Sol Pitchon. Truly the man who needs no introduction.
How many people did he pray over?
How many received texts of prayers and encouragement from him?
How many sobbed hearing how he received his name?
How many have a picture with Sol?
More than I’m sure we’ll ever know.
Before joining Care Net, I had the great honor of being under Sol’s leadership for four years, right after I graduated college. Sitting in the prayer room of New Life Solutions in Largo, Florida, on the day of my interview, I had no idea that I was meeting a pro-life celebrity. Sol opened the interview in prayer with me – something I came to learn was characteristic. Anyone who knew Sol knew that prayer was the cornerstone of every meeting and conversation.
Hearing the news of Sol’s passing, I did what most probably did – I went searching for a photo with him. Despite how long I worked with him, all I found on Facebook was a blurry picture of the time I completed a diamond heist with Sol. Okay, it was an escape room, we didn’t really steal diamonds together. I questioned why I didn’t have any pictures with Sol. I had plenty of pictures of staff lunches, but Sol was missing! Then it dawned on me – he was the one taking the pictures. I did eventually find pictures with him – after he began asking servers to take a picture of our staff, and sharing the gospel with them.
Always the servant, Sol never cared if he was actually in the pictures, as long as he had pictures of those who were serving on the frontlines alongside him. It wasn’t about him. How many times did I sit in Donna’s office as she backed up his iPhone pictures because he couldn’t part with these photographic memories of the people he cared for? I guarantee most of you reading this probably are pictured on his phone.
Sol formed many of us in our journey against “the holocaust of abortion.” Sol saw each of us as unique individuals and we knew he cared about our future – both earthly and eternal.
There was a common theme running through each personal testimony shared at his celebration of life – Sol reflected Jesus in everything he did. He saw the ones who had been unseen by others, he made you feel like you were the only person in the world, and he loved everyone with the love of Christ. Perhaps this is because of his own family story, filled with so much suffering and hope.
Reflecting on Sol’s life has caused me to think more deeply about how I will be remembered at the end of my life, and I know I’m not alone. Will we – like Sol – be remembered as people who loved like Jesus? Will our lives change others for the better, as his did?
May we all carry on his legacy in the work that we do, in the relationships we have, and in the words we speak.
“His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little;
I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.'” Matthew 25:21