Sunday Story

I notice Blogger is STILL messed up. I remember about six months ago, the picture part of Blogger was all messed up for a long time. Then, one day, when I was least expecting it, the picture part suddenly was fixed again. Hopefully, that will happen with whatever issues they are having now.

So how is everyone???

All is well here. And guess what!?

Remember, Don, Jerry's brother? He was here the weekend of July 4th for Joyful Rehab from a serious drug addiction to Percocet. He had taken 35 of them the day he arrived here. When he walked into the kitchen of our house, he reached down inside his boot and pulled out pills and two of those funny cigarettes -- can't think of what they are called, but I do remember Clinton didn't inhale -- and Don handed them to Jerry. He said, "Here, this is all I have left." Then, it was cold turkey for the next three days, and then he left.

Jerry called him several times after he left, and Don didn't answer the phone. Jerry left messages. I kept nagging him to call again. Finally, Don did call back and guess what???????????????

He was FINE! He was SOBER! He told Jerry that his female drug dealer showed up at his house, and he told her to get lost and never come back! Jerry talked to Don just this morning because Matt Hagee preached this morning and the sermon was titled "DELIVERANCE", and it was exactly what Don needed to hear. Jerry told him about the next service that was coming on at 11 AM.

Jerry had talked to Don yesterday too. Jerry came up to tell me that he got to talk to Don about the Lord. I stopped him and said, "Oh, no! Did he hang up on you?" Jerry said he was VERY RECEPTIVE and asked Jerry why he hadn't talked about it before. Jerry told him he has been talking about it for 25 years, but Don always tunes him out or walks away. Don was surprised that he had done that.

ANYWAY, I said all that to say this: God is working in Don's life. If we have been an instrument in any way, then I am thrilled, as it is my wildest dream to actually lead someone to the knowledge of Jesus and salvation. Other than my daughters, I don't know that I have ever done that. I seem to mostly just make people want to run away screaming. Usually, their response to me is, "You act like you are PERFECT!" I suppose I could talk first about all the failures in my life and how many times I have majorly screwed up my own life and how totally far away from "perfect" I am, but life doesn't really permit that much time in most conversations, does it?

You may remember me telling you what a mean man Jerry and Don's father was. NOTHING in his wasted life was his fault. He owed everybody -- including us -- money, and he never paid a dime of it back to anyone. I'm talking tens of thousands from many different people -- a sister, a niece, a girlfriend, and on and on. His father homesteaded a section of land. If I remember right, that would be 640 acres. When the father and mother died, the land was split between all the kids. I think there were 7. Each got an equal portion. Jerry's Dad got the homestead portion. It turned out that all the other sections were better producers of wheat and/or oil. I guess his piece didn't have oil. I've forgotten the details. BUT, he was mad at every other sibling, and every other sibling was mad at each of the others, and it was like the Hatfields and McCoys. Absurd!!!

After I married Jerry, I met his father, of course. His name was George. He lived in a dirty trailer that never had a working bathroom. Sometimes, it had no running water. It had no heater, so George had some kind of propane heater in the floor. Never any food. The girls and I HATED going there! Jerry insisted that we go though. It didn't matter to him that his father was so cruel and unfeeling. Jerry was determined to be a good son and love him anyway. Jerry really tried.

I remember driving out to George's place which was an hour and a half away from where we lived. It was Father's Day. Jerry's father had borrowed $1200 from him sometime earlier, and the promise to pay it back had never happened. Jerry didn't care about that. He just wanted to see him for Father's Day. Jerry and I and the girls drove all the way out there. We drove up the dirt road to the lonely trailer. George's truck was parked outside. Jerry walked up to the door and knocked. No answer. He hollered, "Dad? Dad? Are you home?" No answer. Jerry decided we would drive across the pasture and into the next pasture which was owned by his Aunt Irene. She had a house. Jerry thought maybe his Dad was over there. No sooner did we get parked and out of the car at Irene's house (from where we could still see George's trailer), George's Dad came flying full speed in his truck down his dirt road and onto the main dirt road and off into town. He was RUNNING AWAY from Jerry.

I, being my usual "patient" self, was furious. The girls certainly didn't want to be there either. I wanted to go home. I told him it was insane to try to visit someone who DOES NOT WANT YOU! Jerry told me to be quiet and get back in the car. Then we FOLLOWED George's path into town. We saw his truck in front of the ONLY so-called "restaurant" in that town, and he had not gotten out of the truck yet. George saw us, and started to back up his truck and run off again. Jerry rushed over to his Dad's truck and told him to STOP. Jerry asked him what on earth his problem was. He explained that we had come to visit for Father's Day.

George looked at Jerry and this is what he said: "I KNOW you came out here to get that money I owe you. Well, I DON'T HAVE IT! You might as well just LEAVE!"

Jerry looked at his father and he said, "Dad, FORGET about that money. I don't want it back. You can HAVE it! I just want to see you. It is Father's Day."

How that man couldn't fall on the ground and beg Jerry to forgive him, I do NOT know. I could have thrown dirt clods at the man and had the girls join me. I could NOT STAND HIM!!!

George never did change. Jerry prayed for him all the time. When we would stand in our church for prayer time, I would look over at Jerry, and he would have tears running down his face. I KNEW he was praying for his father. He would tell me later how concerned he was about him and about his brothers, both addicts. Jerry had told me how his father NEVER touched him his whole life except to hit him, and he never once said "I love you" or "I'm proud of you". Maybe that's why I am constantly hugging and kissing this man!

The years went by and by and by. George got sick and had to be hospitalized. He was 72, I think He had Congestive Heart Failure, or some other dread malady. He didn't have long to live. Jerry went to visit him. I did not. While Jerry was at his Dad's deathbed, he told his Dad about Jesus and about the Bible and about Heaven and about forgiveness. His father LISTENED to him. Jerry asked him if he would like to ask God to forgive him and be saved so he could go to Heaven. George started CRYING. (Picture a rock crying!) He told Jerry that God could never forgive him because he had done so many people wrong and had never paid any of them back. Jerry told him that none of that mattered. He said God would still forgive him, and he could still go to Heaven. Then and there, he led his Father in the sinner's prayer. George gave his heart to God, and I'm sure he is in Heaven now, and I'm sure of one other thing. George is proud of his son NOW! George died a day or two after that.

Little wonder why I love Jerry so much.

I better go before I start crying myself. Goodness! Hope I didn't bore you all with that long story. It just jumped into my mind for some reason.

Maybe Blogger will be fixed soon, and I can do another video.

Hugs, Joy