It is a beautiful, clear, bright, cool morning here in NE Ohio but at least I see no snow, see deer grazing along our backyard and continue to be amazed at God's beauty of Creation. It has been a good week. Busy with singing with a huge singing load Saturday and Sunday but always look forward to that though tiring. This Sunday will be unique in that a great friend of mine and one of our Pastors at Canton Baptist Temple and I will make our way to a women's prison after our morning worship service to do a one hour church service at the Cleveland, OH location. A daughter of an older couple in our church is incarcerated there so I was able to work a plan for us to go up to do a chapel service for 250 women Sunday afternoon. Please pray for this service, for our driving safety and that God's Will will be done.
As I finished up our daily devotional this morning, I came across one of the handwritten prayer requests sheets that had gotten lost in my Bible from a young inmate at the Stark County Jail I met recently As I read his request asking God to help him not feel so alone, I was compelled to write him a letter of encouragement which is now being mailed. As I wrote that letter, one of probably 1,500 over the last several years, I found myself pondering why God has put such a burden and a blessing in my heart for such a thankless ministry. Working now with many thousands of prisoners these last few years has been truly remarkable on many fronts. Hearing many sermons by an array of preachers / speakers touches me as well as the inmates. While I might not share the denomination nor even some of the doctrines of the preachers I work with in the jails, I find myself learning different shades and hues of the Word for the Word is the common denominator. When I think about the many tears I have seen shed by hardened criminals through the power of a song, a gentle handshake, an arm around a shoulder, a whispered personal prayer; I realize I am getting a phenomenal blessing.
This week I made a final decision to step away from university teaching after nearly a decade and the sense of relief and calm that swept over me was affirmation that it was a right decision at this stage of my life. Mind you, I did not say I was finally retiring but rather moving to a next chapter in my life and that thrills me. As I have indicated to the hundreds of students that have so kindly responded to my email about the decision, my legacy resides in their success in life from the investment we made in each other during their matriculation time that brought us into each other's world. I could not be more serious nor more humbled by that statement. The countless hours invested in these students, nearly 7,000, in preparation, prayer, encouraging, disciplining, teaching, driving are all made worth it in knowing they received much they can utilize to the fullest in their professional endeavor as well as their own personal lives. What a legacy, right?
I will close by speaking to the great Faith chapter in Hebrews 11. I have read that many times in my life but it was today's Bible verse for our morning devotional. When you stop and really think about the power of Faith ... believing in what which you cannot see ... it becomes one of the most amazing and foundational planks of our beliefs, actions and motivations on this daily walk. I highly recommend you reading that chapter today, please.
I will close by saying it is so nice to see the beauty of nature each morning looking out our back windows to the wooded area in seeing the seasons change the colors, the animals large and small grace our backyard and being simply amazed all over again at God's Handiwork. You think I feel blessed this morning? I also wish to state that I am probably more excited about Jim Williams's tomorrows as at any time in my life. I got reenergized last week with the work in Houston, TX in getting to do in real life and real time what I loved doing at Goodyear which is to encourage, motivate, causing new thoughs and ideas come to reality and to enhance an entire organzation to look and think higher and greater than they themselves believe possible. That is a joy to me!
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