In the spring of 1985, Willie Wales was dying. A child of another century, he was born in 1897. Now he was 88 and nearly bedridden. He picked up emphysema during a 40-year career at ESSO Baton Rouge, the world’s largest oil refinery. The lung disease wrecked his health.
We went to visit. I was a junior and Dennis a freshman. We spent several days at Joyce’s house—where Paw Paw was in a hospital bed they had set up in the master bedroom. On the day we left, we gathered around the bed. Paw Paw was not in good spirits, not ready to die. (Remind me to tell you about that.) Still, he was a grandfather and a patriarch. All his life he carried WEIGHT. He was the oldest of ten. He always put his siblings first. He worked and gave part of his pay to his parents for twenty years if not more. He was wise and a peacemaker, the man with solutions to difficult problems. Mostly, he had INTEGRITY. He looked at me and Dennis, and was suddenly a man of few words:
“Well, y’all boys be good.”
Those were his last words to me. I’ll never forget them. David had more for Solomon:
“KNOW the God of your father and SERVE Him with a WHOLE HEART and a WILLING MIND. For the Lord searches every heart and understands the intention of every thought. If you SEEK HIM, He will be found by you, but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever. Realize… the Lord has chosen you to build the temple. Be STRONG and complete it.” 1 Chronicles 28:9-10.
God has chosen you for something too.
- Know Him
- Serve Him
- With your WHOLE Heart
- With a WILLING Mind.
- Seek Him.
- Never forsake Him.
- Remember you were CHOSEN.
- Be STRONG and fulfill God’s plan for you.
Dear God, Fill us with love for you and a WILLING MIND. Help us to seek You and be STRONG no matter what we face.
ΑΩ
Household Words: 