoolers do a live manger scene, which everyone loved. She was so happy to be able to get in some reminder of what Christmas was all about.
Bill thanked her as he left and said, “It was a good idea, Fran. Guess we needed a change.” She could smell alcohol on his breath, and her heart broke to think of his dependence on it. She silently prayed for him and his children again, and thanked him for coming. She went home exhausted but so thankful for the opportunity to make a little difference in a dark world.
You know, many times we Christians withdraw from the games because we can’t go along with certain things, when what we should do is get into the fray and use our influence to make good change happen. Certainly it takes discernment to know how far to go without compromising, but Jesus told us he left us in this world so that we could shine our lights in the darkness. He purposely did not take us out of the world, and we should not withdraw to our Christian sub-culture comfortable environments and miss the opportunities we might have to make a difference.