This past Sunday at church I had Dr. Robert Spence, President of Evangel University in Springfield, MO., as my pulpit guest speaker. Way back in 1971 I served as his youth pastor at Crichton Assembly of God in Mobile, Alabama. He and his wife also had lunch with me and we reminisced about old times back in 1971.
We laughed and about rolled on the floor at some of the funny things that happened there. Once, Kristy fainted while singing in the choir on a Sunday morning. I had to pick her up and carry her out the side door of the church. Her eyes had rolled back in her head and I thought for a moment she had died. She hadn't, thankfully. She just got weak and fainted. All the ladies thought she was pregnant, but she wasn't.
I learned a lot from Dr. Spence as he served as a mentor to me even at a distance all these years. Everyone needs a mentor or model to follow. I have been very fortunate to have had a number of great leaders who have blessed my life.
One amazing thing about my relationship with Dr. Spence is that my dad, who is a minister, gave him his first preaching opportunity, and then years later Dr. Spence gave me my first full-time ministry opportunity. I guess you could say this was a very unusual connecting relationship between our families.
God uses people to connect us and help develop us into the fullness of His perfect plan for our lives. Who has God connected you with that can mentor and bless your life?
Milton,
ReplyDeleteI have to say Wanda Dunsford, and I am sure she would always be there for me wether she's in bartow or in North Fla. She is such a "jesus" mold, my way of putting it. You are a blessed man.
jeanette
Hi Milton, wish I'd known the Spences were there. If you see them again, tell them hi from me.
ReplyDeleteKathy
Hi Milton,
ReplyDeleteI've followed Kristy's blog since before her passing and will continue to follow yours now as your love story with Wanda unfolds :) I too, believe that God "connects" people as His great plan reveals itself. This train of thought brought to mind a quote that I LOVE and believe from Corrie Ten Boom. She wrote THE HIDING PLACE, a book that chronicles her life of faith before, during and after her experience in Nazi concentration camps as a result of her family hiding Jews.
"Every experience God gives us, every person He brings into our lives, is the perfect preparation for a future that only HE can see."
If we look back on past experience and see just how perfectly it prepared us for what was to come in our lives, we know this to be true!
Happy to hear that you and Wanda are "OFFICIAL" now...can't wait to hear that you've been able to give her that FIRST KISS :) How wonderful that God brought someone so special for you to love after losing your dear Kristy, and that she had a hand in it. I'm sure she's all smiles :)
Debbie Hard
Happy Valentine's Day from
LOVELAND, CO
The Sweetheart City