Stan’s the Man

Stan Pickering is Sunderland born and Sunderland bred. His family was from the district of Pennywell. His mum was a staunch Roman Catholic and made the kids go to church every week. At sixteen she said they could make up their own minds whether they went or not Stan decided that church wasn’t for him and he wouldn’t be going back to any church If he did, it would only be for christenings, weddings and funerals He’d tolerate hatches, matches and dispatches but as for anything else to do with church and religion - forget it! ‘Life’s far too short to be caught up with that type of stuff.’ He didn’t believe in God, so he figured why waste the time? 

Stan has been married to Mary for thirty-five years. They met when they both worked at a bakery. Eventually they both left the bakers but baking never left them. They still bake today 

- their cakes are to die for. They should apply for The Great British Bake Off, they really should! 

Stan is a normal type of bloke. He worked hard for a small building firm, he looks after his family, he likes to follow the football, enjoys the occasional walk and loves a pint. Stan had an Achilles heel though, he was a born worrier - a panicker. He just couldn’t help it. Mary often said to him, ‘Stan, you worry about daft things you do, don’t worry yourself.’ For Stan it wasn’t that easy. He’d worry if something went wrong, and if it didn’t, he’d worry that it was going to go wrong. 

Stan worried about being made redundant and getting paid off even though there wasn’t the slightest hint of redundancy. He thought, ‘Where would the money come from to pay the bills? How would we cope?’ Then he’d 

worry about not being able to find a job. He’d worry about  anything. Truth is, he was the type of person who would worry if there was nowt to worry about! 

Looking back, Stan realised that worrying never takes away tomorrow’s troubles but it does take away today’s peace. It’s easy to say that worrying is a waste of time, of course it never changes anything. But then again it’s almost impossible to just turn worry off when you suffer with it. The worry put Stan on edge, he was irritable, even bad-tempered. He often found himself in turmoil for absolutely no reason whatsoever. 

Stan and Mary’s son Sean heads up a superb young people’s charity in the North East and a few years ago he was looking for a new office to work from. Stan says he should have known Sean wanted something when he said he would take his dad out for a bite to eat. To cut a long story short, Sean informed Stan that at last he’d found a new office but it needed ‘a bit of work’. Sean asked his dad if he would help to do it up. 

Stan of course agreed. ‘So where is this office, then?’ Stan asked. 

Sean took a deep breath, because he knew how his dad felt about such places. ‘Well dad, it’s in a church on the main Fulwell Road in Monkwearmouth. It’s called New Springs City Church. They’ve recently had a new minister who’s keen to support the charity and he’s offered me an office on the first floor.’ 

‘Well, I’d better take a look then,’ Stan replied. 

Sean took Stan to check it out and he couldn’t believe it. They went upstairs to the minor hall which hadn’t been used for several years. As for the office, Sean had slightly under-exaggerated the work required. Stan had been led to believe it was a simple decorating job, but it needed stud walls building, plastering, new ceilings and floors, doors hung, electrics fitted, heating and a boiler installed! This definitely wasn’t as Sean had described it! 

When Stan met the new minister, Nathan, he thought, ‘Woah... he’s a big lad! His hands look more akin to the paws of a bear.’ What Stan didn’t know was the pastor was actually a Judo Black Belt of the heavyweight variety. Then Nathan said, ‘Stan, I tell you what would be really good. Would it be possible for you to reconfigure a couple of the other offices as well?’ 

Stan thought, ‘So much for it being just a decorating job!’ At first Stan was cautious; after all, this was a church and you know what he thought of churches and all that. 

But never one to shy away from a challenge and wanting to help his son out, Stan thought he’d better crack on with the job. So in his spare time he’d go to the church and work on the offices. He and Sean would work there every opportunity they had and even Nathan the minister got stuck in. And for the next few months all three worked under Stan’s supervision until the job was finished. Stan loved being there, he felt there was just something about the place. He also enjoyed working and talking with the minister. He found the people from the church very pleasant, welcoming and incredibly appreciative of his voluntary work. 

His wife Mary and Sean had already started going to New Springs every Sunday morning. Stan didn’t mind as long as they didn’t badger him to go. 

But one Sunday morning, when the offices were almost complete, Stan really took Mary and Sean by surprise. He came down the stairs all ‘suited and booted’ and announced that they were all going to church. So off they went together to the service at New Springs City Church. 

Stan received a great welcome and what is more he really enjoyed it. It was very different to what he could remember of church - mind you, it had been over forty years since he’d last set foot in a church service! 

The service was lively, friendly and relevant and it struck a chord with Stan. He continued to go on Sundays and also carried on doing some handiwork around the church. It was a complete 180 degree turnabout for a bloke who had set his mind on having nothing to do with church. Whatever happened to that ‘life’s too short to get caught up with all that type of stuff’? 

It was five months after Stan had decided to attend the services that he made a decision to put his trust in Jesus Christ and to ask Him to be his Lord and Saviour. No bells or whistles went off, no flashing lights, no hallelujah chorus breaking out or anything like that - just a quiet assurance that God had come to live in his life. 

He’s says it’s difficult to put into words how different he felt. He certainly noticed he wasn’t worrying as much - if at all, in fact. He says it was strange as he’d never felt like that before. 

Around this time Stan’s worst fears became a reality. He was made redundant and paid off from his work. Normally worry, anxiety and panic would have ruled the day, but not on this occasion. Stan found himself just accepting it, believing God would look after the Pickering family one way or another. Not an ounce of worry got to him. 

It was the same when he had to go into hospital for a replacement hip. There was a time when he would have made himself ill worrying about having an operation. But again this wasn’t the case. Even when they were wheeling him down to the operating theatre he had a real peace about it. 

It was as if Stan had become a brand new person altogether. The Bible would say that in allowing Jesus Christ to come into his life, he had become a new person. The old Stan had certainly gone, all things were becoming new. For example, after his operation he was even praying for the other patients in the ward, asking God to help them. That’s how much his life had changed. 

Stan now knows that worry is a burden God never meant any of us to carry. It’s like sitting in a rocking chair, it gives you something to do but it doesn’t get you anywhere. Stan has also learnt the hard way that anxiety comes when we feel we have to figure out life all by ourselves. He now knows he can turn to God because He’s got a plan.