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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