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. Copyright pending
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