The Story Of Fritz, Never Say Never 1/29/2017

Good Morning,

The house is taking just a little longer to warm up today. That gives me an excuse to have another hot cup of Door County Mocha Mint Coffee. The glow from the fireplace should soon be a little hotter. It's funny to watch our dog Gibbs snuggle up to the hearth and then go back to sleep. He is one happy camper when the fireplace is lit.

I am going to go back in time for me today and write about  "Fritz".  Rene and I did youth work in at church during our younger days. One particular year had a larger than normal freshman class. In that class was a little blond girl named Katy. She would have a lot of fun with her friends and some of the female leaders. She was a little standoffish  and shy around the male leaders. This needed to change

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That first year found us going to Mexico for our mission trip. We were to build a house for a homeless lady and her three boys. Katy was a member of the team. The house was close to completion and somehow our ladders disappeared and we needed to do some wall work from the outside. On one side of the little house was a small ditch that made the work impossible without a ladder. We arrived at the idea that the girls would work by standing on our shoulders. We all looked at couple of them and decided that two of them fit the bill. We needed the skinnier frames to be hoisted on to our shoulders. Katy was one of those 90 pound carpenters.

That is where it began. A trusting friendship started with a lift. When we got home and back into youth group swing, I asked Katy's Mom if she would consider allowing Katy to earn some money by working with me performing plumbing jobs. I was still moonlighting at night and weekends for extra money.  Her mother is a strong lady who was raising two kids and had committed to having Katy to attend a private Christian High School. The tuition there was steep for a one home income. Katy had asked for prayer in youth group for the burden of tuition. I needed a helper and I now know that my plumbing skills were and answer to her prayer. She earned every dollar she made with hard work.

With he mother's permission we started our plumbing journey. As a teen I always listened to a local radio show on Saturdays. It was the "Fritz The Plumber Polka Show". It wasn't too long before Katy's official nick name became "Fritz". Even the other kids at church referred to her as Fritz. We worked through her high school years together and would have deep theology discussions, and many nonsense discussions like " does screaming make you warmer when the weather temperature is below zero."? Katy quickly picked up a lot of plumbing knowledge and the two of us to could soon replace every water pipe in a home in a ten hour day.

Our plumbing escapades found us in many strange places. Like the time one of us had to go into a very tight space and solder a large pipe. Obviously I would not fit, so Fritz had to crawl in. She asked "am I coming out"? I replied "maybe!" We were quite the circus at times.

In our time working together Katy blossomed into a natural leader within youth group. She led a few mission trips with me and always worked hard. She did whine once about having to sleep in a brothel, but that's another story and a funny one at that. But while working together, a bond of love and trust was established. I remember one night when we were  talking about marriage and I asked her how she felt about it. Her reply was "I want a manly man and nothing else will do. I really think I will never marry anyone." I laughed and thought to myself "really? Never say never!" I started to pray for her, hoping someday she would meet a manly guy and build a loving, trusting relationship. Katy and her mom moved further North of us  later and our meetings together became less and less. But I always continued to pray for her. People at church still ask me. "What do you hear from Fritz?"

Last Friday night Rene and I went out to eat and  meet Katy and Matt. Matt is a manly guy, but you can see his soft side, especially when he looks at Katy. "Mr. Never" has shown up and the two of them will be married in April. That skinny little girl turned into a beautiful woman and she waited to find just what God had in store for her.

I will be filling in for Katy's Dad and have the honor of walking that little plumber down the aisle. Besides my jaunt down memory lane, I want all of you to think about this. If we wait on God we can count on Him to bring to us what is best. God knew many, many years ago who Matt would have in his life and He was preparing both Matt and Katy for each other. So my prayer for them is that they will continue to build that bond of trust, and see each as a gift prepared for them by God. I truly believe God supplied His best for both of them.

Genesis 2:22New International Version (NIV)
²² Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib^[a he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man

Wait on the Lord and never say never!

Marty