I was 19 and working in Venice, FL when I first met Bill. He was a couple of years younger than me but we connected as friends right away. It was not built upon Christ but it worked. Bill was a quiet guy, I mean really tight-lipped. We later became really close friends ...maybe even "best friends" and I still didn't know Bill that much but I knew him better then than anyone else. We did the things that guys our age did back then and it wasn't going to church! We fished, scuba dived and ...I'll quit right there. Quite a few people thought we were brothers as we both had reddish hair and with very fair complexion. I taught Bill all I knew about the funeral business. He caught on quickly and soon surpassed me in his ability with the technical part of embalming. He was a perfectionist ...still is I think.
I went off to embalming college and Bill his college when I was just about through and so me didn't connect much at all. I got married and Bill was still single. He worked 60 plus hours a week at a funeral home and so did I. We really lost touch but I knew where he was and life went on.
Those of you who know my story remember about what happened on my fifth year of marriage. God wrecked me and began to heal me. My life of hypocrisy was exposed and it almost cost my family and me our relationship. God intervened in a miriculous way and I moved from Miami to a few miles from where I am right now. I ended up working for the same funeral home as my old buddy Bill. Only now I was on a different trajectory and Bill was not. I could not do the things we once did together but our friendship remained strong and even grew. One night, around midnight, Bill and I were embalming a body ...just like we did six or seven years earlier when we were young and fancy free. As we embalmed this guy, I asked Bill something like, "If this was you that somebody was embalming, where would you be? This guy's not here ...it's just his body. Where would you be right now Bill if this was you?" He did not like the question and walked out of the room with a few words that were not so good. About a week later he told me he had a dream that I called him up one night and said that the Lord was coming back. He said everything was chaotic in his dream but he finally decided to go out and join the crowd that was walking toward a bright light but then suddenly it turned dark and he realized he had been left behind. When he woke up he said he kneeled beside his bed and asked Jesus to forgive him and come into his life. That was 32 years ago.
Guess who I went to church with on Saturday night and then again on Sunday morning (two differeent churches)? That's right Bill and his wife of 30 some years. What a great blessing for us to spend some time together.
Bill is still in the funeral industry, has two grown daughters, has a beautiful Harley Duece and rides with a group at his church who have turned riders into a fellowship group. He's got a stud in his left ear and he loves Jesus and working in Celebrate Recovery ministries.
HI JOHN,
ReplyDeleteThat's great news, it's not evryday you get to run across olds friends, especialy the ones that are realy close, I hope you got to spend enough time that you can reminess of the good old day's. When you spend a lot of time together with some one you forget a lot of the things that are important to us that you charish from old memories, id only we could remember everyday of our lives just think of all the good things that GOD has blessed us with through the years. I for one can't thank him enough for the blessings he has bestowed apon my family and I.
This was sent to me by harvest minestries today I think you like it
Let's say you go to the doctor for a checkup. You take the tests and sit though the examination, and after reviewing your paperwork, your doctor looks you in the eye and says, "Your days are numbered." That would be pretty sobering, to say the least.
In Psalm 90:12 we read, "So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom." What does it mean to "number our days"?
It's not so much about counting your days as making your days count. None of us knows how long we are going to live—that is ultimately up to God. But our goal here on earth should be to live a full life, a life with meaning, a life with purpose. Is that the kind of life you are living right now?
Numbering Our Days
Four many of us, if it doesn't make it into our calendars, it doesn't get done. Want to live a life filled with purpose? Try making a plan and writing it down. That's one way you can use the 2013 Riches in Christ Calendar from Harvest Ministries.
Each month, the 2013 Riches in Christ Calendar features one of the many treasures we enjoy as Christians—treasures such as redemption, forgiveness, grace, and hope—as found in the pages of Scripture. This calendar is both attractive and useful for recording and planning everyday events or spiritual goals.
The 2013 Riches in Christ Calendar will be sent to you in appreciation for your gift to Harvest Ministries today. Also included is a bonus mini-calendar for your desktop, purse, or pocket.
John we miss you in church, I know God is working in you to define your path that he has layed out for you, some times we lose our way because we intercwin our own direction instead of waiting, and listing to God. (listing is so hard to just listen )
See you soon you are in our prayers, scripture tells us that when two or more get together and pray he will answer, and grant our prayer as long as it is his will, and to be his will it must glorify Christ, and praying for you to find your way will Glorify Christ in you, and us, the church body. GOD BlESS.
John;
ReplyDeleteAs I read about your journey, I see more and more about your past, the young John. The John, God lead to the schooling that has made so many peoples lives change over the years of ministerings.
John you are a blessing to the people you are around. And we at ICC are blessed to have you. I pray for your safe travels and I pray for your family gathering at thanksgiving.
I miss you God bliss
Dave
That's fantastic that you were able to reconnect to Bill and that he's in CR in his own church and has a good life. How wonderful that you touched his life in such an important way, or better, how God used you to heal him from his past. Will continue in my prayers for you.
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Robin Smith