The Pink Suitcase

By The Reverend Deacon Shelby M. Friend

The Pink Suitcase is a story of the challenges and experiences while administering to others as a Deacon in the Catholic Church. In this book he shares timely stories of hope and inspiration. He especially speaks to those that feel they have nowhere to turn to in times of difficulty.
His journey from Greenville, Tennessee to Cleveland, Ohio with a stopover in Vietnam reflects the responsibility and challenges that he has faced as a Deacon in the diocese of Cleveland, Ohio.
The Reverend Deacon Shelby M. Friend feels that he is especially unique because he came from a "dirt poor" Southern family who attended a Methodist Church in East Tennessee when he was growing up. He believes that his words of wisdom from his parents as well as his own sense of enlightenment upon his consecration in the Catholic Church are important words for readers to hear.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Jun 7, 2023
• ISBN: 9798823009454

The Reverend Deacon Shelby M. Friend

Deacon Shelby Friend is married to Maxine G. Friend and is the father of three and the grandfather of six.  He is retired from the Veteran's Medical Center where he was employed as a dietary supervisor.  Deacon Friend was ordained in the Diocese of Cleveland, Ohio, in May 1994.  He served in the United States Army and received the Purple Heart.  He is on staff at Holy Spirit Parish in the Southeast District of the Diocese of Cleveland.  In 1998, Deacon Friend organized a retreat called "Strangers No More" to bring men in the diocese together to discuss their faith journeys. He received an Associate's Degree  from Cuyahoga Community College and a Bachelor's Degree in Religious Studies from Ursuline College, where he is currently a graduate student.  

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2023 The Reverend Deacon Shelby M. Friend. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or

transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 07/06/2023

ISBN: 979-8-8230-0946-1 (sc)

ISBN: 979-8-8230-0945-4 (e)

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Dove image on the cover is by JL G from Pixabay

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

CONTENTS

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Chapter 1 Just as I Am

Chapter 2 God Is Good

Chapter 3 Even Me lord

Chapter 4 Wednesdays

Chapter 5 SUPERMAN

Chapter 6 We’ve Come This Far by Faith

Epilogue

Works Cited

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

It would be impossible to thank each person individually who accompanied me on my faith journey. In particular, however, I wish to thank my church family and all those who took the time to give their support to inspire and encourage me by listening to me vent and by being there for me when I needed them most.

I extend a special thanks to my dear friend Pat Habel; and my granddaughter Maya Crawford who took the time to assist in the editing of this book and ensured that my words were readable.

Finally, I would like to thank my wife Maxine, my children, and grandchildren who have supported me in all I do and have been there whenever I needed them.

INTRODUCTION

A friend once made an interesting comment about the one common element of human behavior that we all possess, the capacity to love and care for one another. He said, No matter what we look like, what our skin color may be, how old we are, how different our social, economic, religious or ethnic backgrounds or status might be, in times of trouble and distress: whether it’s an accident by the highway, a public tragedy as a school shooting, comforting the loss of a loved one, or experiencing an horrific events, such as 9/11, we seem to be able to set our differences apart, even if only for a short time, to support and give aid to one another. His contention is that it is through God’s grace and mercy that each and every man, woman, and child has been given the capacity and desire to love and to be loved. And with this gift comes the freedom to ignore it, as well as the one who has given it to us, or use it for the good of humankind.

One Saturday evening after cooking for an affair at my home parish, Holy Spirit Church, I was taking out the garbage and I heard sobbing, moaning, and groaning. As I reached the back of the school building, I saw this young black man, perhaps sixteen or seventeen, sitting on a sidewalk. Beneath him was this tiny old rusted out pink suitcase. One that a young child might own. It had a big picture of Disney World on the front, with Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck right in the center surrounded by big bright colored balloons. The closer I got to this young man, the louder I could hear his cries. As I passed by, he shouted out, Hey Mister, do you have a dollar? Concerned that this might be a set up to rob me, I told him, No, in