Tuesday, January 29, 2019

A COINCIDENTAL MEETING IN A NON-DESCRIPT CEMETERY


A few weeks ago, I drove out to Mt. Olive Cemetery in Bradley Junction, a community about 25 miles from my home. My 2x great Uncle and Aunt, Leroy & Rhoenia Langford, are buried there, and I thought I would check on their gravesite.

Leroy and Rhoenia have been gone about a century, but before I was a twinkle, or drew my first breath, I understand Rhoenia’s brother, John, my great Grandfather, rode a horse from south Georgia to central Florida to see his older sister.

It so happens that Leroy and Rhoenia were the grandparents of the WWII era movie actress and contralto, Frances Langford. My Grandfather often visited with Frances and her father, though I never knew anything about their kinship ‘til a few years ago.

But to return to my theme.

When I pulled up to the gravesite of my relatives, I noticed that their upright marble headstone was broken in half. While the lower half remained upright, the upper half was lying flat on the ground. One end of each piece was broken at a 45 degree angle.

I immediately wondered what had happened to the stone. Of course, while vandals might have done the deed, I surmised that the marble marker had developed a hairline crack, as the result of four hurricanes which have passed through this county since 2004.

As I stood “at the scene of the crime,” I bent over and attempted to lift the horizontal piece from the ground. And while I was dealing with a 2x2 piece of stone, I found I could only lift it a couple of inches. I immediately estimated that this piece weighed upwards of 150 lbs.

Pt. 2

As it fell together, I enlisted the assistance of my best friend, Dennis and he summarily enlisted the assistance of a young man named, Brian. Last Saturday we met at the cemetery, we managed to epoxy the horizontal piece of the headstone, and lift it back into place. Thankfully, once we set it in place it was, once again, basically intact. All that remained was to apply construction clamps to the left and right sides of the formerly broken pieces. Having repaired the headstone, we “took our leave.”

I calculated that I would need to leave the clamps in place for 3-4 days, and the following Tuesday (today) I returned to remove the clamps, and apply putty to the unsightly hairline fracture. Driving up to the headstone, I unloaded the putty, putty gun, a jug of water and a rag.

I was about to fill the crack, (with what turned out to be the wrong filler) when a truck rolled up next to my car. This guy sat there looking at me for a few seconds, and I finally said, "Can I help you?" The man whose name was, I soon discovered, Dave said he had dozens of relatives buried here, and we began to talk.

Dave was 76 years old, had a full beard, and he raises cattle. He went on to say that his mother was in hospice care and was expected to die this week. We talked about a dozen subjects, he continued to sit in the truck with his door open, and told me he was having some mobility issues, himself.

During our conversation he used some expletives, and he was obviously a bit of a colorful character. As the man was leaving, I asked if I could pray for him and his mother. He acquiesced. I began speaking and I was sure to end my prayer, "In Jesus Name." When I finished the prayer, Dave thanked me, and drove away.

One of those so-called 'circumstances' which God knew about… before He made the worlds.

Pt. 3

And upon what spiritual structure do I base the foregoing theory which I so often espouse?

In Jeremiah 1:5 we read,

“Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, and before you were born, I sanctified you.”

The implication is He knew our ways and our days, knew our individual names, and was concerned for us as individuals… before the worlds were breathed into place.

There are any number of similar, insightful scriptures.

“My times are in His hands.” (Psalm 31:15)

(and)

“The Lord will accomplish that which concerns me.” (Psalm 138:8)

(and)

“Before I ever took my first breath, you, Lord, planned every day of my life.”(Psalm 139:16)

Nothing takes the Lord unawares. Every twist and turn along a believer’s pathway, as God gives him or her the wherewithal and insight to follow the footsteps of Jesus, are ordered of the Lord.

I think this is especially true of what I refer to as “Momentary Ministry.” What some might regard as a coincidence, or random circumstance allows two or more people to be in one place at one time, and in which God gives us the opportunity to speak certain words or take certain actions which glorify Him, and edify another human being.

In 1st Peter 3:15, we read,

“…And be ready always to give an answer to every man who asks a reason for the hope that is within you.”

I believe Momentary Ministry occurred in a little, non-descript cemetery in Bradley Junction, Florida today. And I am grateful God entrusted me with the opportunity to make a small difference in the life of a man named, Dave.

Whereas, I don’t expect to ever meet him again, I like to think for a brief moment in time he knew that someone cared, and took time to share a burden heavier than the weighty stone which had previously concerned me.


(It occurs to me that all the time and effort surrounding the broken headstone was worth it for the sake of the foregoing little intervention into a life. And it is curious to consider that if Leroy and Rhoenia were Christians, they apparently found a way to minister to a needy soul… a full century after they went on to their reward).
by William McDonald, PhD. Excerpt from (Mc)Donald's Daily Diary, Vol. 87. Copyright Pending
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