Matt’s Edge-of-the-Seat Lydia Story

by

Practicing Faith

Special to United Methodist Insight | Aug. 14, 2025

Our pastor, the Rev. Dr. Matt Hadley, told a personal story in his sermon recently that had everyone on their edge of their seats.

Hadley is the pastor of Emmanuel Community United Methodist Church in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. It is the church just down the road from our townhome. My wife, Jo, and I can be found there most Sunday mornings when I am not off telling stories somewhere else.

When Pastor Matt finished telling his story there was audible exhale as the entire congregation breathed a sigh of relief. I know because I had taken my turn as liturgist that day, so was sitting up front where I had a good view of the whole crowd.

I have been pondering the meaning and feelings evoked by the story ever since. It is one of those that lingers on the spiritual palate. 

Pastor Matt gave me permission to share the story here. His sermon was based on the scriptural account of a courageous first century business woman named Lydia, whose story is found in the 16th chapter of Acts. I read it as part of my liturgist duties just before Matt began to preach.

“This is the story of a woman I first remember seeing when I was about 10 years old, always singing in the front row of the choir. Depending on the season, she weighed anywhere from 275-300 pounds. She, like so many women of the era, had an immaculate helmet of hair which would not budge due to the amount of hair spray she applied. Having said all of that, she was, and if still alive, I am sure still is, one of the most beautiful women I have ever known.

“She loved working with the youth group.  Everyone loved her, especially the tween and teen girls whose family life was not positive: those girls who were battling self-esteem issues.

“She touched the lives of hundreds of young people. I was blessed to hear her testimony, and now, almost 40 years later, I still remember it vividly.

“Like so women many back then she was married early, probably around the age of 20. She chose poorly, she told us.

“Her husband treated her like an animal. He would take her to college parties and wager that his wife could out-drink any of the frat boys. If she succeeded, he was known to collect his money and then leave her in that condition at the party, not really caring about what might happen to her. If she lost, he would beat her, and berate her with venom. He kept a pistol next to the bed and would threaten her regularly.

“After a few short years she discovered she was with child. She was unsure if the father was her husband or some young predator that took advantage of her when her husband left her behind unconscious at a party.

“As you can imagine she fell into a depression. One night, after she had put the baby down to sleep, she went into the bedroom and found the gun. She wanted out of the life she was being forced to live and saw no other way out.

“She was crying as she put the gun in her mouth. She said she remembered feeling and hearing the sound the barrel of the gun made against her teeth. She doesn’t remember how long she had been holding the gun before her young son started crying out.

“Then something happened. She dropped the gun to the floor, went into the young child’s room, swept him up into her arms and ran out of the house. She had no plan, seemingly no real options, but she began walking. House after house was dark. She came to a house and saw a light on inside and found herself, in her night gown, holding her son, knocking on the door.

“Here is the amazing grace: the God part.

“A woman in her fifties opened the door to find a crying mother holding a crying child, and she said, “Sweetie, come right now into this house.” She closed the blinds, turned off the porch light, and took her and the child into the family room where her husband was watching TV.

“My friend not only experienced hospitality to the highest degree, she also found sanctuary. That God-loving couple saved her life, and over time helped her start a new one.

“I have no idea what the name of that homeowner was, but I wouldn’t be surprised if she was someone like Lydia, the business woman described in the 16th chapter of Acts, who risked her standing in the community to take the Apostle Paul into her home after he had been beaten and jailed by Roman soldiers.

“An Open Heart leads to an Open Home. Once God really has a hold of your heart, your heart becomes a place of hospitality.

“In our scripture lesson, which Pastor John read, we heard that Lydia’s door was open. Her hospitality in taking the Apostle Paul into her home right out of prison was risky. She was a woman, highly successful, who, once the power of the gospel’s message got to her heart, opened her home.

“That house became the first Christian Church in Europe. I have no doubt that her clientele came for her purple cloth from all over the continent. I am sure she shared the good news with those who came into her shop. Who knows just how wide the ripples of her testimony really were? We know now that Christianity is practiced in every corner of the world.”

Then Pastor Matt added:

“Whatever happened to the small son who was swooped up from his crib crying? Well, he became a Methodist pastor and missionary. For a short time, he and his wife were my youth pastors. His ministry has touched thousands of hearts for Christ all over the world.”

The Rev. Dr. Matt Hadley is a longtime pastor in the Wisconsin Conference of The United Methodist Church. He has master of divinity and doctor of ministry degrees from Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington D.C.  Hadley is a devoted husband, father and grandfather. A golf enthusiast, he claims three witness-attested holes-in-one.

The Rev. John Sumwalt is a retired pastor, storyteller, and the author of “How to Preach the Miracles.”