The Eagle Magazine
"Preaching and Praying"
We were in the middle of our Bible Exposition Conference when Helen got a call from her nephew in Texas; the news wasn't good. Her brother, Jeff, was in a horrible automobile accident and was in the hospital unresponsive. We were so busy with morning and evening meetings and feeding the out-of-town guests, it took a couple of days to sink in.
Thursday Morning Session
Two special friends making frothy coffee...my favorite!
We arrived home Saturday evening in time for me to preach at NMBC's Palm Sunday services. I was already scheduled to preach the following night in Georgia Baptist Fellowship in Lyons, GA; so early Monday morning I headed out to the airport on my way to Atlanta and the never-ending struggle to rent a car at the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. Much to my surprise, I was finished and on my way to I-75 south in under an hour and a half, only to learn that the expressway was closed at Macon, GA. So it was off the interstate and on the old two lanes as I headed south to Liberty Baptist Church and the fellowship meeting. Wouldn't you know it, I was scheduled to preach the opening message at 3:00 pm. The truth is I made it with about ten minutes to spare! Well it was a great meeting and Brian McBride and CT Townsend, along with several others, preached amazing messages, but for all that I only managed to get one picture from the meeting; Lonnie Moore, pastor, evangelist, author and singer.
Fellowship and Food after the evening service
Lonnie Moore
So I spent those two weeks preaching and praying, commemorating Palm Sunday and enjoying the wonderful fellowship of great friends old and new. It wasn't exactly what I had planned; but is it ever? Life brings us struggle and joy, pain and pleasure and God's hand is in all of it...every bit. I'm so very thrilled to live this life for Jesus. I trust you can say the same.
On the Monday after the Conference, we flew out to Houston and then drove up to Tyler to visit the hospital, as often as they would allow, and try to be a support to his wife, Stephanie. We prayed for him morning and evening and several times a day. We had hoped they would do surgery on his back while we were there but it had to be postponed while they waited for his lungs to heal enough for him to endure the anesthesia. As I write this, it's been over a month now and we are told they will try to do the surgery tomorrow. Prayers are appreciated more than you can ever know, I do believe it's prayer that has kept him alive this long.
One afternoon, I decided to give any time I might have to visit Jeff to Helen knowing she wanted as much time with him as possible. I sat in the car with the windows down enjoying the much warmer weather than we were having in Pennsylvania. Middle March in Nottingham can still be pretty bleak; it was then I noticed that trees and shrubs were in bloom already. While at home, we were still at the end of our long winter, they were enjoying the beginning of their long spring and summer.
