Storyline Fall 2018

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WHAT IS THE VALUE OF A MAN? My Story by Erik Freiburger What is the value of a man? Or more pointedly, what is my worth? As a person in a wheelchair, it’s a question I’ve wrestled with for a long time. I wasn’t always in a wheelchair. My earliest memories were of living in downtown Calgary with my mother in a third floor apartment. It was old and I remember the painted wooden slide-up windows would always get stuck. And of course, there was no elevator. We used to go to St. Steven’s Anglican Church – what I always thought was a cathedral church – where on Thursday nights my mom would practice singing with the choir as I became a courageous adventurer in search of treasure while exploring the catacombs and secret passages of this ancient temple. At least, that’s what my five-year-old imagination told me. Climbing up and over the polished pews and sprawling under them in my second-hand, thrift-store corduroy pants, I was oblivious to the stresses of single parenthood and my mother’s struggles to provide for us. I was happy. That adventurous spirit never left me and several years later, while in my early teens, my explorations took me out of the small Anglican cathedrals of downtown Calgary into the wilds of Kananaskis as I hiked the mountainsides, canoed the Alberta rivers, and camped in the off-beat backwoods of the national parks. My favourite moments were of sitting under the stars with my fellow adventurers, staring into the flickering embers of the campfire and practicing the art of storytelling. Scouter Bob was a master at this art as he always seemed to connect local folklore & fables to the very places we were camping. We’d 14
all end up groggy & tired the next day after trying to stay up all night, vigilantly watching out for the Windago that was ever so near. I was six foot one, 210 pounds, and as near as I could tell … invincible. That would all change on the sunny afternoon of April 23, 1994. My mother and I were moving to Strathmore, Alberta and driving back into the city along 17 th Avenue between Chestermere and Calgary. A young 19-year-old traveling the opposite direction was driving at high speeds (estimated between 130 and 160 km/hour) in his car and, after trying to pass a pickup on the shoulder, lost control and crashed into our car. The momentum then pushed us into the path of the pickup truck he had just passed as the vehicles collided and everything came to a stop. At 15 years old, I had to learn how to live a new life as a C4/5 and T4 incomplete quadriplegic. I would also find myself grappling with the loss of my mother and the realities of independent living. The next few years seem a bit blurry following the car accident. In honesty, I struggled with my own sense of identity during this time as many of my family and friendships radically changed. Let’s face it – I changed. While memories of the old Erik seemed still close in my mind, in a lot of ways, I felt as though that person had also passed away in the accident and this new life I was left with was completely reincarnated. During these years, my conversation with God had all but ceased. In truth, I’m not sure there was much of a relationship even prior as my church life growing up was more of a socially religious community practice than it was an actual spiritual identity. It wasn’t until I moved into the Fourth Dimension Group Home and I met a beautiful and inspiring woman named Bonnie that this would change. I can say those things because we would eventually marry on May 15, 1999. She was a fellow roommate in the group home we were living in and also a C1/C2 incomplete quadriplegic. While inspiring me towards self independence, Bonnie also invited me to her church, the Four Square Full Gospel. Though I’d been heavily involved in martial arts and exploring the philosophies and practices of Budo and the arts community, the sermons from Four Square began a deeper desire in me to know the God who I grew up with. I began speaking openly with God late into the night while sitting on the back patio in the dark and practicing the art of meditation. It was during one of these moments that I found myself deep in meditation and a vision came over me that radically transformed who I was. Attempting to empty my self-conscious awareness of any sense of personal presence, I was overcome by the presence of another who was with me. It was God, and as He blew through me, much like a gust of wind, I was overcome with the sense of His love and recognition of me. My existence became solely rooted in the identity and understanding that He knows and loves me. This sense of His presence led me into a deep and long journey of growing closer to Him as I began my Bachelor of Theology Degree. Between 2002 and 2007, we led a small group in our home while I shared and served in the McKenzie Towne Church community. The missional call upon my life carried us into the house church movement where I eventually became a Co- Regional Leader. Over the past year and a half, life has changed for me. While stepping back from leadership for a bit, our house church tribe was hit with the loss of two close friends and members, along with the loss of my stepdad. It resulted in the closing of our tribe and the self-reflected journey of who I am. The opening question returns … What is the value of a man? The world tends to base its answer upon transactional success. Value is based upon how big your house is, what kind of a financial portfolio you hold, and the title you have in your workplace. While they have been present in my life, these values are fleeting and perishable. Success in a Kingdom perspective is to find value in relational presence. I am valued not for what I have but in others valuing my presence with them, and vice versa. To see the work of relational presence in my past and present is to count myself rich beyond belief. I revel in the thought that my friends & family have deeply shaped who I am and the strength I have to overcome tragedy and loss. Yet for the presence of the Kingdom to break through into the world, one’s value must find a tension between both these elements. It is in the telling of my story that I find the hope of God’s presence and work as He promises a future. But I do not always find this easy. Mine is a journey rife with deep emotional struggles and the pains of angst for change. The only way for me to pursue the question is to continue telling the story of my life, while acknowledging that it is part of a bigger story … one which has many other relational characters … and is directed by a loving God. Erik and his wife Bonnie now attend FAC. Erik is one of the talented <strong>Storyline</strong> Volunteer Writers.
Page 1 and 2: Storyline magazine Fall 2018 the va
Page 3 and 4: contents click on the photo to jump
Page 6 and 7: Value of CONNECTING WRITTEN BY GRAN
Page 8 and 9: Baptism Story Written by Kathy Llyo
Page 10 and 11: The Trip We Never Knew We Needed Wr
Page 12 and 13: INTERNATIONAL Street Fest Friday, N
Page 16 and 17: Walking with God THROUGH PAIN AND S
Page 18 and 19: Storyline: Why did you decide to se
Page 20 and 21: What I Found in Jesus I would love
Page 22 and 23: Beyond Borders: A Love Story Writte
Page 24 and 25: artist in the spotlight Florist Tam
Page 26 and 27: OVERCOMER! Brenda Brydon’s Story
Page 28 and 29: THIS IS MY STORY ... MARIA Written
Page 30 and 31: El camino hacia el ahora. Maria nac
Page 32: Know someone who’s asking a lot o

Storyline Fall 2018

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