Never Too Late.
About 1.5 years ago I started this blog. My second entry was a quote that said,
“Some wish to live within the sound
of Church or Chapel bell;
I want to run a Rescue Shop
within a yard of hell.”C.T. Studd
On the first Sunday of every month, me and some friends head to the old fogey’s home to lead a service for all the seniors. For the first 30 minutes we just sit and chat with the people - hearing about daughters, granddaughters, great granddaughters, tough times during the war, different old occupations and of course the weather.
I really enjoy that time. To me talking to old people is reading a good book without having to read.
Yesterday I was able to lead worship from their little hymnal booklet. About half of the 20 or so people refused books because they were either blind or knew all the songs by heart (or both). I played some classics like “Holy, Holy, Holy” “What a friend we have in Jesus” and “How Great thou Art”. Once we hit the chorus on How Great thou Art, “Then sings my soul….” the old choir days seemed to come out in all of them and the building bursted at the seams with the voice of these saints. I even taught them a “new” song, “My God is so great, so strong and so mighty - there’s nothing my God can not do! For you!” - It wasn’t a hit.
Now it’s easy to assume that everyone who would come to church on Sunday night in the old folks home would surely know the Lord. But if we are going to live by that C.T. Studd quote, there is no sense in ‘assuming’ someone knows the Lord despite their age or outward appearance. It’s all about the heart.
My friend Casey brought a great word on prayer and the great need for us to pray. He also shared, “As long as you have breath, God has a purpose for your life”.
At the end of the mini sermon, Casey gave the opportunity for the folks to accept Jesus. No one spoke until one lady raised her hand and asked, “If we know God but we aren’t following Him right now, am I allowed to pray this prayer and come back to Him?”
Of course.
So our group of 4 friends went around and prayed with the people. The only old man that was in the group said to me, “God told me to come here tonight. He wanted to speak to me.” The man shared the depression he struggles with now that his wife is gone. Many others could relate to this feeling of loneliness and depression.
One lady said, “You know, I just speak to God like I would to my best friend. I sometimes even feel him beside me - not like a person but a presence.” She was blind.
The lady beside her spoke up, “I talk to him all the time too, everywhere I go, all throughout the day.” She leaned over to the other lady and whispered too loudly, “sometimes even on the toilet.”
Too much info.
It’s great to learn and teach together, wherever we are in our journey. Believe it or not, I can’t wait to go hang out and talk God with those people in a few more weeks. I’m even more excited to see how God rocks that old fogey home for the Glory of His Kingdom.
