Every Sunday morning, I come into the service late, generally right at the last song of worship. Why am I coming in late? Because I am praying over the service, over the church, and over the sermon. Though I am in my prayer closet at church, I do have the service livestreamed on my phone, so I can pray as the service unfolds.
A recent Sunday morning, our order changed a tad. Pastor Seye usually opens us with a short devotion and prayer, followed by the praise team. This Sunday morning, however, Pastor Seye shared for a moment, then invited Bro. Kevin Comer up to share a testimony.
Kevin is our bass player. He is probably the most accomplished musician this church has ever had. Kevin was courted most of his life by big name commercial bands you would know if I told you. Kevin turned them all down, because he knew the lives they led were dishonoring to God. He would not use his God-given talent to dishonor God.
Kevin cares about the lost—his lost family members, his lost friends, and his lost acquaintances even from his childhood. As a result, Kevin felt this impulse from the Lord four years ago to start a reunion in his old neighborhood where he grew up. All the kids from his neighborhood of 50-odd-years before were invited to join him with their families for a picnic and celebration of long-lasting friendships.
His first reunion was a phenomenal success. The second year almost the same. The third year, hardly anyone came. The fourth year, about as dismal as the year before.
This year, Kevin decided he would not have the event. From his standpoint, people have lives of their own, and gathering to reminisce was low on their priority list.
A friend called
A friend of Kevin’s called. He knew the time of the annual event was near and wanted to know when the reunion was. Kevin told him there would be no reunion. The effort it took and the reception for it did not match. His friend begged him to please give it one more try.
Kevin prayed and decided to give it one more shot. After all, even if no one came, he could still see his mom, his siblings, and this one friend.
Kevin went to his home state and to his old neighborhood for the event. He stayed in his childhood home where his mother still lived. What blew his mind was the joy he found with his mother and siblings. The event was better than the year before but not near as good as the first one.
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The night before
The night before Kevin was to fly back to Houston, he heard the television come on in his mom’s room. He thought that was odd. He hopped up to check on her.
She was fine. She just couldn’t sleep. From 3 a.m. in the morning until sunrise, they sat in her room, visiting, laughing, telling jokes, remembering some sweet memories.
He fixed her breakfast. His friends and siblings came to see Kevin off. Kevin kissed his family goodbye and headed to the airport. He went through check-in and got to his gate. He then received a call from his brother. Kevin’s mother had just had a stroke.
Kevin rushed out of the airport, rented a car on the spur of the moment, rushing to the hospital to be with his mom. The doctors said there was nothing they could do.
The family, given the choice, chose to have their mom taken back home under hospice care. There in that bedroom, where the night before Kevin and his mom were laughing and having a great time, there in his arms, his mother drew her last breath.
This was two days after Kevin’s birthday.
Kevin praised God as he concluded his testimony. He was so thankful the Lord moved him to do the reunion one last time. Had God not, Kevin would not have been there when his mother graduated to be with the Lord.
He shared with the church, 60-some-odd years ago, his first breath was in his mother’s arms. Just recently, his mother’s last breath was in his arms.
God made an appointment for Kevin, one he will always be glad he kept.
There are no accidents with the Lord. Follow him no matter what. You’ll be glad you did. He sets appointments for us every day.
Johnny Teague is the senior pastor of Church at the Cross in West Houston and the author of several books, including his newest The Lovers Lane Murders and A Real Estate Nightmare, a Hurricane, and a Triple Murder. His website is johnnyteague.com. The views expressed in this opinion article are those of the author.
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