How Dad Came to Know Jesus - Three Faithful Men (2)

 

Continued from previous post...

Ted did listen, and he prayed, and then he told me about Bob Rich, a brother in Christ he knew who lived in Frederick, MD. Now the thing is that Frederick, MD is about an hour from Silver Spring, MD, maybe longer depending on traffic – so Ted really didn’t know if Bob would be up for the drive to see Dad, but Ted would call and talk to Bob.

 

So let’s get this picture; I’ve called two churches which are ten minutes away from Dad and no one from those churches will come to see him. Ted calls Bob who lives an hour away from Dad, longer depending on the traffic…and what happens? Well, of course you know what happens, Bob visits Daddy.

 

Cindy, I’ve learned that people of integrity tend to associate with one another; that people serious about Jesus and the Gospel tend to stick close together, regardless of their denominational traditions and differences – and I’m not surprised that Ted and Bob knew each other; why if I needed a contact in Alaska today I might call Ted…because you just never know…you just never know. If Ted doesn’t know someone in Alaska, I imagine he knows someone who knows someone who knows someone…

 

Within a week or two of my call with Ted, Dad was telling me about Bob’s visit. What impressed Daddy was how nice Bob was and how Bob went to the pharmacy to pick up prescriptions for Dad. Dad couldn’t believe that a stranger would do something like that for him. Knowing that Bob was going to share Christ with Dad, I am certain Bob did just that – sharing Jesus in both Word and deed. Daddy was certainly open to seeing Bob again – he really enjoyed the visit. It was obvious to me that whatever negative preconceived notions Daddy had of Christians were dispelled by Bob’s graciousness. Dad also couldn’t believe that Bob would drive all the way from Frederick to visit him.

 

However, it soon became apparent that Dad couldn’t live by himself any longer and so your Uncle Bill helped him move to an assisted living facility in Manassas, VA, not far from where Bill and his family lived. At this point my memory fails me as to chronology and the sequence of events. We continued to talk on the phone but I don’t think I saw Dad again until 1999. I do recall a conversation we had as graduation from seminary neared, I remember the conversation because he told me that he was proud of me – that is the only time I ever heard those words from my father and I am thankful he told me.

 

As graduation approached, and your Dad and Uncle Bill were making plans to attend, my Dad told me that he’d like to come but couldn’t make the trip – that was sweet to hear.

 

Around May or June 1999 Vickie and I were visiting Richmond and on our return to Mass we stopped in Manassas to visit Dad. We picked him up from his apartment in the assisted living center and took him to a restaurant for lunch. It was the first time that he, Vickie, and I had ever been together without other people around us – it was, of course, also the last time. It was also pleasant, so very very pleasant. A sweet memory for us.

 

A couple of months later I got the call from your Uncle Bill, Dad had experienced a massive stroke. I drove to Virgnia at once and met Bill at the hospital. Dad was in pretty bad shape with extensive paralysis. The doctor, much to our consternation, wanted to stop feeding Daddy – we couldn’t believe what we were hearing and refused to agree to it.

 

I had some time with just Dad and me. He couldn’t speak but he could make sounds, and we could look into each other’s eyes. He could nod his head. I talked to him about Jesus, about Jesus’s love for him, about forgiveness of sins – and throughout this Daddy was locked into me and nodding in recognition of what I was saying and responding with sounds to my questions and affirmations. I am convinced that without the faithfulness of Ted Tussey and Bob Rich that Daddy and I would not have had the many phone conversations we had leading up to this time in the hospital, nor would we have had this sacred time in the hospital.

 

When I walked to the car in the hospital parking lot I knew that Daddy was dying and I desperately wanted someone who knew Jesus deeply to be with him during however many days or weeks he had left – but I didn’t know anyone in Manassas, VA. What to do?

 

As I wept for my Dad, I cried out to God to lead me to someone in a place where I knew not a single person. I drove out of the parking lot weeping and praying, asking God to guide me. I drove down one road, then down another, then (I suppose, I can’t really remember) down another. I was driving down a street when I saw a church belonging to an obscure (to me) Presbyterian group. I parked at a door, walked into the building, and there were a man and a woman in an office.

 

Through my tears, for I was still weeping, I told them why I was there. The man, who was the pastor (the woman was his wife), asked me to come with him and took me back to his office. Now here is where the most bizarre thing happened, he wanted to talk theology.

 

You see, I was wearing a knit shirt with my seminary’s logo on it; having noticed it he wanted to talk theology. I couldn’t believe it! I was still crying and talking about my Dad and this guy wants to talk theology. I started wondering whether I was in the right place. I asked the Lord if I was in the right place. Should I leave and go elsewhere? This was crazy.

 

But then he finally said, “I’ve got the perfect man to visit your father. He is a recovering alcoholic, and he is a faithful brother in Christ.” (The pastor had, after all, been listening to me!). The man’s name was John Sheldon.

 

Cindy, a few weeks later, when your grandfather died and Vickie and I returned to Virginia for the funeral, we met John Sheldon. Every day John visited Daddy, reading the Bible to him and praying with him…every day. John told me, “Your Daddy knew Jesus.”

 

Three faithful men; Ted Tussey, Bob Rich, John Sheldon. Three faithful men who were faithful to Christ and faithful to others – whose faithfulness God used in Christ to bring your grandfather to know Him.

 

I preached my Dad’s funeral – there are some things you just don’t let strangers do. The text was the story about two sons (Matthew 21:28 – 31). It’s the way we finish that matters. As I wrote above, sometimes God only needs the blink of an eye to restore what we have lost.

 

Ted Tussey, Bob Rich, John Shelton – three faithful men…serving our Faithful God.

 

Cindy, I am so thankful that you know our Lord Jesus and I hope this testimony of His faithfulness, and the faithfulness of these three men, encourages you and your dear family.

 

I love you!

 

Uncle Lou