Graduation and Family

I finally finished school. I have to admit that the last four years here at Southern have been challenging in so many different ways. When I finished my last exam I was excited but also mindful of the things to come down the road. I thanked God for all the things He has taught me so far, and asked Him to continue to prepare me for whatever comes next.

Right now I am more than excited to be helping out at my current church. For almost a year now I have been reaching out to the poor at the Salvation Army. A few of us sing some songs there and give a 20 minute sermon. I have learned a lot about ministry to the poor and preaching. We have seen a few people come to Christ, and we have been discipling one man for a few months now. My hope is that others from our church will join in this ministry.

After graduation, my first desire was to reach out to my family. Little did I know that God would answer that desire right away. You see two hours before graduation my dad called me to tell me that my grandma had died. During the ceremony all I could think about was death and the fact that I was about to see my family on my dad’s side. I don’t think any of them are Christians except for my grandma who is with the Lord now.

Right before the funeral service my dad asked me if I wanted to say anything. I looked over to my brother and asked if he thought the pastor would proclaim the gospel. Joe said that I could not count on it. So I told my dad that I had a few things I would like to say.

Right before the pastor asked me to come up and talk, he asked my uncle to say a few things. So I had a little bit of time to think how I would transition from talking about my grandma to sharing the gospel with my family. Little did I know that my uncle, who is not a Christian, would encourage all of us to read our Bibles just like my grandma. I about fell out of my seat! The Lord sure did prepare the situation for my desire to be fulfilled.

When I got up to speak, I began with telling some childhood memories of my grandma. Then I talked about her death. It was at this point that I broke down in tears. However, the Lord gave me strength to keep talking. I could not help but proclaim the gospel to my family. I told my family that they did need to read the Bible, and that it can be difficult to understand. So I told them the main thing they needed to know, the gospel of Jesus Christ. It was a very detailed gospel presentation. My family members said what I told them was truly from the heart.

I am thankful that God gave me the opportunity to proclaim His name. Now I hope to write a letter to all of my family, each side, and tell them a few things I have learned in the last four years. I also hope to send this letter to all of my friends, who don’t know the gospel, from high school and college who I keep in contact through Myspace or Facebook. Ever think about joining these sites for this reason? How will friends and family know if you don’t tell them? Don’t wait on somebody else to do it.