SIXTY-EIGHT YEARS!!!

Ok...68 YEARS! That number has resonated with me over the last few days. Let me share with you why...

It's pretty common for me to go into hospital rooms. I usually am in one at least twice each week (sometimes many more.) But, this week was a little different. You see...Saturday, I got a call that a church member, Colmetta Myers, was not doing well. She has been battling leukemia for several months. The last few times that I had seen Ms. Colmetta, I could tell that she was really having some difficulties. Something about the call last Saturday made me think that this hospital stay may not be the same as the ones in the past.

I went to see Ms. Colmetta when we got back in town, and my suspicions were confirmed. She was not doing well. She was having a great deal of difficulty. I could tell that she was getting much weaker. I went back every day last week. And on Thursday night, I got the call about 10:45 p.m. Ms. Colmetta had breathed her very last strained breath.

I went over to the hospital to meet with the family and try to comfort them. When I arrived, most of the family hadn't gotten there yet, but not long after, Mr. Jimmy Myers, Colmetta's husband of 68 years, walked in. He stood straight and proud and handled this situation like only he could. I'm just so glad that he could.

You see, three years ago, Mr. Jimmy Myers at the young age of 85 made a profession of faith! Most people would tell you that if someone doesn't make a decision to follow Jesus by the time they turn 18 then the chances are pretty slim that they ever will. When a person turns 25, the chances are even smaller. Even smaller at 40...55...65...etc. But I'll never forget the day Ms. Colmetta called me and told me that her husband, whom she never thought would make that decision, was asking questions about what it meant to accept Jesus into his heart. I made a bee-line over to their house and found a very strong, hard-working...humbled man waiting to accept Jesus into his heart. I hardly said a word. He basically explained to me what it meant to become a Christian. I've heard that the greatest distance in the world is the distance between the head and the heart. On that day, I literally saw that distance disappear before my very eyes, while the knowledge that Mr. Jimmy had in his head exploded into his heart! He and I prayed right then and there, and I witnessed the entrance of Jesus into an 85 year old heart. And just a few weeks later, I had the opportunity to baptize him! What an experience!!!

On Thursday night, Mr. Jimmy said goodbye to his wife of 68 years. Let that sink in for a minute...........

But because of a decision that Jimmy Myers made three years ago...there will come a day when he'll say hello again! WOW!