Glad I stopped

January 18, 2008

I rushed in planning to make a quick stop.
Bob’s concentrated effort was focused on turning a page of the newspaper. His Bible was opened on the table. “Hi Bob,” I said while placing my hand on his shoulder and taking a seat next to him. No response. While sitting quietly next to him still unnoticed, it took me some time to switch gears from the fast pace I’d kept all day. After what seemed like several minutes, I pondered the pleasure Bob gets out of reading.

His career was spent in Christian journalism where he touched many lives for Christ. Yet while seeing His Bible opened on the table and watching him accomplish turning another page with his trembling 97-year-old hands, I found myself ushered onto holy ground. Prayer marks Bob’s life as a leader along with his love for God’s word and a tenacious obedience to step out in faith and take the next step. While sitting quietly in Bob’s presence I knew the presence of the Lord filled this place.

The grin on his face when he finally looked up was worth the wait. It was a grin of accomplishment combined with the grin of a dad to a daughter. Bob has prayed daily for me over the past 12 year. He can’t always remember my name but once we get on the topic of bikes he flashes me a knowing glance.

When he speaks I must place my ear close to his mouth and watch his lips move. Each word is a strain. His voice is quiet and his words are jumbled because his epiglottis is wearing out. If he’s not careful talking can cause him to have an earth shattering coughing attack.

“Alice, you must incorporate His Wheels International (HWI),” Bob told me in 2004.
When he shared how big he saw HWI getting I shook even more. Without Bob’s gentle yet stern words and daily prayer, I probably wouldn’t have ever started HWI.

Today I showed Bob our new DVD and shared some of the things I wanted him to pray about. With his large, warm, tremulous hand on my back, and hearing his prayers, I experienced the love of a mentor and the warmth of the Holy Spirit. When I left I realized I was blessed because I stopped. I was ushered into the presence of the Lord. Even though I couldn’t understand ever word Bob prayed, that wasn’t important. What I knew was the power of prayer and the working of the Trinity on behalf of HWI. I needed the reminder that this is God’s ministry and He knows all the activity going on in HWI. It’s not to big for Him and He’s provided giants in the faith whose present occupation is prayer to undergird His Wheels International.

I left singing, “We are standing on holy ground, and I know that there are angels all around. Let us praise Jesus now. We are standing in His presence on holy ground.”