778-8874

For as long as my mother and dad have had a phone, their number has been 778-8874.  That number was disconnected this week.  Mother went to Heaven a few years ago and Dad is now in assisted living in Tuscumbia. 

That disconnecting is sad for me.  It’s a number I have had memorized since I was a boy in grade school.  It’s the number I called when I was sick, in trouble, happy, sad, heart-broken, thrilled…

778-8874…It’s the number my High School principal called after our regular visits.  It’s the number the neighbors called when I had been a part of rolling their yard, doing a donut in their yard, driving too fast, or living too loud. 

It’s the number I called when I needed to talk to Mother about what medicine I should take for a cold.  I called that number to ask Dad how to install a plug or fix a faucet.  I called that number the morning we were at the hospital waiting for Alyssa to be born…and again when we were waiting for Garrett to join us. 

It’s the number I dialed the morning Mother was in critical condition in Huntsville Hospital.  I called Dad and told him I’d be there to get him in a few minutes.  We both knew - but we anxiously made the trip anyway, hoping our gut feelings were wrong.  We were right.  She was gone. 

Since then I have been calling that number talking to Dad and wishing I could, one more time, talk to Mother. 

I still have it saved in my phone among the “favorites.”  I doubt I’ll remove it anytime soon.  There are too many good memories connected with that simple number…778-8874. 

If your mother and dad are still living, call them today. While you can.  M

Called To Preach

1 Cor. 9:16

I first felt a desire to preach when I was just a boy.  I remember a teacher asking the class what we were going to be when we grew up and I said, “A preacher.”  I thought about it off and on throughout junior high and high school even though I had never publicly committed my life to Christ.  And even though I didn’t fully understand it, I knew if I ever became a Christian I was also going to become a preacher.

I made that commitment at age nineteen.  I was saved in May of 1982 and began preaching in September of that same year.  I remember the absolute joy that preaching brought me.  I enjoyed studying and putting together sermons and I still do.  Preaching still thrills my soul.  It’s almost indescribable.  To stand and preach a message that can change someone’s life, change their circumstances, change the world…is more than wonderful...it's powerful.  

I say with Paul, “Woe is me if I preach not the Gospel…”  I feel today, more than ever, compelled…driven…called to preach this life changing message of Christ.  I am thankful for the opportunity.  I have been proclaiming this message for thirty-three years…and because I realize I may not have thirty-three more years ahead of me to preach I want to make every sermon count. I want to preach every sermon as if it is the last one I get to preach and the last one you get to hear. 

Thank you God for the call to preach.  Thank you Lord for the privilege and the pure joy that comes from preaching the Gospel of Jesus.  amen