Message from the Director- The Key

Keys are found all across the world. From house keys to car keys, and everything in between. God serves as "The Key" in our lives, but why does he show us compassion? How can open the door to eternal life?

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Transcript

Welcome And Reflection Setup

SPEAKER_01 0:32

Welcome back to CC Airways. My name is Greg Campbell, and I am the CCA's marketing intern for this summer. I'm joined here today with my co-host, Paige Matillo, and we'll be reflecting on God's presence and how he purposely looks out for us in each of our lives through the key. Our director of cemeteries, Andre Law, will join us later to talk about his experience with God as the key. But first, let's begin by reading his reflection to help center our minds. A few weeks ago, I was driving to a funeral and running late, of course. I had an egg rep that I was planning on saving for later, but I couldn't resist. When I took a bite, eggs built on my shirt, I pulled into the nearest parking lot, which belonged to a park. I had passed by there many times. However, I never stopped. When I opened my corridor car door, I found a house key with a name and number on the tag. I called the number and a young girl answered. Having a daughter myself, I could sense that this call was upsetting to her. She told me that she didn't know anything about the key. After explaining everything to her mother, she realized I was just trying to do a nice thing. I dropped the key off at the sheriff's department and the matter was closed. Their circumstances surrounding my discovery of the key lead me to conclude that there was some purpose at work. Was I put in that position to intervene in something nefarious? I believe that God presents opportunities to do the right thing and that he allows us to live our lives freely, choose to freely choose, ignoring the hassle of getting involved or reaching out regardless of the burden that decision creates. Choosing God is the key to the promise of life in paradise. He does not force us to accept him. Life is filled with circumstances and situations that lead me to one conclusion that God is there through everything. He does not leave us if we ask him to stay. We are not promised a life free from heartaches and headaches. What we are promised is that if we pick up the key, the door it will open will lead us to paradise. And

Andre Joins And Tells The Story

SPEAKER_01 2:31

now, we are happy to have Andre join us. Andre, thank you for taking the time to write this beautiful reflection about the key. I want to first start with your inspiration for writing this. How did you feel the purpose of God through your initiative to call the young girl's mother?

SPEAKER_00 2:47

Well, I I called um, you know, first of all, I was I was late. I this is was not the first time that I had a little egg wrap sitting next to me that I made at home and was gonna eat on the way. And for whatever reason, this time um uh it really uh ended up with a lot of yolk on my shirt. And um and I had no, you know, really it was I had it I had to pull over. I had to clean myself up and you know, just get myself reorganized. And there was that parking lot there by the Chesterland Park. I opened my car door and there was this key, and it hadn't been there long. Um it it wasn't worn, it wasn't weathered, it looked brand new. And so I picked it up and I kind of thought, oh well, and there's a number, name, and all this stuff. And I, you know, no big deal. I made a call and the first uh the first thing that uh that happened, and I thought, hey, I found your key, you know, I this is exactly what I said to her. You know, hello, uh, you know, who are who is this? And I said, Hey, I found your key. What key? Like, what do you mean, what key? Your key, your house key. I found this key with your name and number on it. And she didn't know anything about the key. She was young, I mean, uh early 20s, late teens, um, you know, something like that. And so I really I was a little taken aback by the shock of of me finding this key. And so I I she said, Could you send me a picture of it? So I did. I I sent uh a picture of it, and I tried to call back, and it went to voicemail. It went to voicemail twice, and then I got a call from uh a strange

A Helpful Call Turns Suspicious

SPEAKER_00 4:23

number. I answered it, of course, and it was the lady's mother, and she was angry. She was, you know, who are you and why are you keep bothering my daughter?

SPEAKER_02 4:31

I'm like I'm just trying to.

SPEAKER_00 4:33

I'm just trying to, I found this key, you know, late, you know, ma'am, I found this key and blah, blah, blah. And she got really, I mean, I I know I toned it down in my letter, but um, she got really aggressive with me, and I was really surprised. Um, we don't know anything about a key. We never go to that park. We don't, we, we live, they don't, they didn't even live close to Chesterland. So how this key ended up in that park, um, you know, to this day I I can't even begin to guess. And she um and she, you know, she went into mama bear role, and and I mean, I don't blame her. She was very protective of her daughter and um some strange guys calling about a key. I you know, I was yeah, I was as uh I was as surprised as as probably she was, you know, because I thought I was doing a nice thing, and and she turned it into something kind of um creepy. And you know, and I'm like, wow. I actually said to her at one point, you know, thank you for reminding me why, you know, why not to get involved. You know, I I you know I did, and in my mind, my I was like, you should have just left the key right there. You know, but uh that's not me. I can't just I can't ignore something like that. And you know, so why at that very moment did I end up spilling egg on myself enough to know that I would have had to pull into the parking lot and find that. I mean, literally, where I pulled in, the key, I opened my door, I looked down, and there was the key. It wasn't like it was off in the distance or anything, it was right by my door. So where are you?

SPEAKER_02 6:07

You could have pulled anywhere else.

SPEAKER_00 6:08

Exactly.

Coincidence Or Divine Guidance

SPEAKER_00 6:09

And so, you know, why is it so hard to accept that there's a that there's a a God of uh, you know, that the creator of the universe is capable of setting something in motion. And and I know, then people start to ask, well, what all of a sudden was this special? Why not, why don't I get the miracle? Why does that person get the miracle? I don't have those answers. I I don't know why, but I'm I'm gonna tell you this much. If if if a child is dying in the hospital, where is the miracle? Well, the miracle is in in in in what we believe and that we believe life will will continue. And for whatever reason, that person's time on this in uh on this earth has been brought to an end, and and they're going back home. And and I, you know, like I said, I don't, I don't, I can't answer those questions. Why, why that miracle and not me? Why don't I get the miracle and so forth and so on? I I don't know. Why did I find that key that day? Why was that nudge, which is uh interesting enough, I think about this a lot. Um this month I'm I I wrote the nudge, and um it's kind of the same thing. You just it it I'm not I I'm not sitting here trying to make sense of it. I'm just trying to tell you that if you look into the universe and you look at the things that happen and you look at you know how circumstances come about, did I end up saving that girl's life that day? I don't know. Uh maybe. I mean, how is it that I happen to be in that very moment at the right place at the right time to find this key that they didn't know anything about? Um but I gotta tell you, from a from as a lawyer, I started thinking, oh my God, what did I get myself into? Why did I do this? So that's the human side. You've got the divine where you're like, I just want to do the right thing for this family. I want to, I wanna, you know, and after talking to the mom and after talking, you know, you be I became very kind of like that protector kind of mentality, um, having a daughter, you know, that um you just kind of you you you know that there's a lot of bad people in the world. And there there's people that do, you know, that that plan out their evil in ways that we can't even begin to imagine. And, you know, so was I sent by God to intervene in that moment of time? I sure why not? What is what is it so hard to believe that God uses us in those ways to protect us? And and does evil always uh can evil always be protected against? No, but uh, you know, not on this existence. But evil is always protected against if you believe in God, you have your faith, you believe in Christ, and and if if this if evil ends this journey, all as it means is that it begins the next, and God is there protecting you throughout that process. I mean, I I don't know. I don't know why it's so hard to uh uh accept that you know, oh, it's just coincidence. And there was nothing coincidental about me finding that key that morning. And in in doing this job for these last years, you know, dealing with people, talking to them about their loved ones, their the death they experienced, and then you start talking about their um the the process and and what they went through and how God came to them or how they get messages from heaven and so forth and so on. I it just convinces me every day more and more that you know God is very much involved in our lives. And so I don't understand why people find it so difficult. And even though I told that lady that I uh you know I regretted picking up the key, I I really didn't.

SPEAKER_02 9:50

Um so I mean that's well I mean you said her name and number were on the key. I mean, in this day and age with the internet, someone someone else could have found it and found her home address. Right. And you never know what someone could have done with that information that was on that key. So I mean, you were the person to find it because you obviously just wanted to help and make sure that it got back in the right hands. You had nothing, you know, nefarious planned.

SPEAKER_00 10:14

I like I said, I mean, it was just there. Yeah. And again, it was brand new. They didn't know anything about the park, they didn't know she didn't know anything about the key, the young girl. I mean, like, it was just a really bizarre set of circumstances that led me to the conclusion that I it had to be some type of divine guidance that brought me to that moment.

Dropping The Key With Police

SPEAKER_00 10:35

Um, ultimately, I did uh I did, you know, I I I asked her what she wanted me to do with the key, and she, you know, and she didn't know. Well, we don't, you know, we don't want you to bring it here. I said, I'll take it to the police. She said, that's a good idea. So I went to the Shardin police. Well, they didn't have jurisdiction on that park. And it was funny, I'm standing there, I'm uh, you know, it it was a quite a lengthy ordeal. Um and so I go to the I go to the guy who was uh running the window at the uh Shardin police station, and I knew him because our play our kids played lacrosse together, and he was like, Man, you gotta take it down to down to Geaga. I'm like, come on, I'm here. And he's like, sorry, but you know, that's that's their jurisdiction. So I went down there and I was at the Geaga County Sheriff's Department for quite some time because I just you know, so the guy, the deputy sheriff comes out and takes the key, and he goes, All right, thanks. And then he started walking away. I'm like, no, no, no, no, no. You see that number on that key? You're gonna call that number and you're gonna let them know that I gave you the key. And you know, I could hear the I could hear the mom in the background. I mean, I I could hear her on the phone with the sheriff, and she asked him if this is legit. And I'm thinking to myself, you know, that's and unfortunately, that's the world we live in. You know, I mean, does this seem legit to you? Why would I drop the key off at the sheriff's department? And and I explained to the deputy sheriff the the same thing I'm telling you guys. You know, and and it was so funny because I'm I'm as I'm driving down the road talking to this lady on my way to the funeral, and she's uh she's attacking me. I mean, I'm like, this is this was bizarre for me. I finally yelled at her, I said, look. I was driving and I repeated, you know, so I'm driving down the road, so I've repeated this story a couple of times, and this was the final straw. I said, look. I was driving down the road. I opened, I looked down and I saw, I saw my egg wrap. I opened the egg wrap, it spilled yolk on me. I pulled into the parking lot. I found, I mean, I was like direct. Yeah. And I said, at this point, I will drop it off at the police, and then that'll be that. And I and I hung up and I never heard anything back from her, but I did make sure that the sheriff contacted her and and verified that I left the key with him because, you know, if something were to happen, then I'm all of a sudden, you know how the world works.

Lawyer Brain Versus Ministry Heart

unknown 12:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 12:52

You know, and and the lawyer in me, I'm, you know, there's that, there's that that cemetery ministry person that exists, and you think about the people we impact and and and what we do and how grief impacts their lives, and you really, you really spend a lot of time focusing on that. But the lawyer in me is is never goes away. You're always thinking about evidence, you're thinking about how this plays out in court, you're thinking about, you know, all kinds of things. So, you know, it's just it's kind of a an interesting place to be when you're when you're considering the ministry, this is a critical ministry of our church, and and yet you have to make sure that it's it's as an institution, it's it's legally protected. And you're also so that you you live your life with thinking about those legal protections, but at the same time, do you not put yourself at risk when you follow God's guidance? And that's okay. If if if God is the one that leads you to save another person, and in that process something goes wrong, something goes awry, then then it then it was meant to be, and that's how God designed it. And again, okay, fine, free will and all that stuff. I get free will, but free will doesn't mean that that uh God isn't there, that he kind of you know sets the sets things in motion and and wherever things, wherever the chips fall, they fall. That's not that's not how I believe it works. I believe that the the free will is you are free to choose a life with God or free to choose a life without God. And with God, there's there's his guiding hand. The guiding hand exists in the other side of that fence, too, if you choose a life without God. But the difference is that you don't see his guidance or you ignore those moments when he, you know, he kind of sets things in motion. And again, I I don't know how, you know, everybody looks at you like, well, that how's that work? And oh, like there's this, I I think I wrote in in recently there's this, and because I got that from really a brother-in-law of mine. Oh, like there's this bearded guy in the sky that's that tells you where to go. I'm like, no, that's not that's not how I see it. I just see it as as there's this divine sort of influence, and you either accept it or you don't. And I'm not I'm not telling you to accept it, I'm not telling you not to, you know, I'm not telling you what to do. I'm just saying that what I've experienced in dealing, especially dealing with death for a long time now, and and being very intimately involved with the with the families that um that we take care of. And and being yelled at for bouquets and for grass not growing on a grave or whatever. And I take those, I take those calls, and I'm I I you know, I don't gladly take them, but I certainly accept that that is my responsibility, and it's a little bit of a burden, but it's it is my responsibility to to take on that anger that people have because most of the time it's not because there's no grass on the grave, it's because the person died and they don't have any place to vent, and and they they vent on us, and it's okay because that's the mission that we were given, and that's how that's what God set in motion a long time ago, at least for me. Um how I ended up at Catholic cemeteries is a very interesting set of circumstances, and I can only point to one thing, God's hand.

SPEAKER_02 16:25

You got a nudge.

SPEAKER_00 16:26

I got a nudge.

SPEAKER_02 16:28

I did.

SPEAKER_00 16:28

So anyway, that's how the key came about.

SPEAKER_01 16:32

Well, that kind of leads me into my next question.

Integrity When No One Watches

SPEAKER_01 16:34

So you talked a lot about integrity and some of the other values of compassion and hope and and prayer and stuff like that. How can you how can we do the right thing even when there's no one watching?

SPEAKER_00 16:45

Because God's always watching. It just you know, you're never really your conscience. I mean, you know, the atheist will tell you that it's your conscience that guides you. Well, well, where does the conscience come from? And and uh or your you know, your your morals will guide you. Okay, but where do those come from? Um You know, I have a I I have someone very close to me as an atheist. And one day we were talking, I remember we were by a fire outside, and and there was something going on in the world. It was quite some time ago, and uh it's kind of one of my favorite little talks because I was pretty quick on the on the draw with this one. He said, Where's your where's that miracle, Andre? Where's the big miracle? And and and I looked at him and I said, Well, I see three miracles right there, and those were his three children.

What Counts As A Miracle

SPEAKER_00 17:36

And I often think about you know, Fatima. Um you know, here in this town in Portugal, um, in a country that had been very secularized by by the government, um 70,000 people out in this area with the rain and mud and everything, and the you know, the newspapers acknowledged that the sun it appeared to dance in the sky and it dried everything up and everybody was it it was one of those moments where and that and the secular media couldn't deny the miracle. So, you know, if the creator of the universe is is capable of of sending his son into the world, allowing him to live his life, uh, or you know, that he did live his life the way he did, and then you know allowing us uh the opportunity to know him, to get to see him, and then uh allowing us to put him on the cross and then raising him from the dead, you know, that is the power of God. And I just I've just reached a point in my life, maybe his has been always been there, but I I just accept it. It's it's uh it's real to me. Um the three days in the tomb are real. His his rising from the dead are real. It's just something that I absolutely completely believe without doubt.

Faith, Free Will, And Evil

SPEAKER_00 19:10

And so for anyone to presume that the creator of the universe cannot set in motion a series of events which find you finding a key that prevents something bad happening to somebody, you know, and then and then I'll get those questions, and I write this, and this is why I I I I include some of my um the history of my family, is people will say, well, yeah, where's God when all those people are being murdered and butchered and blah, and this and that. And I I you know what? Great. God was there too. Um when when my he was a friend of mine too, but he was more my father and my grandfather's friend. When Milan described the the men as they were being dumped into the pit, their bodies were as they were being shot and their bodies falling into the pits, and as they were dying, you know, and he he survived, obviously. Um, but he had to hide down there and stay quiet, and he won and he listened to them dying, and every one of them prayed for God's mercy. And, you know, it was and so where was God? God can't stop evil. You know, he can he can guide us, he can guide things to maybe minimize its impact. But God God isn't doesn't stop evil. Evil exists, it's the world we live in, and it and and evil exists because we have free will. And that freedom allows evil to be part of the world too. And so then we as a people can choose God or we can choose evil. And I don't know what happens to evil when when it when when that moment of death arrives, but I have my assumptions, but I don't presume to know you know how God operates. I just believe that he is a just and merciful God and that he will deal with whatever needs to be dealt with. And every single one of those people, um, they died in in God's grace. I I I I was asked one time when I described that exact story, and I and uh of the of and and um a relative of ours who's an atheist when we were out visiting her in LA, and um my son asked that we were having this conversation, and you know, again, it was the well, we continue on in the soil and then the memory of the blah, you know, all that standard stuff that an atheist will tell you, which is fine, whatever. I mean, that's what they believe. Um but the uh and and again, I I love the uh, you know, I love her. She's a wonderful lady. Uh she was very uh, you know, she really was there for my family when we needed her, so I I cast no judgment upon her choice of belief. And I I I know why she is where she is. She's angry at God. God took her twin brother, you know, or her twin brother died in a tragic accident back in the 70s. And and so from that moment on, she just was a she just would refuse to believe that God that there could be a God because he was really a good guy. I'm like, well, and you know, and my position is, well, God was there when he died. Um and so my son looked at me and goes, why is it so hard to believe that maybe there isn't a God? And and I looked at him and I said, I refuse to accept that all of those people died the way they died, praying to God and that God wasn't there to save them. I I just sorry, I'm not gonna, I I it's a lot easier for me to accept that God exists than to somehow, you know, go in my mind and twist make the twists and turns and convince myself in this incredibly complex world that we live in where our spiritual connection is so real and where we are and and you think about your life, each one of us, if you look in the mirror and think about your life and how you know things have kind of fell into place over time. And when you live with when you live with a faith in God, it's so easy to just kind of you you you you get up the next day, you keep moving, because uh it's not an easy path that we choose, especially if you choose Christ. Choosing Christ is hard because you know what? You're you're you're ridiculed, you're made fun of, you know, you're you're well it's you know, oh yeah, sure. I mean there's there's all kinds of different attitudes about Christ. Um I I have a friend who's um uh we used to he was a study partner in law school and uh he was Hindu. And I asked him once about that, and he says, well, we can't accept that there's that he was great because we believe that you're the the life you are living now is the creation of lives of the past. And and so um because of the way Christ died, it meant he was a horrible person in his past. Well, okay, that fine, whatever.

SPEAKER_01 24:07

Anyway, see you got me rolling.

SPEAKER_00 24:10

Sorry.

Final Blessing And Stay Connected

SPEAKER_01 24:11

Well, Audrey we we thank you so much for your time this morning and thank you for your insightful reflection and everything that you do for Catholic cemeteries and for the families we serve all across the diocese. And we're very grateful for that. Thank you for joining us on this episode of CC Airwaves. Be sure to follow our social media channels with the username at CC Airwaves. Until next time, take care of yourself and God bless. Thank you. Take care of the city.