JOB’
BY
J. FARRELL FISHER 2013
PAGE OF DEDICATION
OUTLINE
INTRODUCTION by Farrell Fisher
Chapter OneThe Drama Unfolds
Chapter TwoThe Divorce Occurs
Chapter ThreeDisciplines Birthed
Chapter FourA Disappointing Summer Chapter FiveA Successful Fall, Scholastics & Sports Chapter SixNew Year’s Nightmare
Chapter SevenIntervention Time
Chapter EightBasketball Heaven
Chapter NineBig Joe’s Troubles -Winter & Spring Chapter TenPressures Mount
Chapter ElevenLaying The Groundwork of Deception
Chapter TwelveTarget Time
Chapter ThirteenLate Spring "Fling of Faith"
Chapter FourteenDavid’s Dream Shattered Chapter FifteenSheriff Gets A Call Chapter SixteenThe Care-Givers Rally Chapter SeventeenLost Year or Life Gained? Chapter EighteenSenior Year -No Tears
Chapter NineteenCollege Bound -More Sound Chapter TwentyCareer Goals? Saving Souls? Chapter Twenty One Married His Bride – God On His Side Chapter Twenty Two Torturous Time, David’s Parents Die Chapter Twenty ThreeBabies Birthed – Golden Worth Chapter Twenty FourGifts Abound -Ever So Sound Chapter Twenty Five Tragedy Strikes -Ministry Alights Chapter Twenty SixCareer Clear – Stardom Near
Chapter Twenty SevenWife Dies -Faith Defies
Chapter Twenty Eight Funeral Dirge or Disciples Celebrate Chapter Twenty Nine. Military Hears -No Fears
Chapter ThirtyOrganization or Organism? Chapter Thirty One.Children Emerge – Quite a Surge
Chapter Thirty Two. Military Ministry, Master-Piece Painting
Chapter Thirty ThreeTwo Widowed United
Chapter Thirty Four The Bell Sounds -The Angel Calls
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One of the greatest privileges a pastor or missionary has is to walk beside a man of faith who exemplifies the Spirit of our Lord and Savior. I have had that privilege, especially for a period of eight years, as I lived next door to Doug and Guyan Wood in Belton, Texas. Doug is a Baptist pastor and counselor.
In those eight years Sue and I had the blessed opportunity to learn from a man who truly is a modern-day Job. I do not know of a man who has suffered more in his life than my brother in Christ, Doug Wood. Over those years we encouraged one another, prayed for one another, challenged one another.
When Doug was a sophomore in high school, having broken both ankles pole-vaulting
for the track team, home from school, he was the victim of a horrible fire that destroyed the family’s two-month old home. Doug was burned over ninety per cent of his body. They didn’t move him from the hospital in Dumas, Texas, because the doctors told his mother and step-father he wouldn’t live through the night.
At that time none of the family were Christians. In fact, the step-father would not allow
any Christian radio or TV in the home. Doug only had one scene indelibly placed upon his mind, when on one occasion, he saw a pastor lay hands on another man and say, "Jesus loves you and wants you well." Suffering through that tragic day, weeks, months before him, what Doug heard over and over was, "Jesus loves you and wants you well." Two years later he came to faith in Christ on his own. No one witnessed to him, no one led him to faith in Christ, but Jesus led Doug to Himself!
Having come to Christ, he felt led to go to Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas. There he met his beautiful wife, Guyan, who gave Doug two sons and two daughters, and all of these many, many years has stood by him faithfully and lovingly. Together they have been through trauma after trauma after trauma, still standing in full faith in the faithfulness of God to see them through.
Even after thirty-five years Doug still bleeds from the burns. I came home from India many years ago deathly ill. I told Sue to go next door and ask Doug to come and pray for me. He had been out to dinner with his wife. When he came into my bedroom with his white pants and black shirt, he got on his knees, laid himself across my chest, and began to pray. I don’t know how long he prayed, but when he got up his knees were red in blood. I said, "Doug, what is wrong?" And he responded, "It’s from my burns in the house-fire that have never healed."
After he left I broke out in ferocious sweats, and in thirty minutes I was healed, by the
grace of God and "Prayer-Warrior" Doug Wood.
Doug inspired this fiction book called "Job’s Journey," and I have written it to honor my friend and inspire others to "Look to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith." Amen?
INTRODUCTION BY FARRELL FISHER
Disrupted families, tormented souls, sick societies, wounded children, aimless men and women, heartless and heavy-handed disciplinarians, mean-spirited parents, evil-at-the core moms and dads; these seem to be sadly the rule rather than the exception of what, at least at one time, was a ‘sane society,’ or at least was hidden behind closed doors. But now that ‘sane society’ seems to be deteriorating rapidly into an ‘insane society.’
Are you alarmed or shocked when you read in newspapers or watch on television the report of another parent killing her child or children?
Does it alarm you when you read of more and more one-parent families? How frightened do you become when you witness or learn of parents abandoning their children for the grandparents to raise? What about young teenagers killing their parents or carrying guns to school to gun down their classmates? Does it shock you when you read of parental child molestation or the priests taking advantage of their altar boys? Are you scared when you learn statistically more than half of our high school students are sexually active and do not plan on ceasing even if they become pregnant? More than half of the marriages in America end in divorce -does that trouble you?
And in the dark horizons of sick societies is there a ray of hope? When life could not be more troubling, are there those, maybe even a few, who surmount their personal torment to soar above tragedy, and not only survive, but conquer; who not only escape but create; who not only fight off that intent of personal destruction but somehow, some way, some ‘Who’ become a celebration of a worthy life not a wilted life, a celebration of conquest
-not defeated; a celebration, not of ‘made it on my own,’ but one impacted by the few
who know "This young man is intended for better things than he’s experienced through his family!"
This is not a ‘personal story,’ although experiencing a family split; it is an overview of similar sorrow and pain, an understanding of "David’s" troubles and heart-aches, a picture of "like" doubts and fears, a re-run of opportunistic discovery, "I was meant for something different- I don’t know what!"
There is the reality of"Job’s troubles" lived out on various stages of life, lived out for
boys and girls somewhere on God’s green earth, lived out in secret, lived out totally defeated or lived out on the screen of one’s life, "Job’s Journey."
It is my desire to touch the chords of someone’s heart who has lived David’s story, never
knowing there is the hope of different determinations than sordidness, sorrow, pain, frustration, despair, a giving-up-on-life attitude, but a "more than conqueror" spirit! It is my desire to see, even one, who has lived in the dark shadows of despair rising to the ride of his life on the beautiful clouds of personal discovery, "I can overcome! With God’s help, I can be more than I thought I could!"
"JOB’S JOURNEY"
CHAPTER ONE THE DRAMA UNFOLDS
Most people are not unfamiliar with the name, Job. The world is aware of Job’s sufferings!
In the Bible, Job 1:1, speaks of this man from the land ofUz, "and that man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil." The biblical Job lost
his property, lost his children, lost most of his friends, and almost lost his wife -she was ready for Job to "Curse God and die!"
But Job of the Bible was a man of total trust in God Almighty, "Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him." He knew he came naked from his mother’s womb and that naked he shall return there. It was, in Job’s faith, the Lord who had given him life, and the Lord was taking it all away. And all Job could do was to say, "Blessed be the name of the Lord."
That our world today could view a modern day Job! That our world today could see
before their very eyes a man who is not overwhelmed by suffering but overcomes it! That our world today could be educated and encouraged and inspired and uplifted by a man who will not succumb to life’s tragedies but bears witness of a triumphant spirit "through it all.!"
There is such a man. It all begins in the beautiful Tennessee Valley of East Tennessee
where no one would ever expect beauty to be the birthplace of blight, where no one would ever imagine that behind the doors of a beautiful home death reigned, where no one could even begin to fathom the depths of suffering family life could sink to, even for the children, where sane society (if there is such a thing) begins to sink because it witnesses the quagmire of emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual heart-ache and despair, where evil takes on a new face when everything appeared so good.
The Matthews family, strong in cultural and community involvement, even the big city
church, was led by a Dr.Jekyl/Mr. Hyde man who possessed two faces -one to the community and church, and the other to the family behind closed doors. He was a leader in the local civic club, chairman of the board of a strong local bank, and he was an elder in his local church.
At home Vestal Matthews, husband and father, was a man tormented by his own special demons. The only explanation for his sordid, sick lifestyle behind closed doors was an unregenerate, fleshly, immoral, out-of-control soul dominated by the "foul spirits" of lower earth. He truly hated himself, hated his wife, hated his children, hated his pretense, hated his totally split personality, hated what he did in the light, and hated what he did in the darkness. He was a hopeless man convinced there was no help for such a sick soul. Vestal was not an expert in the choice of his women in life, before marriage, or as a result of his marriage. His wife of twenty-five years, though from "the other side of the tracks," was a social climber without any social skills. She was of the sort, "Whatever it takes for me and Vestal to succeed, I’m willing to do!" And sadly that led her down many dead end streets and darkened alleys.
Vestal was a wife-abuser in every way- emotionally, physically, mentally, sexually,
financially- a ‘pro’ at "dumbing down" his wife especially but even his children. He had two daughters and two sons.
From about eight years of age onward he began to sexually abuse his two little girls. That lasted until his two daughters schemed of escape when they were in their late teen years, never to be heard from by the parents again, at least the dad. In their early teens the two girls even discussed killing the father but were never able to follow through with it. They endured weekly abuse from a man the social community considered making "Father of the Year." Thank goodness, that proposal failed!
When his twin boys reached thirteen years of age, he knew it was time for them to become real men, and he traveled to the nearest big city to find a brothel where his two boys could "become real men." He didn’t want someone else to indoctrinate his boys in the "ways of the world;" he was determined to do it himself!
The twins were totally different in their responses. Don, even at thirteen years of age, was evil to the core, just like his Dad -overjoyed at the step down into the dark world of prostitution. David, on the other hand, was not of the same ilk. He was upset, he was angry, he was defiant, and refused to participate in his father’s "foolishness." There was something about David that neither his father, Vestal, understood or his mother, Vera. These were parents oblivious to divine destiny- and though David himself had no comprehension of what was going on within him, he knew there was a different life or lifestyle ahead for him -not like his parents, or his brother, Don, or even his two sisters that fled the home. But something was going to happen, in a redemptive way, and he knew it, not understanding what would be happening in the years ahead.
David had only a vague knowledge of God, a lesser knowledge of Jesus, and was
certainly illiterate concerning the Bible. But one day soon he would learn Jeremiah I :4 was also about him! The word of the Lord had come to Jeremiah, "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you ("Marked out"); Before you were born I sanctified you ("Set you apart"); I ordained you a prophet for the nations (Appointed you with a heaven-sent responsibility)."
David was one of those young men who would one day say, "I never knew God cared
about me! I never knew His eye was on me! I never knew he had a greater plan, eternal plan, more enriching plan for my life! But now I know!" That day did come, and it can come for you. The God of the Bible is no respecter of persons -what He does for one, He’ll do for all!
For David it was as if every step was a step down a trail of desperation that finally broke
through to the Valley of Hope, but he didn’t know it and could not comprehend it all at this early stage. Beyond his understanding his eternal life was being shaped and fashioned by Unseen Hands and a Loving Heart called God Almighty! Flood waters would rise around him, and he feared of dying! Troubles would explode, and he felt he was about to implode. Loneliness, aloneness beckoned, and he often wondered if anyone cared. Tears were easy in the bed alone at night, but never for public view -for those around him he was stoic and quiet while within he was a raging volcano of varying emotions. Did anybody care? Were there really "friends" in his world? Was there truly a purpose to life he had yet to discover?
CHAPTER TWO THE DIVORCE OCCURS
Vestal and Vera come to the end of the road in their marriage. Divorce is the path they choose to take- "greener grass on the other side of the fence!" You’ve heard it! Then after awhile they realize that that grass on the other side still has to be mowed! Same circle around the same mountain -neither learned, and suffered as much in the next marriages as previously.
Don chooses Daddy! Surprise, surprise! And David chooses Vera, in his teen-age eyes, "the lesser of two evils!" And the interesting thing is that David, never again, hears from his father or brother. But the divorce opened a door for David and his mother, Vera, to be reunited with Marian and Misty, his two older sisters. Though David never lived with them, he was able to have a semblance of healthy contact with his two sisters, who genuinely loved David and wanted nothing but the best for him.
About one year later Mama Vera begins to visit the bars -frequently. She begins to
drink like she never has before, and then is introduced to drugs. Her "boyfriend" is the local "pusher" and pimp. Oh, he’s making "good money" and Vera and David, she believed, would be well taken care of if she married Big Joe Hestert. You’ve seen him – tattoos on both arms, black leather jacket, red bandana on his head, leather britches, black boots with shiny ornaments and silver-toes, a cigarette hanging out of his mouth all the time, a constant odor of nicotine, if not booze and drugs, long hair, full beard, and a foul mouth! Oh yes, just exactly the new father David needs, right?
And it happens -the wedding takes place. And Vera becomes Vera Hestert. At least Big
Joe had a house! He even had about 150 acres that he tried to farm. He ran cattle and had a number of fine Tennessee walking horses, very expensive!
It’s been about a year since their marriage and Big Joe has decided he needs to build a
show-place barn to take care of all the hay he was producing for the horses for the winter. He needed plenty of stalls for the horses also. He wanted a vet’s office, surgical wing, exercise pool for his fine horses, and big enough barn on the ground floor, wide open space for barn dances. So Big Joe convinced Vera to sign onto his bank note for
$400,000 for his show-place barn! He had his stable of Tennessee Walking horses
insured for over $1,000,000.
During this time David has had a spark of interest in sports. He’s growing, he’s maturing, and a lot of his new friends are athletic. He’s not a speedster for track, or strong for what can be called "brutal, violent football," but he’s good at basketball. He picked it up from the goal Big Joe hung on the garage. David began to love that sport. Early in the morning, after breakfast and before the school bus arrived, David would shoot and shoot and shoot; he’d dribble and dribble and dribble, at first with one hand, then both hands -and he
was becoming highly proficient shooting the 3-pointer and foul shots.
For some it’s amazing that sports can be a young boy’s salvation in his early years. He’s certainly not learned anything helpful from Vestal Matthews, and Big Joe Hestert is not providing skills for life success in a difficult world. But Coach Stephens has had his eye on David, takes him under his wings, and begins to impact him positively, not only in basketball skills but life skills. Coach Stephens is more than a friend -he’s a father figure. The coach is a family man. He knows how to truly love his wife well. He knows
how to motivate, inspire, and discipline his children. He knows how to interact effectively with his fellow teachers and administrators. And he knows how to love and inspire young men like David to reach beyond what they think they are capable of! The coach sees his role as placing vital stepping stones for young men in their pilgrimage of life. He’s not afraid to confront when confrontation is called for. He doesn’t find it
difficult to "praise" when praise is so deserving. And he doesn’t find it out of his realm of
responsibility to speak words of wisdom to a David when wisdom is what a David needs to learn and discern.
Even Big Joe Hestert is pleased with the new direction of David’s life because it has
opened a new market for him in both drugs and prostitution. He’s excited for David because of what David is going to do for him, though David is unaware that Big Joe has set his sights on the high school campus that David is becoming an important part of. It hasn’t hit David yet that a man would use his family to further his corrupt plans! Big Joe has already sensed that it’s not David that he can use to infiltrate the high school campus, but David’s questionable friends and teammates that have no desire to learn from Coach Stephens and his "style of life." In so many young people around David there are those "bent downward," there are those who major on experimentation, there are those willing to be used as "practice dummies" by others who have no desire to bless them but to curse them, there are those whose motivation is to "fit in" when that only means doing that which is illicit, destructive, stealing any virtue that might have existed from family, church, school, or civic influence.
But it was not only Coach Stephens who had a positive relationship with David; there
were some quality teachers and outstanding students who had not sold their souls to fit in to the downward spiral of moral and spiritual vacuums; they were bright and shining lights that touched David like the bright rays of sunlight warming, not his body but his soul! Godless governments and compromising school boards may have their "bans" – but the countenances and convictions and commitments of great souls cannot be
muzzled! Caring kids and adults can penetrate war zones and bring opportunity for a
confused "David" to find hope. Kind words can soothe crippled emotions. The "oil and wine" of good friends can touch wounded kids and see amazing healings. Standing for the "right" can bring inspiration and instruction and identity to one consumed by the "wrong" around him, with most kids like that feeling they caused it! Words of compassion and counsel and challenge to "rise above" are often the saving words of grace to sustain a troubled teenager like David -and there were many of those words of sustaining strength from many of his high school family.
Because of the horrific example of his former Dad in the matter of church relations, David was always skeptical of ‘church folk.’ He tried to keep them at a distance, but was being dramatically impacted by some teachers and classmates that caused him to ask regularly, "Do they have something I don’t know about? What makes them so distinctively different? Why does peace and blessing and joy seem to permeate them and not others?" David would find his answers in time!
CHAPTER THREE DISCIPLINES BIRTHED
Though Dad Vestal had been a successful businessman, for some unknown reason, that success standard was not translated to home and family. Vestal was totally disinterested in "training up" his daughters and sons -he was more interested in using them. Mama Vera was empty of parental instincts, concerned only about her interests and her
satisfaction with her fleshly desires. Even in her second marriage, though she had custody
of David, there was no motherly ambition to "raise him right." Her distance from her own son was emotionally and mentally damaging to David -worth, self-esteem, value, significance, purpose were absent from his young life. It was if he had the weight of the whole world pressing down upon him, and he never believed there was much hope for him. His time alone at his own basketball goal his freshman year in high school was
about the only sense of success he saw. But it was a start.
Then there’s Big Joe Hestert, David’s step-father, drug pusher, pimp, and part-time farmer. And isn’t it amazing! At least in that area of farm interest there were vital lessons David would learn and needed to learn through Big Joe. Big Joe is one "tough hombre"! At least his soldiering produced a little bit of true manhood in him. He knew about discipline, hard work when he’d set his mind to it, the little things that would help him hopefully make some profit on his 150 acre farm. And he knew he had a farm hand whether David wanted to do it or not. From Big Joe’s perspective his "training" of David was strictly with himself in mind -not David.
Daniel Webster’s 1828 Dictionary defines discipline as "to instruct or educate; to inform
the mind; to prepare by instructing in correct principles and habits; as to discipline youth for a profession, or future usefulness."
David’s step-father was not instructing or educating for David’s benefit; he wasn’t
informing David’s mind so it would be better equipped to succeed in life; correct principles and habits were far from Big Joe’s pattern of living; and he certainly didn’t have in mind David’s future profession or usefulness -he could care less!
Webster’s definition of "undisciplined" fits Big Joe’s lifestyle: "Not disciplined; not duly
exercised and taught; not subjected to regularity and order; raw; as undisciplined troops; undisciplined valor." For him there was no regularity and certainly no order! And to see him with your own eyes, "raw" is a perfect description!
But his desire to "use" David built into David’s life certain characteristics that would help him positively in future days. It was David’s responsibility, every day, to feed the chickens and gather the eggs; it was David’s responsibility, every day, to make sure the prized horses had plenty of hay and water in the barrels; and, every day, David had to make sure that around the immediate barn-yard, it was clean. And once a week he had to clean the chicken yard! Not his favorite responsibility!
Then there was spring and summer; and especially while he was still in school,
availability to help Big Joe, was limited to Saturdays and Sundays. There was no modern farm equipment for David to use, so when the time came to prepare the fields for the corn planting, David was trained to plow behind mules -row after row after row! David was never excited for those spring days to rise up! It was strenuous, tiring, demanding -but he had to do it. Then there was the planting of the corn seeds by hand and covering the
seeds over with a shovel. And without that modem farm equipment David, with the other farmhands, used burlap bags with strong straps, and row by row by row handpicked each ear. When the bag was getting heavy, they took it to a farm wagon and emptied the bag, then back to it!
When it came time to cut and bail hay, again, no modem equipment like a tractor-just
those mules! And after the hay was cut, there was the raking, tossing onto a wagon, taken to the barn, and lifted to the second store for winter feed. Demanding? Certainly. But David actually loved the smell of new-mown hay, he loved the physical labor making him more fit for his love of basketball, and he loved the fact that he was learning and discerning things that would have life-long benefits for him. And especially he loved the creek in front of Big Joe’s house and the plunge into the one deep area of the creek with the other farm hands that helped with the harvesting! It was a blast!
But one of the most appreciated blessings for David was the main farm hand of Big Joe, a black who lived on the farm in a small shanty hut with his family, his wife and two small children, a man in his late thirties and a man who loved to sing his spirituals of faith and tell David of his "loving Savior." David had never, ever, been around a man who so radiated his faith with a loving countenance like Samuel Etheridge! Samuel was certainly a "spiritual seed" planter who really believed there would be a harvest of faith in David’s life someday. In fact, Samuel prayed for him daily. One of Samuel’s favorite people was Ethel Waters, the beautiful lady who sang so many times for Billy Graham’s crusades.
Her favorite song was "I sing because I’m happy, I sing because I’m free; for His eye is
on the sparrow, and I know He watches me!" And Samuel sang it frequently while working with David. Ethel used to also say, "Now, boys, God don’t sponsor junk. You’re special." Samuel would say to David, "Now, David, God don’t sponsor junk. You’re special to Him," although at this point David didn’t understand- he’d seldom heard the name of Jesus, "Who is He?" David would ask. But those seeds were being planted. With the other few hands Big Joe employed for spring or summer jobs, David got a huge education from those who’d rather play than work, lazy bums who needed a few dollars, procrastinators waiting around for David and Samuel to do the bulk of the work, and as a result, for David, pictures of choices for him were getting clearer about a good "work ethic." Samuel used to quote to David regularly that verse that says, "Now, David, if a man will not work, neither shall he eat!" David did like to eat.
And then there was Coach Stephens who was the right hand glove of inspiration about discipline just as Samuel had been the left hand glove of motivation concerning disciplines that David needed built into his life whether he knew it or not.
A neighbor of David’s, who had been a former basketball player himself, came to Coach
Stephen’s office to tell him to keep his eye on a freshman named David Matthews whom he’d seen shooting the basketball on a garage-goal. "He’s young, Coach, but he has potential. He’s doing some things with the basketball in his hands that I’ve seen very few freshmen do."
Coach Stephens was very thankful because graduation was depleting some good players
from his team. He decided to follow up immediately without David’s knowledge and see if David was someone the coach should really invest some time in.
But as the coach surveyed and inquired about David, he knew it was for more than developing a good basketball player, but to be an important part in developing a godly young man.
The coach went to the home of David, his step-father and mother, to ask permission to help David with his basketball skills. It certainly was favorable to Big Joe because those dollar signs for drugs and prostitution flashed before his eyes. Mama Vera was pleased that someone really showed interest in her son. And David was ecstatic, overjoyed, thrilled that he really might be able to play basketball! The fall and winter active season for the team is over which leaves the spring of David’s freshman year quality time with Coach Stephens. And the disciplines begin!
When school finished at 3:00pm, David reported to the gym by 3:15, dressed with his
gym clothes and new tennis shoes. He was so excited, but not fully aware of the physical demands getting ready to be put on him by Coach Stephens! His new coach is quality personified -body, soul, and spirit. He’s demanding but gentle; he’s insistent yet understanding of the learning curve for a new prospect; he’s an appraising coach but at the same time one who applauds good effort; he’s a stickler for team-play but a promoter of leadership by the development of individual skills and strengths; and his aim is for personal excellence, body, soul, and spirit!
Because it’s the spring Coach Stephens has a good eight weeks before final school testing
begins. It’s his desire to really work his new team hard getting ready for the next winter basketball season, and David Matthews is a new part he wants to work in.
And the disciplines begin, every afternoon for an hour and a half. David is so amazed. He’s known hard work on the farm, but the strenuous times on a gym floor are something new for him. Coach runs them and runs them and runs them! It’s his contention games can be won or lost in the fourth quarter dependent upon a team’s conditioning.
The drills are numerous, consistent, and beneficial -ball-handling, dribbling, two on one, three on one, defense, full-court-pressure, set plays, foul shooting, the three pointers, rebounding, full speed, slow-down game etc.
And Coach Stephens is thrilled by what he sees in young David Matthews, rough edges,
of course, but basic, fundamental skills that can make young David an important part of next winter’s team. David is already standing at six feet and one inch with more growing time ahead! Good hands, good foot maneuverability, good eyes, good instincts, and a great determination to succeed- he’s going to be a special addition on this young team! David can play guard or forward depending upon what other team members are able to contribute or not. He’s an excellent ‘fit’ to Coach Stephens’ philosophy of basketball. Scrimmages have been very important in the young team’s development, even if it’s only for twenty minutes each practice, but the coach knows his boys must get used to the floor as a team.
To end the spring practice Coach Stephens decided to hold an intra-squad game. And it
was an eye-opener for a lot of people who came to watch because young, sophomore, David Matthews scored 21 points! His team won by ten points.
CHAPTER FOUR
A DISAPPOINTING SUMMER
Summers are for vacation times, right? Summers are for play, relaxation, fun-times with friends, right? Summers are to be break-times from school, team, and home disciplines everybody just has fun, right?
It may be for some, but not for young David. His summer is heavy-duty work on Big Joe’s 150 acres! It was not a possible expectation -it was a requirement for young David. He really thought as he was growing up the summer disciplines on the farm would lessen. But they didn’t; they intensified. Big Joe put more and more demands on David’s time with very little time to practice his favorite sport.
But it was not only the work load that stressed David out- it was the major
disappointment of not being allowed to go to a one-week summer basketball camp with most of his team members. The University of North Carolina held these camps for young high school teams to get a first-hand look at potential prospects for college ball. Coach Stephens made the request, but Big Joe refused permission for David to attend. He needed David on the farm!
It was really interesting for David what the Coach had to say to him after this huge
disappointment. "David, summer camp at the university would really be healthy for you, But more important is your attitude toward Joe -not resentment, not bitterness, not anger, but ‘Yes Sir; whatever you’d have me to do, I’m willing.’" That was a total shock to David but he appreciated the assessment Coach Stephens made concerning David’s attitude.
At this time in David’s life he’s really made some good friends, quality young people
who are aware of "the higher calling." They are Christians, church-attenders faithfully and regularly. But there’s a problem-David’s mother has no desire for spiritual matters, and Big Joe is an unannounced atheist. When David requested permission to attend a church service with some friends, his parents said ‘no.’ When David asked, during the week, to go to a friend’s home for a mid-week Bible Study and prayer meeting, his parents said ‘no.’ Even invited to Coach Stephens’ home for a youth get together, his parents said ‘no.’
This is the summer before his sophomore year in high school. David really wants to build
some strong ties with young friends who can show him more of a quality life than he’s found before now. He desires a "barn-sleep-over" with some of his teammates so they can get better acquainted, but especially to take them swimming in the creek! You know the answer.
Marian and Misty, his two older sisters, are not very far away from the Hestert farm.
Both are married now and doing very well. The two sisters married men who are not spiritual midgets, but men on ‘the grow’ with their Lord and in their businesses. Marian and Misty know how meaningful it would be for their husbands to build a relationship with David. But Big Joe has no interest in David spending time with ‘squares’; he has no interest in their family lives, their jobs, and especially not their churches. When David sought to bridge the opportunity to spend time with his sisters’ families it was a resounding ‘no.’
The summer has been moving very fast, but not moving is David’s opportunity to be stretched in many ways. ‘Disappointment’ is a word that leaves a bitter taste in him, and Coach Stephens has seen it.
At least the Hesterts will allow Coach Stephens to take David out to dinner one night a
week. And what a divine appointment that came to be for a struggling high-school-er who hadn’t ‘found’ himself yet. He was so encouraged by his coach every time they got together. David could ask his coach anything and the coach would not be surprised or upset or disappointed, whatever David asked, with a young man who had no home guidance. Coach gave David advice that was so sound, so sure, so strengthening, so stabilizing. It was words right out of heaven itself- and someday David would know where it came from. Sound words from a loving friend are like a soothing ointment on sore wounds of the soul. A substitute father-image has been the salvation of many young men who wondered growing up if anybody cared -and then, here comes "Coach!"
And then, what a disappointment! David asked Coach Stephens about dating girls, and the coach’s response was totally unexpected: "David, my teen-agers don’t date. They have no desire to date at this point in their maturing process because they clearly understand how "glands" are not the determining factor of a healthy dating relationship. Our kids, with our encouragement, are waiting to much later to look for their mate, not their playmate!" Disappointment? To a degree because David hungered for
companionship, relationship, someone who cared, someone who would validate his worth and value and importance to the world he was so much a part of. Disappointment? David wondered what it would be like to hear someone say to him, "I love you. Yes, David, you are loveable!" He’d never heard his Dad say, "I love you;" he’d never heard his mother say, "I love you." He’d never had a friend who said to him, "David, you’re my brother and I love you." But he was beginning to understand, through his clouds of uncertainty, "There is a coach who loves me, whether he tells me or not. I know it!"
Disappointment? He thought he ought to have a car, even at just fifteen years of age. His parents could lie about one year. But it didn’t happen -David was not the owner of even his own ‘junk-heap.’ He would have to do riding on the back of Big Joe’s motorcycle to get to school or back home after school was out.
Disappointment? Projections are his high school basketball team will be low-man on the
totem-pole of district play because Coach Stephen’s team had been so depleted. That didn’t sit well with David because of a burning attitude within himself to succeed, to be a winner, to be the best. He really wanted to help build a strong team.
David translated discouragement into opportunity and potential to be more than anyone
thought he or Coach Stephen’s team could be. Discouragement was David’s door-opener to success. He would not settle for less!
CHAPTER FIVE
A SUCCESSFUL FALL, SCHOLASTICS AND SPORTS
What an absolute delight to David that the summer was over and his ‘fall’ had begun! He was thrilled! No more plowing, no more baling, no more picking ears of corn, no more dirt and grime from field labor. Sweat was no problem for him when it came from the basketball court in fall practice. He loved it. But sweat in the farm fields was not ‘sweat equity’ for David’s young mind. There was something instilled within David that he was ordained for success, and he would not settle for less than that.
Coach Stephens confirmed it for David as they looked to the fall season of his sophomore year. Coach Stephens had checked the records, evaluated the psychological profiles, witnessed a unique work ethic, and had resolved within his own heart that David had
been set aside, by God, for greatness.
As they met together with the school counselor, Coach Stephens felt it to be very important that they pray, even about David’s six classes and his basketball practice session. They did and the counselor was not opposed to inviting God in to the planning of David’s fall schedule. It was an awesome time for David-he was beginning to sense that there were those who were genuinely concerned about his welfare, body, soul, and spirit. This wasn’t ‘ego’ pump time -this was a precious time of assurance that God Himself was in on what David was to be about in his earthly life. It was a spiritual stroke of genius for David -he didn’t become arrogant, he was humbled.
His schedule was planned with college in mind. Coach Stephens genuinely felt David would be one of the few he coached who could go to college with the potential of even the NBA! That schedule included mostly college preparatory courses even as a sophomore. David was pleased because he loved being challenged and stretched. Then, of course, there was after-school basketball practice that would take David up to about 5pm when Big Joe would take him home.
Of course with college preparation in mind, David was heavy in his schedule on math and
science classes. That was no problem for him; for David, the tougher the better. He loved being challenged. And then there was English, history, a foreign language with Spanish his choice. He couldn’t wait for the first day at school -he was so excited, because he also knew fall basketball practice was just around the corner.
It amazed Coach Stephens and his high school counselor that David was so focused, so eager, so determined to make this school year his best ever. David really didn’t know what his enthusiasm was all about but he was beginning to grasp that "God?" meant him to be more than he ever thought he could. A fabric of faith was being sewn into David’s life though as yet the Gospel of Redemption had not been fully explained.
David, in his young years, had been a part of two dysfunctional families, and there were
very few outsiders who really took the time to invest themselves in David’s life. But the few who did were making a profound difference in David concerning ‘life purpose.’
One month of the fall schedule has already past; and now, October 1, David is so thrilled
that basketball practice has started. His grades are excellent, his study habits far beyond most of his classmates, and his excitement about basketball practice beginning, sheer delight.
David’s math and science teachers had told Coach Stephens they would keep him posted as to David’s progress -and they raved about his maturity on the learning curve. He is doing so well that his teachers call on David to assist the strugglers which he is always happy to do. He is truly a friend’s friend. Even as young as he is David loves to help others and will either get to school early, miss his lunch break, or meet someone after practice. His compassion for others calls for unselfish commitment to help those who need it.
And then it’s fall basketball -and David is ready for the fun times to begin. He practices as if he’s playing for an Olympic ‘gold medal.’ His enthusiasm for the game calls out for the best, even in the three seniors on the team. The younger players are drawn to him like a magnet. And Coach Stephens is thrilled. He told one of his close friends that David Matthews, already, was probably the best basketball player he’d ever coached. Coach didn’t know for sure what God’s ‘life plan’ for David was, but he knew his young player would impact many lives.
Within the first two weeks of fall practice it was Coach Stephens’ intent to have a
scrimmage with a team from another community close by. In fact the coaches agreed to play at the other school in less than two weeks from their first scrimmage. The visitors were not scheduled to be the State Champions, but Coach Stephens knew that team would give anybody a run for their money. He knew it would be a good test for his youngsters.
In their first meeting David and his team kept it close but lost that scrimmage by ten
points. David scored sixteen points in that first scrimmage. Second-time around there was a dramatic turn-around. Coach Stephens saw his team blossom faster than any team he’d ever coached. They won by twenty-two points, and David scored eighteen points in a very strong effort -scoring, rebounding, defense -he showed he was ready for a good year.
After that unofficial win Coach Stephens sat the team down to temper their enthusiasm
and put it in balance concerning the rest of the things they were to be majoring on. He said: "I couldn’t be prouder than I am right now. Your play was excellent. But one thing I must remind you of- basketball is temporary, your studies are for the long haul. And I want you to know that I am in touch weekly with your counselors, and if I see or hear of any one of you slacking off on your studies, the bench will be a good place for you to catch up. Do you understand what I’m saying? Your studies and grades are more important than how many games we win this late fall and winter. Agreed?"
The team knew what Coach was saying to them. They received his encouragement to be a
better student than basketball player! With that intent the coach with the help of counselors enlisted top students in their studies to assist his players in doing well with their studies. One night a week, after practice, the top students were present to give the team one hour of their time to help them smooth out any rough areas in the players’ studies. And for a few, it was extremely helpful, but for David? He was helping the top students!
Basketball kicked off after Thanksgiving and how excited Coach Stephens and his young
team was. They knew they had about three weeks, playing twice a week, and then the Christmas -New Year’s tournament, in preparation for three more intense months of play. Coach Stephens’ team won the tournament with four straight wins, but the last finals’ game went into overtime over the projected district and regional favorite. And it
was David Matthews who hit a long jump-shot at the buzzer to win it for his team. The school, the crowd at the game, the city went into orbit celebrating one of Coach Stephens’ biggest wins ever.
The coach understood clearly how big this win was for the team and the school, but as a new week began and school had re-started, Coach called in the counselors for an evaluation of his team’s grades. His starters had far succeeded his expectations, but of the remaining seven on the team, two were very low.
As Coach Stephens met with the two with low grades, all evaluations had been completed. He let the two team members know how vital they were to the team’s success or failure. He had to know, "Are you guys on board for our team’s success on and off the court? Are you willing to pay the price to pull up your grades while, at the same time,
we’re going through our toughest basketball schedule ever? Do I need to call your parents
in or should I look for two on the junior varsity to take your place?"
It was the shock therapy that these two team members needed. They were very apologetic and even asked for permission to speak to the whole team before practice started. And with their apology the team rallied around to guarantee next report date would see these two succeeding!
Team sports is often seen about what team members do on the court or on the field, but
not for Coach Stephens. It was his philosophy that to be a good coach you majored on both the court and the classroom. His philosophy was beginning to pay major dividends! He was far more interested in building character in his players than good statistics on the court. And the one thing he was so thankful for was a young man like David Matthews who exuded such confidence, commitment, and self-control on and off the court. What David did in the locker-room was as important to Coach Stephens as what David did on the court.
CHAPTER SIX
NEW YEAR’S NIGHTMARE
There was a New Year’s party David was permitted to go to because Big Joe and David’s mother had planned a party of their own. It was not what David had hoped for because he knew Big Joe’s friends, and David did not want to be around. The ‘fall’ experience for David had been excellent, and the friends he had made were of a totally different variety than Big Joe and Vera. At least in David’s circle of friends it was not "anything goes,"
but a circle of friends that majored on moral and spiritual excellence, a strange outlook in the ‘post-modern’ world especially among youth with indifferent parents.
David informed his mother where he would be and gave her the phone number of the parents hosting the teen party. He informed his mother he’d be home a little after midnight, but that he would not be coming into the house, he was planning on sleeping in the barn. He had no desire to be around the crowd that would be in their home probably until daybreak. It was OK with Vera.
Big Joe’s crowd was made up of his ‘business associates’ in the drug and prostitute arena
plus the ‘rough and tumble crowd’ from around the county and neighboring counties. It was really a sad gathering of a very successful criminal element of East Tennessee, including a mayor of a neighboring city who called a lot of the shots in the illegal drug trade. He was a ‘big hitter!’ He and Big Joe had run together for a very long time, and the two of them were basically the ‘mob bosses.’ Nothing illegal happened in their areas that did not have their stamps of approval plus a ‘cut.’
David’s party is in the home of the parents of one of the juniors on the basketball team.
They were great parents that were examples to other parents plus an inspiration to their own son, his friends, and his teammates. The food, of course, was what the growing teenagers really enjoyed, and the McAllen family did it up right. There was just about anything the teenagers desired and loved to eat. They all ended up stuffed to the nth degree.
Games were also fully available, whether a pool table in the basement area to volleyball
in the back yard, or different card games the kids were into.
But what amazed young David was what took place between 11pm and midnight. All the chaperones, some parents, and the teenagers gathered in the big living room of this plush home, and under the direction of a local Youth Minister, they began to sing their favorite Christian songs, choruses, and hymns. David had never been a part of anything so moving, so enriching, as hearing teenagers sing from their hearts testimonies of faith. Then there were those pre-arranged to share what Christ Jesus meant to them. Several, with tears running down their cheeks, thanked the Lord God for the saving grace
extended to them. David didn’t have a clue of what they were talking about, but it was
recorded in the deeper recesses of his brain!
Oh, but then this house full of people began to "pray in the New Year!" They were giving God His rightful place in their hearts and homes; they were thanking Him for past blessings and future blessings; they were praying for one another and for their own families; they were praying for the New Year to be a year of spiritual breakthrough in their community and high school; they were praying for ‘the lost’ or ‘unsaved;’ they were praying for the teachers and coaches to be a godly witness wherever they walked.
And all David could say was, "What are these people all about?" David knew about ‘plowed fields’ but he knew nothing about the plowed field of his heart. And the spiritual plow was going deep into David’s heart getting his field ready for the planting of spiritual seeds. A spiritual harvest was on the horizon in David’s life.
David’s seeing in the New Year was not the nightmare but a celebration. And it’s so amazing that this young man, on one hand, can experience a dynamic, God-honoring time, while not far away, in fact in his own home, the Nightmare begins. Approximately forty people were anticipated to be a part of the Hesterts’ New Year’s party. Approximately half the group was married and the other half were just dating partners, playmates, shared social junkies, and a few were picked up from the local bar before joining the house party.
It started rough and it stayed rough. Drinks were like the bursting of a dam and the
following flood. Illegal drugs were available upon request. Gambling was big on the dining room table with thousands of dollars flowing on any hand. The bedrooms of the Hesterts had "Do Not Enter" signs posted when a man could sneak a playmate away for the satisfying of his personal drives for illicit sex. Certainly this was not the place or events David Matthews should enter.
At about 12:45a.m. of New Year’s morning, David was dropped off near the barn and away from his family’s home. He didn’t want the friends who brought him home to lmow anything about what was going on at his family’s party.
But as he entered the barn he knew this might not be a restful night for him even though
he’d always loved sleeping in the hay. David kept two blankets rolled up by hay’s edge to keep him warm. He tried to lie down, close his eyes, go to sleep, but the noise from his house was loud, scary, and pain-filled. He knew, "Somebody is going to get hurt
tonight."
David did finally drop off to sleep, but it didn’t last long because all of a sudden he heard what seemed to him to be an explosion -glass breaking, doors shattering, curse words like drunken sailors but these folks are just rebels to the core, screaming from women, and then a gun shot. And David was chilled to the bones with fear. He didn’t know what to do but to keep quiet and let the mayhem cease!
He heard cars screeching off wildly from his folks’ driveway- and then there was
silence, total silence, and in pitch-black darkness he felt so afraid and so alone. He didn’t move for hours, and of course, could not sleep. He waited and waited and waited -then finally at daybreak David decided to go to the house and check on his mother and Big Joe.
He could not believe what he saw as he entered the rear door to the kitchen. Food was
scattered everywhere from shattered platters and plates. Drink glasses, he knew, must have been used to toss as weapons. The swinging door to the kitchen had been broken off its hinges, windows were shattered by someone tossing chairs through them, beds were broken, books became ammunition, liquor and beer bottles must have been like grenades, and there was blood everywhere!
David was so shaken. Then as he paused, he thought, "Where’s my mother, and where is
Big Joe?" He went to the only bedroom he hadn’t checked, and there he found Big Joe on the bed totally out of it either from drugs or liquor or both. David could not rouse him. He wasn’t sure what to do, then finally decided to ride his old bike to the neighbors and call Coach Stephens. He would have been surprised if the neighbors had not heard what he
heard! Surprisingly, they only were awakened by cars blowing horns as they sped past their home.
And of course the coach was more than willing to come to David’s aid. He was always
available to his boys, whatever they encountered on their journeys. As Coach Stephens arrived at David’s home, David met him out front because he wanted to explain to Coach what he’d found.
This was not an easy time for David; he was ashamed; he was fearful; he was so unsure
about what to do. The coach was an adult who couldn’t be shocked by anything David would tell him or show him. Over the years of his coaching career, he’d been around this mountain a number of times. He’d seen the best-he’d seen the worst.
David tried as best he could to explain the last five or six hours to the coach, and then, led him into the home through the shattered front door. They went directly to the bedroom where Big Joe was still passed out. Coach told David to wet a towel with cold water and bring it to him.
As the coach covered Big Joe with the wet towel and rubbed it around his head, Big Joe
began to arouse. David began to yell at Big Joe, "Where’s my Mom? What happened to my Mom?" And Big Joe said, "She went home with a friend who had been beaten up by her husband for trying to make out with a stranger!" At least David was relieved that his mother was alive!
CHAPTER SEVEN INTERVENTION TIME
In the modem days of the twenty-first century, television audiences are able to watch a show that does "Horne Makeovers," which relates to the old houses that someone longs
to see made new. But for several thousands of years there are those who major on "Horne Makeovers of the Heart and Spiritual Health of families." This has being going on behind the scenes for centuries because of a genuine love of the faithful for the fallen.
Coach Stephens said to Big Joe, "Joe, I’m not here to embarrass you but to embrace you; I’m not here to shame you, but to share with you, "There’s a better way of living;" I’m not here to single you out and come down on you harshly, I’m here to say I am available to you, to Vera, and to David, to help your family be all God wants you to be."
Big Joe responded, "Coach, I’m glad you’re here, and especially for David’s sake. And David, I’m sorry for what you’ve had to be a part of the last few hours. Things just got out of hand and violent men did violent things in our house. I hope it never happens again."
At this point all David wants to know is name and address of where his mother is located.
Big Joe told him, and David asked the coach if the two of them could go find her. They left Big Joe to try and start the clean-up so they could learn if David’s mother was OK. She was not "fine as wine in the surnrne1tirne," but she was glad to see David and Coach Stephens. She also was very apologetic but sadly without the ring of sincerity. Traveling back home she said to David, "I’ll try to see this never happens again in your young life!" As they arrived home Big Joe was sitting in the swing on the front porch. He was not a "happy camper;" what happened in his house the last few hours was not anything he expected. It was not that he was disillusioned about his friends or what went on, but upset that they just trashed his house!
As the four sat together , David was the first to speak: "I’ve heard your home is supposed
to be a haven but you all allowed it to become a hell-hole. I’m ashamed of what I know went on in this place the last few hours. What am I supposed to do, give you my OK that everything is alright? It’s not alright, and I don’t know that I can stay here."
Coach Stephens interrupts David to say, "Joe, you and Vera do understand why David is
upset, don’t you?"
Vera responded quickly because she’d learned the trade of getting along even if you had to fake it! "Coach Stephens, Joe and I are so sorry you had to be here on New Year’s day when you could be with your family. I know it means a lot to David to have you here. And Big Joe and I will try to see something like this never happens again."
"Yeah, Coach, Vera and I hate the party got out of hand; we’ll do better next time." That
was Joe saying, "Things might change -but only a little bit."
David responded, "A little bit? Is that all you can say? Our home is filthy because of what went on here last night. And what went on in my bedroom? It looks like trash was
dumped from a dumpster!" His mother said, "David, I’m sorry; I’ll clean it up."
Coach Stephens stepped in "where angels fear to tread!" "Joe, Vera, I’ve been around for a long time. I’ve witnessed a lot of families with disappointment, heartache, frustration, doubts and fears, uncertainties as to the next step. And I want to be available to the whole family. What I’d like to suggest is a ‘cooling-off period,’ maybe a clean-up time, a rest
for a day or two, and then let me come back with two friends, one for you, Joe, one, for you, Vera, and one for David -and let’s put it all on the table and see if we can help each other. David needs to get this behind him, not only for the winter push of basketball but his school grades also. And Vera, as a mother, I know you want what will help David through this difficult time. Joe, would you agree for me and two friends to come to your home Wednesday night?" Joe agreed- reluctantly.
David walked Coach Stephens to his car, so appreciative of what Coach had done. He couldn’t thank his coach enough. And the one thing Coach wanted to leave with David was, that out of the worst of circumstances, some good can come. He told David, "Please, David, don’t be angry with Joe and Vera. Don’t take the offensive against them. Let’s let the next two days "cool" them and yourself. It’s not going to accomplish anything to intensify the war that seems to be raging. I just want you to know that I’m praying for the "peace that passes all understanding" to wrap itself around the Hesterts and you."
David was so appreciative of that and promised Coach he would zip his lips! He said,
"Coach, I cannot tell you how thankful I am that Joe agreed to meet Wednesday night. And I believe it will be a healthy time for all."
Coach Stephens left prayerfully in his heart for David and the Hesterts. He longed for
divine guidance, and as he headed home his automobile became a prayer altar. It was his specific request, "Lord Jesus, who is it I should involve in this intervention?" And without hesitation the Lord impressed upon his mind and heart Richard and Patty
Sullivan. Richard owned the local building materials and hardware store and Patty was an elementary school teacher. Both were about the same age of Joe and Vera. Their hearts were ministry -oriented with great compassion for the troubled. In fact their home church had developed a ministry to troubled families and both Richard and Patty were heavily involved. When Coach Stephens called them after he arrived home they were more than willing to be a part. Their church family had an intercessory prayer ministry and they gladly contacted that team without names being involved but were encouraged to pray about a "home and family intervention" scheduled Wednesday night.
It also tells you a lot about the Stephens family also. When he arrived home his wife, two sons, and a daughter were having a late breakfast. They were anxious to know what had been going on with their husband and father. And though he didn’t go into graphic detail, he told them enough that they were as vitally concerned as the Sullivans. Around the breakfast table they had an old-fashioned prayer meeting, confident in their hearts that God is still "the God who answers prayers."
At the Hestert home it’s walking on pins and needles. Nobody is happy or celebrating the
New Year. Mom Vera wanted to fix her boys some breakfast, but with what? Then she explodes, "Why did we allow this white trash into our home? How could we have ever promoted something so vile? Joe, is this what you want our home to be like from now on because if you do, David and I are out of here!" That’s Mom hoping to make a few points with David when in her heart she was in her radical element, just frustrated at the mess she’s got to clean up!
Then Big Joe is hot! "These aren’t just my friends -you invited most of them. And so,
they made a mess! I’ve seen worse. At least no one is dead! Some of these were my business partners and they will be back, but I’ll just carry a bigger stick if have to." David remembered Coach’s words and just "cooled his jets!" More than that, without a word, David began in the kitchen with all the broken glasses, dishes, and platters and
began to clean things up. It took about an hour with brush and broom to clean the floor and counter-tops and, yes, wash what few dishes were remaining, unbroken.
Vera and Joe began to assess the damage in the other parts of the house with Joe knowing he must get the windows and doors repaired before it turns really cold. New Year’s Day was not going to be an easy time to get new glass, doors, and hinges, but maybe he could call in a few favors by using businessmen who used his services! Vera wanted the beds and bathrooms cleaned, so she started her mammoth project. Within seven or eight hours, they finally felt like they may be able to stay in their own home on New Year’s Night. As they came to the end of the day, that nightmarish time period, especially for David, they sat down together in the living room, subdued but not quiet. And surprisingly, Joe was
the first to speak. "David, I really want to thank you for your attitude about all this. I have to tell you, as a young man your age, I would not have done what you did today. I would have said, ‘You made the mess-you clean it up.’ I want to thank you."
Here comes Vera, "Joe, he’s my son. I’ve really sought to raise him up right. David is a good boy." (Here we go, Mom trying for a few points with her ‘sweet boy.’ Help us, Jesus!)
Then David calmly said, "It will be good to have Coach Stephens and his two friends to
come Wednesday night and give us a hand. The family that says that it has truly "arrived" is probably the family who needs help the most. But we haven’t arrived and we do need help."
And Big Joe said, "David, I will welcome them into our home. You won’t be ashamed." David responded," Big Joe, I really am thankful for your attitude. It says a lot about what is going on within you."
Of course, from Big Joe’s perspective it was a business move, an opportunity to learn
about expanding his frontier of involvement in the school and county with his ‘trade.’ Early afternoon Coach Stephens called Joe at home. "Joe, Richard Sullivan owns the local building materials store and hardware in the city. He and his wife, Patty, have agreed to come Wednesday night with me. But Richard says if you need anything today that he will go and open his store for you."
"Coach, that means a lot, but we’ve got so much clean-up to do, tell him I’ll come by tomorrow. I’ll just use card-board over the broken windows. Thanks."
It’s now Wednesday night, 7pm, and Coach Stephens and the Sullivans arrive at Joe and
Vera Hestert’s home with a great determination to be vessels through which God Himself reaches out.
After the introductions Coach Stephens asks if he might begin with a word of prayer. Big
Joe was agreeable. "Lord Jesus, we come into this home tonight in Your name. It’s our desire to bring Joe, Vera, and David into Your presence. Lord, the three of us are not healers, but You are the great Healer; we’re not their saviors, You are the gracious Savior and Lord. We bow before You tonight and ask You to wrap this family up in Your great arms of love and mercy. Amen."
"I think that Richard, Patty, and I would like to begin on an individual basis. Would that
be OK with you? Richard, how about you and David go to the kitchen? Patty, you and Vera go to a bedroom, and Joe and I will stay right here." Agreeable to all.
As Coach and Joe settled in to the living room, it was surprising for Joe to ask to speak
first. He was very bold as always saying to Coach Stephens, "I’m glad you came with the Stephens tonight, Coach, and especially for David’s sake. But one thing I want you to
understand, I’m not interested in this Jesus stuff, never have been and never will be. I can make it on my own. But you are welcome to speak about what you think Vera and I need to hear in order to help David."
Coach Stephens wasn’t shocked or surprised or upset about Joe’s attitude. In fact he anticipated it. "Joe, the Sullivans and I are here for family intervention. We’re here to make ourselves available to the three of you. We’re here to hear you, help you, hold you, and lift you up wherever you need to be lifted to. I am not embarrassed to say to you that Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior. If He were not that to me I doubt I would be here tonight. The world attitude is, ‘every man on his own, his way, or the highway.’ But I believe we’re a fabric being sewn together and we need each other. Someday you’ll know how valuable you are to God, because if you were the only man who ever lived, what Jesus did at the Cross 2000 years ago, He did just for you alone. My question to you
- tonight is, how can I genuinely help you and Vera and David? I know this is a tough
time; there’s a big fracture in your relationship, and healing is needed."
Joe responded, "I believe that tonight about all we can say to one another is, "I’m sorry." Then maybe we can begin to better our family relationship." Coach replied, "I believe that’s a good beginning. Let me pray for you again." And he did.
Patty and Vera are in the master bedroom and quickly Vera takes the reins, "Patty, Joe and I are glad you all are here, and especially for David’s sake. I hope you understand that I’ve ALWAYS been a Christian and church-goer until I married Joe. But his influence has not been good for me or David. I let him pull me down. But I want to do better, I want to be a good mother, and I want to be an example."
And Patty is thinking to herself, "Then what about the first marriage and the second marriage -the fractured relationship, the poor witness. What really has your ‘faith’ done for you?" But she didn’t!
"Vera, this is intervention time for the specific purpose of helping you and Joe and David, but I must tell you there can be no intervening in family ruptures without the Lord’s help. You must open up the door of your heart wide, repent, and give Jesus His rightful place in your heart and home." And of course Vera responds quickly, "That’s what I want," when she has no intention of such a thing!
This is Richard’s first time to sit down with David also, but he had met him through school functions and basketball. He’s excited about David. And he knows enough about David’s background to settle on "plowing the field, planting, watering, and hopefully getting the harvest of his soul in time." But David also takes the initiative:
"Mr. Sullivan, I know you haven’t known me very long, but this is my mother’s second marriage. My father was a successful banker, church leader, strong civic supporter, but a devil in disguise. I had to be in church with him and Mom but never listened. If what they had was real, I didn’t want it! And I’m not sure now except for the fact that the few years here has cracked the door a little bit. I see a lot that I don’t understand and can’t explain, but I know you’re a part of something different. Be patient with me."
Richard responded, "David, I know it’s been tough for you growing up. This has not been
God’s choice for you in family lifestyle, but you and your family, like mine and Coach Stephens, we were all a part of the fabric of fallen family humanity. We all were in on the fall in the Garden with Adam and Eve. We took on the curse, not the blessing. But God is our Rescuer in Christ at the Cross."
David interrupted, "Can we move on to where we are tonight? How do I relate to Joe and my mother in this horrible nightmare?"
Richard does not hesitate: "David, on the Cross of Christ, He looked down on those who
abused Him, accused Him, cursed Him, spat upon Him, stripped Him naked, and helped to crucify Him, and said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do." And I say to you, David, that you must learn to walk in forgiveness right now. Unforgiveness is like personal suicide -it will get you nowhere but dead! Forgive Joe and forgive your mother."
As the six re-assembled in the living room, in spite of all, it was a very moving time.
David took the lead and asked for Joe and his mother’s forgiveness for becoming so angry with them. He cried, not as a little baby, but a broken-hearted son- and it genuinely moved Joe and Vera.
There was a hugging-one-another time, and Coach and the Sullivans knew it was time
for them to leave.
CHAPTER EIGHT BASKETBALL HEAVEN
January and February are the months of preparation for "March Madness" even in high school basketball! It is so intense because every school, coach, and team want to make it to the top-tier championship game. Coach Stephens is no different, and the players know when that first winter practice begins it’s going to be ‘serious,’ very serious. It is his responsibility and personal desire to get the most out of his players taking them to the highest rung of their potential. He wants them well-trained, skilled in all areas of basketball, physically fit for the full four quarters and beyond, a team welded together as a unit that can play with anybody across their State. He knows he lost a few key seniors through graduation and that the new group coming in must meld quickly. He saw through December great potential from this group, and, of course, he’s really high on the sophomore, David Matthews.
Only three days of practice in the New Year and they take on last year’s District
Champions that went on only to lose in the Regional Finals. This is going to be a big test for this year’s team, but Coach believes they are ready for the challenge.
Practice majors on the picks, the rolls, the fast-breaks, and strong ‘in your face’ defense. He knows his team must score and score often, yet at the same time hold his opponent below their season average. And again, he majors on sprints after sprints after sprints because his team must be in better shape than their opponents.
At the end of every practice, before showering, the team must each do 100 foul shots with
a teammate spotting under the basket to hopefully help point out any mistake in a missed shot. He wants them helping one another.
It’s Friday night and the gym is jam-packed! People are as close to the out-of-bounds line the referees will allow them to sit. It’s a boisterous crowd as the teams come to tip off!
And Coach Stephens planned a pick and roll on the tip-off because he knew his center
could out-jump and put the ball where he wanted it. And quickly the Stephens crowd is up on the Browder crowd. The team is sharp, quick, on the money with their shots, and by halftime are up by ten.
But that’s not the way it will stay. Quickly Coach Browder made some major changes in
defense and by midway of the second half has his strong team even. With a vital timeout Coach Stephens makes his own adjustments and shifts the major scoring to David. His teammates know he’s strong on the three-point, strong on driving the middle and picking up fouls, and soon the local team is back on top by ten as David picked up four three pointers and four points on fouls -16 points in the last ten minutes. Great win to start the New Year!
Before the Christmas break, Coach Stephens’ team, Altoona High of Altoona, Tennessee, were 4and 2 in the first three weeks, losing to a AAA division school by 15 points and a AA division school from another district by 11 points. Then they won 4 straight in the Christmas -New Year’s Tournament to go 8 and 2 for the new beginning. They win the first game of the New Year and go to 9 and 2. The local paper is ecstatic as they promote "maybe Coach Stephens’ best team ever!"
But the Coach has a good philosophy -he tells his team members to stay away from news articles until after the season is over. "Let your Mama cut out clippings and save them for you to read when the season is over." He didn’t want them influenced with prideful words or words of condemnation. They were to focus on the Coach and team alone!
Over January they go, in the last four weeks, 6 and 2, with an overall record of 15 and 4.
Their two losses were again to AAA teams but not by much. In February they had two weeks of play before the District Tournament and they won all four AA games to go 19 and 4 for the season.
David Matthews was such an integral part of the success of the team. He’s going into the District with an 18 point average with one big game of 28 points!
It’s good that this year’s district play is in Altoona. And they have a good seed and will
have to play only three games to go all the way through. And they do with no pressure at all -it was a breeze through to regional play where it will be much tougher. Three of Coach Stephens’ players make All-District including David!
They get another good break with a good seeding in the regional tournament and have a huge game the second night of the tournament. They must play Klinton High who only lost their district finals by one point to probably the best team in both districts. It was a ‘barn-burner’ with Altoona High winning 82 to 80 after David Matthews stole the ball
for a lay-up as the buzzer sounded- a great, great win! Their next two games are just as tough but Altoona wins the regional tournament and is headed to State next week!
The city of Altoona is so thrilled with this young team. This may be the year for their first
State title. They go to Nashville and Vanderbilt University gym to take on a team from Memphis the first night of the tournament-Memphis Tech High School! The gym is packed -Altoona must have uprooted the whole city and traveled to Nashville. This is their year.
But sadly they are shocked in defeat by the Memphis team by 20 points! Now they
wonder about next year. Will they improve? Will they find another young David Matthews? Will their record be better than this year’s record?
Coach Stephens is not disappointed. Of course he would have loved to go deeper in the State tournament than they did, but he is pleased with this year’s team -and he knows the junior varsity will help next year and there is one or two freshmen who may blossom. He’s ready for a break, and then spring practice!
David was disappointed in their State play, but he knew this was a good year for Altoona
High and for himself. He rang up both District and Regional honors! He cannot wait for next year, he is so excited about his basketball future!
CHAPTER NINE
BIG JOE’S TROUBLES -WINTER AND SPRING
Big Joe’s troubles are so far beyond what happened New Year’s Eve in his home. That was certainly a ‘nightmare,’ but Joe’s troubles had been mounting behind the scenes by poor ‘business practices’ and poor oversight. He is in debt enormously and knows that something must be done to help him get out of this bind.
Joe’s "friends" aren’t about to help because if he fails that opens the door for more business for themselves! Even his close friend, mayor of another city, refuses to help Joe out of his financial crunch because he considers Joe to be a very poor credit risk. He’s not about to get in the middle of Joe’s "woes."
There was a strong consideration by Joe to put his prized horses out on the market for sale, but it’s a down market at this particular time and Joe cannot afford to take a big hit or loss on his horses. He’s got to hold onto them at least until the market turns upward again.
Joe even considered down-sizing both his prostitution ring and drug ring, but that only
makes the noose tighter around his neck. That is not an option. Plus the guys and girls that have worked for him have stood by him in other down times and he has no desire to cut the strings with his business associates.
Then Big Joe decided to call together his inner circle and lay everything on the table. He wants to pick their brains about how and how quickly he can solve his financial crunch. One said, "Joe, we’ve done it before and we can do it again -what about robbing a few banks? Will that be a good option? We have some experience."
But Joe says, "No go! We were younger, we had good training, and we had some success. But the problem is, a slip-up, and we all face 25 years or more in the penitentiary. I say, "No."
One of the other ‘hoods’ said, "It’s possible we could put together a strategy for kidnapping and a hefty ransom. We’ve got loads of wealthy East Tennesseans who would pay a small fortune to get a son or daughter back. And we have the caves around East Tennessee, Alabama, or Georgia; we could stash someone away unnoticed for a very
long time if necessary." And that at least caught Joe’s attention. But he needed time to work through it.
Vera is not aware of the financial predicament that Joe is in right now, but Joe knows she
must be brought into the loop. He’s not concerned about her reaction- she loves money and will do whatever is necessary to keep it flowing. Remember? "Whatever it takes, I want a pleasurable time in spending your money, Joe!" She likes the better things of life and doesn’t care what it takes to get whatever she wants! So Joe decided to set a time and bring Vera into this loop of strategy about financial recovery.
What a shock to Vera! She thought she’d arrived on ‘easy street’ with Joe because the
money flowed so freely before they married and right after their wedding. Vera never dreamed what signing a $400,000 bank note might mean to her personally. And she certainly never anticipated that the money Joe had allowed to slip through his fingers would come back to haunt her. Joe is hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt, the cash
flow has shrunk dramatically, there’s the big bank note on the new barn, and pressure is mounting from the Columbian drug cartel that has carried Joe’s indebtedness for months and months!
Joe wants to be as gentle as possible with Vera and not over-sell the dilemma he’s now facing, but he’s got to have her on his side without hesitation. She came into their marriage with at least a half of a million dollars from her divorce settlement from Mr. Matthews, the banker. And she has held on to it with a stout hold. Maybe, just maybe, he can persuade her to release those funds and at least get him half-way home of his debt. But Joe is not surprised, shocked, or alarmed -Vera isn’t using her funds to cover his poor practices! That will never happen. She trusts herself to manage her own money and Joe will not get one dime from her. Vera is making certain she and David have something to "bank" on if the Hestert marriage doesn’t make it.
Joe has no desire to bridge with her what some of his friends suggested concerning a
bank robbery or a kidnapping because Vera never knew the depth of Joe’s criminality from the past although she was fully aware of the prostitution and drugs. That part didn’t seem to be a problem with Vera.
Then they turned to the farm itself and possibly selling off those beautiful Tennessee Walking horses valued and insured for more than a million dollars. Joe has to tell her of the down market on horse prices right now and rules that out of bounds for consideration. They discuss selling acreage off the farm and at least stop the ‘blood flow’. But Joe says, "We’d never get the value for what it’s worth now, plus, with the $400,000 mortgage on the new barn, most folks will run from it as fast as possible!"
The one conclusion they both realize, "We have a major problem!" I guess you would
call it that if you are about $800,000 in the red! And, of course, Big Joe just can’t understand how it happened! He knows he has a few months before the ‘big squeeze’ comes, and he cannot postpone figuring out how to solve his problem. Vera said to Joe, "Will you please keep me in the loop and please tell me if those you owe start to come against you? I don’t want any more surprises." Then, of course, she began to reflect upon the possibility that this criminal element Joe is involved in could come against her or David or both. Now, she’s really on edge!
Sleepless nights begin to be a pattern for Vera -and of course she has a solution, just
take all the sleeping pills you need! That really alleviates her problems, right? Then she begins to take those pills with Vodka so Joe wouldn’t know she’s drinking, as if she could fool him.
Peace is not a description of the Hestert household right now. "Troubled waters" is a
better description. There is such an air of uneasiness, a tension as thick as butter itself, an attitude of doubt and fear, almost like a haze or fog that has settled over the two. And, sadly, there is no such thing as saving or redemptive faith in their marriage. They are not individuals who have chosen to walk with God, led by the light of a holy sovereignty over their lives. They are in control and they handle their own problems! They call the shots, make the decisions, devise their own plans, and solve their own problems! Oh, sure, and how blessed they appear to be! Aren’t they a picture of married bliss, the modem example of holy matrimony, the academy award of enriching love, faith, and hope? No, their relationship is cheap, cosmetic, corrosive, corrupt, and crumbling. What is in store for Joe and Vera with David surviving because of his studies and his love of basketball, but what does tomorrow hold?
CHAPTER TEN
THE PRESSURES MOUNT
Juan Cruz is not a name that many East Tennesseans find familiar. But of course Big Joe knows him because he is the distant front man for the Colombia drug cartel. Big Joe knows him quite well! But that is the only name he has had ever heard relating to the drug business.
Juan Cruz is a Miami resident who travels frequently throughout the Southeast. That area is his zone of operation. And over the years he has miraculously stayed under the radar of the Drug Enforcement Agency. He’s never been arrested. He’s never been approached by the DEA-he’s ‘clean’ in the southern drug business.
Juan met Big Joe in Daytona at a big "Bike" rally as thousands and thousands of bikers came to Daytona to visit with their friends and acquaintances, make their business contacts, build their networks for drug and prostitution, and "party!" That certainly has been Big Joe’s life-style mode -party, party, and more party. This was before he and Vera married.
It was in "The Cowboy Saloon" in Daytona where Juan and Big Joe met, at the bar, as they shared a drink. Juan is always so very, very careful as he sizes up potential dealers, and it doesn’t take long to believe Big Joe will be a potential client. But he certainly isn’t ready to bridge that possibility just yet -time will tell. Juan is really interested because of the Chattanooga, Knoxville, and Nashville triangle with Memphis as an add-on. Juan was amazed that Big Joe was so upfront about his prostitution ring. In fact, it was a negative for him as he thought about bringing Joe into his loop of "drug service."
But then there is a major and dangerous eruption of their conversation as a bar fight
breaks out, and this is no place for a ‘foreigner’ as the fists fly, bottles break, blood flows, and gunshots ring out! Big Joe doesn’t hesitate -he covers Juan and leads him out the back-door into an alley where for the present moment he’s safe. Juan was not frightened because of what he had witnessed before in the Miami area, but he was certainly appreciative of Big Joe’s quick thinking and gushed with many thanks for getting him
out. A bond is made.
After the bar room melee is quieted by Daytona police, Juan and Joe decide to meet for lunch the next day at a local cafeteria. It’s a good place for Juan to really question Joe and see if there is a ‘fit’ with Juan’s business -or should I say again the Colombian drug cartel. This will not be a quick decision on Juan’s part -the final decision rests in Colombia by bosses that he cannot even name. The cartel is smart, savvy as to good personnel, separated in a way even the CIA or FBI would have a hard time in identifying any of the ‘owners’ by name.
As the luncheon began Juan was up front with Joe assuring Joe he’d already checked him out through crime contacts in the Tennessee area and that he was not hesitant in possibly offering Tennessee to Joe, based upon mutual agreements finalized by the top echelon people in Columbia.
And, of course, Big Joe is interested because prostitution alone does not provide him with
the big bucks he really wants for himself. He knows if he can tie into the drug cliental in a big way he’d be set for life. But Juan wants to know, "What is your tie-in to local law
enforcement? Will they be a problem? Joe is able to assure Juan that it will cost him a percentage personally but there are those who will ‘turn the other way,’ be blind to what Joe does, as long as their share is fair. That’s sweet music to Juan’s ears -he loves having local law enforcement hungry for money beyond their salaries!
But, of course, there is the huge discussion about money and Juan doesn’t hesitate in saying to Big Joe, "Your cost is higher initially, but as you prove yourself trustworthy you get a bigger share. Do you understand that?"
And Joe asks, "What is my testing time?" Juan responded, "We adjust at the end of one year, depending upon your payments, your volume, and your non-identity. Can you personally stay under the radar with the DEA?" Joe has no qualms in assuring Juan he ill run the cleanest operation in the U.S.A.!
Now, Juan must explain to Joe that Joe’s connection is dependent upon the Columbia
drug king-pin. And it takes time because there are so many loops to jump through. Juan tells Joe, "I do not have a single name in Colombia. Everything is hush-hush. It will take at least a week to get an answer, another week to set up payment plans, and another week to establish the pipeline that protects everyone." And Juan wants to know how long it will take Joe to establish his ‘up’ and ‘down’ line.
Joe assures Juan he’ll be fully operational within a month. And it happened big time. Joe became one of the leading producers for the drug cartel. He did it year after year.
Then, of course, because of a flawed character to begin with, Joe began to skim more and more off the top for himself. He became one of "the big-time spenders" and began to get behind his drop payments in Miami to Juan. It hasn’t been day after day or month after month, but has stretched into well over a year that Joe falls behind.
This does not sit well with Juan or the Colombian ‘big dogs!’ Juan had to make a special trip to Tennessee to set up a personal meeting with Big Joe. It’s all on the line, and Juan’s bosses have said to him, "Give Joe four months, and if he is not debt free with us, he will be indebted, and that’s not a good place for Joe Hestert to be! Make sure he understands –
– ‘we mean what we say!’ "
There is one thing Joe clearly understands: "He’s in major trouble and what he just heard he understands puts his very life on the line!" And the one thing Joe understands is, he cannot turn this problem around in four months without a major cash infusion. Where does it come from? That’s his dilemma. Now he must come up with a huge web of deception and ease his own pain.
That certainly shouldn’t be a problem because Joe has never been an honest or honorable
man-he has thrived on deceit and doesn’t see it as a character flaw, just a way of life in the rough and tumble world he’s been a part of all his life! His philosophy is, "Everybody is a cheat-look at how they ‘cook the books’ with the IRS!" He sees no wrong in prostitution, no wrong in mistreating his employees, no wrong in the use of illegal drugs, no wrong in robbing banks -he’s a modem-day ‘Robin Hood,’ taking from the rich to give to himself! He sees no wrong in cheating on his wife! Joe is a cheat! He sees no wrong in using young university girls in prostitution or supplying drugs even to Middle Schools!
But now there is a ‘higher power’ over his life, and it isn’t God for him, it’s the
Colombian drug cartel! And their judgment day is about to come for Big Joe, unless he can scheme his way to debt relief. What will he do?
CHAPTER ELEVEN
LAYING THE GROUNDWORK OF DECEPTION
It’s early March into the New Year and Joe knows his problem must be solved between mid-May to June 1. Time is short, the clock is running faster than Joe wants it to, and he knows he must make a decision quickly about easing his financial pain.
It’s also time for Joe’s inner circle to meet and resolve what Big Joe will do to remedy his situation. Joe has three former "Hell’s Angels" that he’s known and worked with over the last eighteen to twenty years. They basically have grown up together in the crime world with Joe being "the cream that rises to the top." It’s no problem for the other three because they have been treated fairly by Joe and have more than just enough to eat.
Of the three, one has overseen the prostitution in Chattanooga, one in Knoxville, and one
in Nashville. It has been a thriving business in each city, but even with their success, it was never enough for Joe. When the drugs entered the picture, the same three looked after their own city area, but of course required additional leadership in a dangerous business.
And, before, they had never witnessed Big Joe skimming off the top for himself and delaying payment to the ‘bigboys’ in Miami and Colombia. This became a different ballgame than any of them were used to, but Joe had been their huge ‘financial cow’ and they were not going to abandon him.
The four meet in Gatlinburg for a weekend of hammering out whatever plan Big Joe came up with. Whatever he decided, they were on board, and they would carry out his plan to the minutest detail. They know, whatever, it’s going to be risky for them all, and
they must cover every possibility thoroughly. They also understand that whatever plan is settled upon, it must look like an out-of-state job with no way to trace any activity to the
four of them.
Joe had made his decision before the meeting was set up, and the other three knew it was not open for discussion. As the meeting was opened in Gatlinburg at their hotel, Joe was certain he had made the right decision, but it was going to take meticulous planning. He wanted no slip-ups, no leaks, no strangers involved in the event, and absolutely rock
solid protection for the four of them.
Joe establishes a budget of $100,000 to carry out his plan. Each of the four would have
$25,000 a piece to fulfill whatever role they played, and, the less they spent on others or materials, the more for their own pockets.
Here’s the plan: They are going to devise a plan to blow up Joe’s new barn which cost
him $400,000 to build, insured for about $600,000 with insurance on his dozen and a half horses at $1, 250,000! Joe’s only problem will be the replacement of his horses on down the line, but with insurance money he can rebuild plus pocket about $200,000. With the insurance money from the horses, he can pay off the drug cartel and still have over
$500,000!
The three team members are ecstatic -they believe it can be done easily without great
risk to any of them. They do know the care that must be given for the selection of an out of-state bomb maker and how he’ll propose to do it. Joe let’s them know it is their responsibility in selection and financial payments out of the $25,000 he’s given to each
one. Out of Joe’s $25,000, he’ll use it to lay the groundwork of deception, pointing everything away from the four and on to someone in Colombia with Juan kept out of the loop along with those who lead the cartel that he doesn’t even know by name. Joe has planned a trip to Miami to draw Juan in to help him establish people that Joe will be able to blame the bombing on. It may cost him $10,000 -$15,000 for Juan, but it will be worth it in the end.
Before they leave Gatlinburg, they’ve narrowed down "the bomber" to a few former soldiers, now retired, in Columbus, Georgia. There are at least two men that they believe will work together to see that the barn comes down and burns with no way for the horses to survive. These guys were in the army together and even spent time in the brig for their brawling fun with young, immature soldiers. They were close and feel the door will be open with the right dollar amount. The three responsible for this part figure they’ll start at
$10,000 and limit it to no more than $15,000. That’s only $5000 a piece out of their
$25,000. They’ll have expenses in travel from Tennessee to Georgia, but they ought to come out with at least $17,000-$18,000 each.
The three associates pre-arrange a meeting in Columbus, Georgia, at the Holiday Inn the following weekend. The Georgia boys are alerted to the significance of the meeting and to not call attention, in any way, to this meeting. It will not be a problem because these guys are not on anybody’s concern list. For the criminal element, they are trustworthy! When the meeting begins that Friday night, on the way down, Joe’s three front men get greedy and decide they’ll keep their financial offer at $8000. When the two former soldiers hear that figure, they get up to leave. Of course, it was a bluff. The "bombers" insist that $8000 is not worth the risk, plus they’ve been informed, whatever price they settle on, these two must pay for the materials needed to bring down an 8000 square foot barn! It doesn’t settle in at the top dollar of $15,000-the three finally agree to $18,000. The price is set, the agreement is made, and they target the barn for destruction on May 25! It is settled that there will be absolutely no contact between Joe’s three point-men and the bombers. They do settle on the blast taking place at 4a.m. The guys who devise the plan will do it remotely after they’ve wired and set up everything the previous evening by 10:30 pm. They want to be able to set it up, drive a good ways away from the barn, and then at 4a.m. make the call that will set it off. Everybody agrees!
Big Joe is going to Miami "on vacation," and, of course, without Vera! He only plans two
or three days there to convince Juan and drop a "bundle" on him for his help. He flew, and then took a taxi to one of the best hotels near the airport. After a good night’s rest, he planned a breakfast meeting with Juan.
As he laid out his plan for securing the funds he needed to settle with Juan’s bosses in
Colombia, Juan was not shocked but a little surprised. He didn’t know the depths of depravity Joe would sink to solve his financial woes. But it doesn’t bother Juan, he’s always liked Joe and wants to help him any way he can- for a price!
Juan responds, "How can I help you from Miami carry out what is going to happen on
your farm in Tennessee?" Joe is clear and to the point, "I need your help in setting up a fall guy, someone who knows nothing of the barn’s destruction, but is in the area with plans to rob my home. He comes in at least a day and a half before May 25, in a Florida tagged automobile, he cases out the farm, and has instructions to rob my safe in the house on the morning of the 26th before noon when everyone will be out of the home. Your associates will have placed into the trunk of his car in a way that he cannot find it, wiring,
some ammonium nitrate, and whatever else would link him to the explosion! The police will be alerted after the morning of the bombing about a strange car in the area the last two days with Florida tags. And, of course, you cannot be identified with him. Keep him far away from you. My max financially for you and him will be $20,000, but you could work out with him funds up front and then a cut of what he was supposed to take from my safe. That won’t happen so you may be able to get by with a few thousand dollars up front. Just be sure he’s the one you don’t like and you’d like to see him in prison for the bombing!" Juan says without hesitation, "It’s Eduardo Montoya! I don’t know him personally but my bosses in Colombia say he’s been a thorn in their sides!"
Juan responded to Joe, "What should he be told about what is in your safe?" And Joe
says,
"Get the word to him there will be $250,000 cash and jewelry worth $100,000, monies that I have saved from my two businesses. Whoever is your front man will work out an agreement of a fifty-fifty split. OK?" Also Joe insisted that the front-men be Colombians who would gladly go back there until the smoke clears. They agreed.
Juan wants to know how long he has to set up Montoya? And Joe says, "Only one week,
because if you can’t lure him in, we’ve got to move in another direction." If the two retired soldiers are in, Joe will get materials from them to plant in Eduardo’s car.
It’s settled with Juan and the plan is in full motion. But now Joe must sit Vera down and let her know what is about to happen. He has no qualms about the barn and horses being gone.
As Joe sits down with Vera, she had heard a lot of the potential options that Joe had, but
when he laid out the "bomb blast", Vera was elated. She saw the plan down to the
minutest detail- and she sees it as fully safe for herself, David, and Joe. For Vera, it’s a "thumbs up!" She lets Joe know that David will not be in any danger because he will be away about two and a half days on a school "Faith" retreat. He’s scheduled to be home by noon on May 26.
Now, Joe’s biggest challenge is deceiving local law enforcement and other agencies that
Joe is in danger, that he’s been receiving anonymous phone calls with threats on his life, that he has an enemy he knows nothing about, and that more news about his demise will be coming soon!
Through Juan Joe had pre-arranged for the mailing of a death threat on his life, the threat
coming from someone in Florida, and that it would happen by June 1. The locals go to work trying to discover who is behind the threats but it is a cold trail; they are not able to find even a small crack of opportunity telling them who is behind this. Juan and Joe have covered themselves well!
Chapter Twelve TARGET TIME
It’s really amazing how this web of deceit is unfolding. Remember, two retired soldiers are on board to carry out the bombing, and Eduardo Montoya is set up to be the fall guy. Columbus, Georgia, is the city-location for Fort Benning, the largest army facility in the nation. And, of course, many soldiers retire there when their career is over simply because of the commissary and the tie with war buddies and their families.
Retired sergeant, Steve Lowery, and retired Lt. Colonel Jim Fingers, are the two men that Joe’s buddies have lured into the circle of criminal activity once again. The brotherhood of crime is strong, and these two guys are also bored! They want "on the edge" again; they want to be tested; they want to see how far they can go without being caught; they want to see the law officials baffled, scratching their heads, and wondering who could have pulled off a horrific bombing! There is no question that they’ll be fully involved.
But they began to have questions among the two of them: how do we bring that barn down, how do we make sure the horses don’t get out, what materials do we use, how long will it take for us to get set up, what is the trigger mechanism, any chance we could be identified? It was day after day that they sought to hammer out their strategy. They definitely knew they had to sneak around Joe’s farm and barn; they knew they had to
have everything pre-set; they knew they had to be far way when the explosions took
place; and they knew what ever materials they used could not be traced to them. They ARE soldiers, and they plan well.
How careful these two planners are! They know the materials they must use and they
know that not even a wire, a timer, or inflammatory materials can be traced to them. They understand they’ll have to use some form of backpack to hold the inflammatory
materials, and that becomes a major concern. How easy would it be to trace four or five backpacks with maybe name labels on them, or trace wiring? They realize they have their work cut out for them. Even the purchase of ammonium nitrate could be traceable.
They come to the conclusion that everything they use will have to be stolen and taken somewhere a great distance from Columbus, Georgia. They began to use maps, they began to check out businesses that use materials they need, and they know wiring and timers will be a key element. Colonel Fingers is sure he can build the timers with untraceable materials and find essential wiring without any problems. They also decided they’d take sports backpacks from a school far away from Ft. Benning. This is really coming together and they are well pleased!
Of course, they are going early, well before their target date to survey the situation at Big
Joe’s farm. They’ll do it quietly in the middle of the night, mapping out every detail of timer location etc.
Then, there is Eduardo Montoya. And he has his own plan to devise, not knowing he will
be the fall guy. But he is a covetous man, and when he learns of a big heist in a home, he is ecstatic! He’s sure this is going to be the easiest robbery he’s ever been a part of. He doesn’t even need a helper -this will be a "piece of cake." But he’s never been in the
exact area where Big Joe lives in Tennessee, and he knows he must make a scouting trip before the target date.
In Miami Juan’s distant helpers have drawn the noose tight around Eduardo. They will plant strong incriminating evidence against him in the car or van he uses before he leaves for Tennessee the second time. Everything matching the soldiers’ materials will be in Eduardo’s car or van. He won’t have a chance of missing arrest!
Eduardo gets all the information he needs to locate Big Joe’s home and farm. As he drove toward Tennessee he made his list of everything he’d need to blow a small safe. It’s possible he can pick up his materials in Atlanta going or coming.
When he arrives in Joe’s city, for some unknown reason he is emboldened to check into a local motel with a restaurant attached. And, of course, the motel manager recorded his license plate number, but Eduardo is only thinking, "This is about eight weeks away. No problem in recording my information."
The next morning he drives to Joe’s farm, checking mileage and time factors. When he arrived at the farm, he checked the best location to park his car near the home, but far enough away not to be spotted by anyone traveling by.
He’s been told where the safe is located in the house so he is not going to make a home invasion at this time. He’s measuring time and miles and the route to get him to the interstate highway as quickly as possible. He doesn’t know he will never leave his motel the morning of the bombing because the motel manager, having heard of the bombing that fateful morning, will call the sheriff’s officers about a suspicious individual!
As Eduardo was driving back through Atlanta, he remembers an old buddy living in
Atlanta who had been a part of several ‘jobs" and would know the availability of materials to blow a safe. He finds out his old friend’s address and drives to his home. Anesto is glad to see Eduardo but surprised he is still interested in blowing safes! He felt sure that Eduardo was way beyond that, but is convinced this is something he’s going to do and opens the door to a supplier in Atlanta who can meet Eduardo’s needs and keep quiet about it. It will cost him but is not a big hit into what Eduardo will make for himself. He’s set.
Arriving in Miami he continues to plan, plan, plan. He wants no slip-ups on his part for pulling off a heist worth at least $250,000, not counting any jewelry or other valuables in Big Joe’s safe.
Now it’s focusing in on what, at one time, he did with the greatest of ease. He studies any materials he could locate, even through his local library, on safe-cracking. When the time comes he knows he’ll be able to do it with the greatest of ease.
Eduardo is so arrogant he begins to consider safe places of investments with a good return. He is planning on a generous retirement fund and this job is a huge contribution to his future. He is smart enough that no one from Miami is brought into the loop, only the guys from Juan’s camp. This is "sealed lips" time, and Eduardo is a master at that.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
LATE SPRING "FLING OF FAITH"
Not many schools are blessed with such a strong contingent of Christian coaches and teachers; in fact the school principal is a faithful believer. Everything is voluntary but there is a huge response from cheerleaders, team members, and coaches of all sports. They begin on a Thursday night and finish the retreat with lunch on Saturday.
It’s really interesting that David Matthews has never had any interest in the Christian faith because of what he experienced from his father in Vera’s first marriage. His ears have been closed to any Christian motivation. But Coach Stephens passionately encouraged every basketball team member to participate. They were not going to lose a position if they didn’t attend, but David knew Coach really wanted him there. The clincher that convinced David he should attend was when he saw Paula Pressley was going to be singing!
Paula is a sophomore like David, a cheerleader, strong student, and vocalist for the school
choir and her church choir. David has never known Paula on a personal basis -they’d pass in the hallways and David would notice her cheering at his games. He’s motivated to attend strictly because he may be able to get acquainted with her.
Also there is a professional football player speaking one session and then a University of
Tennessee college basketball player that has set a few records at UT. He’s going to give "a personal testimony." David doesn’t know what that is, but he decides he needs to attend the "spring fling of faith."
Big Joe purchased an older car for David after his good play in basketball and David was excited that Joe and Vera allowed him to drive it to the retreat with another friend riding with him.
Thursday night, May 24, and the retreat is on. The popular youth leader from one of the
growing churches in the city is the master of ceremonies, the music leader with a high school group from the band plus a choral ensemble lead the worship. There is over one hundred athletes, boys and girls, from the high school in attendance. David is not only unsure about his presence but uneasy because something is happening, (good for the
glory of God!), but not good as David sees it. He wonders how many hypocrites there are
in attendance like his father!
Oh, but then the youth leader introduces Paula Pressley to sing before the UT basketball player gives his testimony. David had heard Paula in the school choir but never singing a solo. The choice she made was the song, "The King Is Coming." And the saying, "She sang the stars down," was really how David felt when he heard Paula singing. And to himself he said, "I wonder if Paula would ever have any interest in me?" There was one thing he knew -he must get to Paula when the night service is over and let her know how much he appreciated her singing.
The UT player shared his testimony, but David really didn’t understand what the young
man was saying, or more honestly, didn’t want to know what he was saying. Coach Stephens was asked to close the first night’s service in prayer, and it struck a chord with David, but he wouldn’t admit it.
Coach prayed, "Lord Jesus, thank You for this first service of the "Spring Fling of Faith." We know you sovereignly led every one of us here tonight. This is Your divine appointment with many, many young people. Like Jeremiah, You are drawing them to Yourself with Your lovingkindness. Thank You for those already saved, thank You for those whose hearts you are touching for the first time, thank You that You knock on the doors of all our hearts wanting to come in. Give grace to many the next few days so that they will understand what You want to do in and through their lives. May they sense Eternity in their hearts over these days and understand You made them, lost them, but You bought them with a price, the precious blood of the w01ihy Lamb of God. Amen." Immediately after the closing prayer David made his way to the front of the auditorium where Paula was standing. He had to get in line, but it didn’t matter to David, he would stand there all night if he could just introduce himself to Paula.
Finally, he’s there, in front of Paula, and with a smile he said, "I know you don’t know me, Paula, but I’m David Matthews, and I loved your singing." Paula responded, "David, you don’t have to introduce yourself to me. I know who you are. And I love the way you play basketball- and someone told me you are an ‘A’ student in your classes. That’s great."
Sheepishly David dismissed himself from Paula’s presence with a glimmer of hope, "She
knows who I am!" It was hard for David to fall asleep that night because he had Paula "on my mind." He couldn’t wait for the morning session to start because he knew he’d see Paula. And he was wondering, "I wonder if she would sit with me if I asked her." But David couldn’t or wouldn’t bring himself to ask her. He thought, "Maybe she’ll have lunch with me, but again he was too shy to be so bold!
But something else was really bothering David. The music, Paula, the UT player, the high school classmates and teammates seemed to have something David had been running
from all his life. He wouldn’t admit it, but the Lord Jesus was making deep and strong strides into his mind and heart; and at this point, David did not like it.
David didn’t even look for Paula, not only for lunch, but for an afternoon walk. He just wandered around the campgrounds wondering if he could even handle the night service, but he wanted to see and hear Paula sing again.
The night service was a joyous "blast" but David could not bring himself to join in
though he really wanted to. He knew nothing about Holy Spirit conviction, wooing him, drawing him to Christ Jesus. He resisted strongly.
The planners had invited a very strong youth choir from another city to sing three songs
in the early part of the night service. They were outstanding, and David could not grasp how so many young people could be so "deluded." Then after more group singing the host introduces Paula again. David was awed by what he heard, Paula singing, Sandy Paty’s "We Shall Behold Him." She was so free, so angelic, so certain that what she was singing was true, and it threw David for a loop. He didn’t know how to respond. He only knew he couldn’t stay around for the late-night commitment service. When the first session was over he went straight to Paula. "Paula, your singing really touched me. I’d love to hear you sing again sometime. Is it possible I could take you for a milkshake sometime?’
And she agreed! David was ecstatic, but had to say to her, "I can’t stay for the late night
service, but I’ll see you at school Monday." Paula was disappointed, but told David she’d look forward to the milkshake.
It’s about 11:l 5p.m. when David leaves the campground. He decided to stop by a quick serve and get a hamburger before he goes home. It’s about midnight when he arrives on the farm, all the lights are out, and so David decides to sleep in the barn and not disturb Joe and Vera. He spread out his sleeping bag and slept on top of it on the hay. It’s been a very long day and David has no problem falling asleep.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN DAVID’S DREAM SHATTERED
Of course David is totally unaware that the retired sergeant and colonel are in on Big Joe’s scam with the intent of blowing up the barn at 4 a.m. on May 25. The two had already been to the barn several hours ago and had placed each backpack where they needed to be, wired the timers and set each to go off at that early morning hour. The two retired soldiers are long gone -no one saw them enter and no one saw them leave.
In the mean-time Eduardo had checked in again at the same motel with attached restaurant. "No problem -They won’t know what I’m in town for." His target time is twelve noon to rob Joe’s safe, but Joe and Vera are going nowhere.
Eduardo does not know that in the tire well Juan’s associates had placed wiring, an extra timer, and scattered a little ammonium nitrate. He is set up for a downfall!
At 4 a.m. the timers go off and there is a huge explosion and fire that rages throughout
the barn. David is thrown from the upper barn hay-storage area, losing his right arm and right foot and was burned over about 70% of his right side. He miraculously landed in the shallow end of the horses’ swimming area, the place they walk into to get their pool exercise. He also never lost consciousness and was able to turn himself over, lying in shock on his back.
Samuel Etheredge was the first on the scene followed closely by Big Joe and Vera.
Samuel was horrified, with his big spotlight, to go right by the pool and see David lying in the pool. He carefully pulls David out of the water just as Joe and Vera arrive. They are shocked, horrified that David was home and in the very heart of the blast. The barn is collapsing, the fire is raging, a few of the horses survived the initial blast, but soon there is no sound of horses crying within the debris.
Big Joe yells at Vera, "Get to the house, call for an ambulance and a fire truck, then call
the sheriff’s office. Tell them to get here fast.
Samuel finds some clean rags tossed out of the vet’s office and begins to press them around David’s right shoulder area where the limb was ripped off and over the foot area that had been tom away. David was in excruciating pain from the tom two limbs and the bums. He goes in and out of consciousness before the EMT’s arrive. They are about fifteen minutes away, and Samuel and Big Joe do all they can to keep David comfortable. In fact, Big Joe sits on the ground and carefully pulls David toward him. He held him tenderly, and for probably the first time in his life as an adult male he cries over David. "David, David, what were you doing in the barn. We thought you were at a retreat!" But David couldn’t answer. The shock was really taking hold.
Finally, the EMT’s arrive and Joe and Vera are so thankful. They do everything they can
on site before getting him in the ambulance and speeding to the local hospital. The EMT’s instruct Samuel, "Get some help and at daybreak see if you can find David’s arm and foot." But it didn’t happen- at daybreak the barn was now just smoldering ashes. All the horses were killed and very little of the barn remained.
Joe encourages a sheriff’s deputy to get word to Coach Stephens at the campsite where
the retreat was being held. He had to awaken a number of people before he found out where Coach Stephens had bunked. But when he found him, awakened him, and told him of David’s condition he wept like a baby as he awakened other coaches and drove to the
local hospital. David was one of the few "once-in-a-lifetime" players a high school coach has the privilege of coaching, but now he knows basketball is not one of David’s options!
When Coach Stephens arrives at the hospital, he quickly finds Joe and Vera and the three embrace and weep together. Coach asks, "Will he make it?" And Vera says the doctor on duty says it is likely he’ll make it but with a very long recovery.
After several hours of emergency care, Joe and Vera are allowed in to see David, but only
for a short visit. They have David heavily sedated to ease the pain. The bleeding from his lost arm and lost foot has stopped, and his burns have been cared for as much as possible. The doctor tells the family and Coach that David will eventually have to have a large number of skin grafts, but that will be sometime way ahead before they can start.
David is not conscious enough for them to say anything to him, but the three stand around his bed with tears streaming down their faces.
At breakfast at the "Fling of Faith," the news is shared, and it is a sad and somber morning. The organizers decide that they will have a major prayer session for David and then dismiss them to go home or whatever. And after the prayer meeting over a hundred teenagers and leaders go directly to the hospital. Of course they can’t get in to where David is, and so they stand around in small groups continuing to pray for David. Coach Stephens came out when he learned the students had come and shared with them David’s condition. He urged them to continue praying.
Paula Pressley caught the coach before he was back inside the hospital. "Coach, David asked me last night if I would go with him for a milkshake. I told him I would. Can I go with you to tell David not to stand me up with the milkshake invitation?" Coach Stephens said, "I’ll see if they will let you in. But are you sure you can handle his condition?" And Paula said, "I have to handle it for his sake." And the two of them head to intensive care. Coach Stephens introduces Paula to Joe and Vera, and Vera said, "Paula, David has spoken of you often. I’m so glad to meet you. But are you sure you want to go in – David is burned over about 70% of his body and he lost his right arm and right foot."
Paula responded, "I’ll only stay a minute. I want him to know when he’s able I’m
bringing him the biggest and best milkshake in town."
Paula is allowed in for only a brief time and Coach goes with her. David is barely alert but he knows them and begins to cry, "Paula, you shouldn’t see me like this." And she responded, "Oh, yes, I should because I’m holding you to our shake date, and when you’re able I’m bringing you the biggest and best milkshake in town. OK?" David just continues to cry. He’d hoped Paula might be the love of his life-but now?
The city and the school rally to David’s support with a constant 24-hour prayer chain. They rally to Joe and Vera and food is provided in their home day by day. They organize supporters to be at the hospital day and night to do whatever Joe and Vera might need. They reached out to Samuel Etheridge and his family because they knew how much Samuel loved David.
The next evening Coach Stephens is back at the hospital to relieve Joe and Vera and
spend time with David. As the coach entered intensive care, David was elated to see him. He told Coach Stephens, "Coach, last night I had a dream. Jesus appeared to me standing before a bridge that spanned a deep chasm. He said, ‘David, follow Me.’ What was He telling me, Coach?" And Coach Stephens responded, "David, God loves you more than you love yourself. He sent Jesus to tell you He took your place and mine on the Cross
because of our sin. His invitation is forgiveness, and a bridge over that chasm of suffering, shame, and our sin. He takes us unto Himself and leads us in His life, not our own." And David said, "I want to follow Jesus. Will He have me like this?" And Coach responded, "David, I can’t wait to see what God will do through you. It’s going to be miraculous, melodious, and moving, for all to see what He can do through one life." And right there Coach led David in the sinner’s prayer! When word gets out, the city rejoices! Oh, but the next night Coach is back. David was so anxious to see him. "Coach, the Lord Jesus came to me again in another dream! He was standing in front of a beautiful mansion with the front door open. And Jesus asked me again to follow Hirn. He walked up a beautiful, flowing set of stairs to an upper level. Then He stood by what looked like a throne. And He said to me, "David, come and be seated here!" What does that mean, Coach?" And Coach Stephens began to weep, then gained control of himself, and said to
David, ‘David, in corning to Christ, He raises us up to be seated with Hirn in the heavenly
places. The Bible says, ‘As He is so are we in this world.’ He’s given you His throne seat, His heavenly authority, His ministry of laying down your life for others, and His inheritance. You are joint-heir with Christ!’ He’s going to raise you up to more than you ever thought you could be!" Hearing that, David peacefully falls asleep.
After one week in intensive care, and probably five to six weeks more, Paula asked the
doctor if she could bring David a milkshake. He gave his permission as long as she kept his intake minimal and her visit minimal. David was so appreciative of what Paula had done and kept thanking her over and over, then said, "When I’m over all this can I take you out for the milkshake I promised you?" And Paula said, "I can’t wait. But you must do all the doctors and nurses tell you so you can speed up the process. When you’re ready, I’ll pick you up at your home and we’ll go get that milkshake like you promised." David had to share with his mother and Joe the two dreams he’d had about Jesus corning to him. It wasn’t easy because of their longtime resentment of anything spiritual. But after several weeks David felt he was up to it and boldly declared his allegiance to Christ
Jesus. They weren’t surprised nor alarmed but a little aloof about it. "David, we want you
following your heart." That’s all they could say, but deep down David hoped he’d at least planted a few seed to germinate in their hearts.
Three months have passed and the doctor says to Joe and Vera and David, "I believe
David can go home. But you do understand he is going to have a tough year ahead of
him. There will have to be a series of skin grafts, but at this point there isn’t much we can do about his arm replacement and foot. That needs to come after the skin grafts have properly healed. I’m suggesting that you talk to school authorities immediately and arrange for at least David’s junior year he be tutored at home." They understood.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN SHERIFF GETS A CALL
It’s early morning, after the bombing at Joe Hestert’s farm, and the news is out, including what happened to David Matthews. The local motel owner has a suspicion about a guest, Eduardo Montoya.
Hurriedly he calls the sheriffs office that he believes he has a suspect registered in his motel, and he hasn’t checked out. He informs the deputy that this man, from Florida, was also checked in five or six weeks ago. He believes the man should be checked out.
The deputy informs the local sheriff and immediately he sets in motion the local swat
team. But first the sheriff has his office personnel to put in a request to Florida law enforcement any information of an Eduardo Montoya from Miami. They arrive on the scene in a matter of minutes and cover the motel front and back.
Then the leader, having been informed of Eduardo’s room number, goes to the door with
several officers and knocks. Eduardo opened the door surprised that a swat team was standing at his door with guns drawn. Immediately he’s put on the floor and his room is searched. He then asks Eduardo which is his car and does he give them permission to search it. He does because his safe-cracking materials had been left outside the city well hidden. He doesn’t have anything to worry about, so he thinks!
The officers swarm over Eduardo’s car, front and back. Nothing is found up front that heightened any suspicion, but when the trunk was opened and the tire well searched they found incriminating evidence: a timer, wiring, and traces of ammonium nitrate. Immediately Eduardo was placed under arrest and read his rights. He was shocked, argumentative, insistent that he knew nothing about what the officers found in his car. When he was booked and jailed the sheriff read the information sent from Florida about Montoya. He was suspected as a drug dealer with ties to the Colombia cartel, but had never been arrested. He had served eight years of a fifteen year sentence for robbery, paroled on good behavior.
It didn’t take long for officers to begin questioning Montoya intently. Without a doubt
they were confident they had their man. They had "the goods" on Eduardo!
But then he insisted he was being set up. He wasn’t there to blow up a barn! Then he told them that he planned on robbing Joe Hestert’s safe with $250,000 cash and jewelry worth
$100,000.
Oh, but here’s the clencher for the investigators: They had the note sent to Joe Hestert
threatening violence if he didn’t pay up, and on the paper was a fingerprint of Eduardo Montoya, with the envelope mailed from Miami.
But Montoya doesn’t give up so easily. He identifies two men in Miami who recruited
him, but they are no longer in the country. He told them where he had hidden his safe cracking tools and even offered to guide them there. They agreed; and at least on one count Eduardo proved to be right.
It didn’t in any way change or alter how the investigating officers felt about the man they
just arrested. They have their man!
As the day progressed the officers felt it to be very important that they get Joe aside and let him know about the arrest. They want to know if he has any idea about who Eduardo Montoya is, and Joe insists he’s never heard of him. They also want to know what he has
in his safe in his home, and Joe again insists, "I don’t have a safe! I sure don’t have
$250,000 or $100,000 worth of jewelry! It’s preposterous!"
They then inform Joe of what they found in the tire well of Montoya’s car. Joe is relieved that they found their man so quickly!
It happens two years later, but Eduardo Montoya is found guilty and sentenced to life in prison! No tie was ever made to the Colombian cartel, their point-men, Juan, or Big Joe Hestert. Montoya takes the hit!
And the sergeant and colonel, retired soldiers who carried out the bombing? They were
back in Columbus, Georgia, before the bomb blast, and by noon were on a plane to Barbados for vacation with their wives!
The local motel owner who called the police the morning of the bombing is honored by the city with a commendation. He was key in so quick an arrest.
When David was able to ask questions and talk to Joe and Vera about what had happened, Joe was able to let David know it was an attack on Big Joe for debts owed.
David had no problem understanding that -he regrets leaving the retreat early, but in all things he understands God has worked it for His good, and He has a new, devoted follower named David Matthews.
The sheriff and swat team leader came to the hospital early in the following week and
received permission to visit David in intensive care. They presented David with a deputy’s badge and a swat team jacket.
The next day Coach Stephens brought the basketball team, and with the doctor’s permission they were allowed for a brief moment to visit David also. They had a plaque "For The Champ" naming him honorary team captain for the next two years! David wept
-and the team wept with him.
Later in the week the youth leader David had so much respect for came with Paula to present David with a new New American Standard Bible. David tried his best to say "Thank You," but it was just too difficult. It eased for him when Paula said, "As soon as you are out of intensive care, I will be here after school to read to you from your new Bible." THAT was Kingdom of God therapy for David that no doctor could do with medicines!
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
THE CARE-GIVERS RALLY
The Hesterts are awed by the community commitment to work with David as long as needed. The school board is totally behind the community in providing whatever care David needs to get by the next few years.
One of the amazing things for the Hesterts was the fact that the city and surrounding areas raised the necessary funds to see that David’s college education is fully provided for. The funds will be in a savings account for the two years of David finishing high school, so he should have extra funds to make it easier for him.
A very successful car dealer in the county has volunteered to give David a new car as soon as he is able to drive. That may be at least a year because of the numerous skin graft operations David will have to undergo.
Retired teachers lined up to volunteer their services for David’s education. Over the next school year he has a different teacher for every school day of each week. They will work in cooperation with the scheduled classes and subjects that David would be covering through his junior year.
Classmates have volunteered on a rotating basis to help David with any homework assignments. Of course, Paula was the first volunteer.
When David was able to go home after three months in the hospital, nurses from the surrounding area volunteered both day and night to assist Joe and Vera with David’s care. Concerning meals and David’s feedings, the community worked out a three-month meal preparation schedule and volunteers to assist Vera in feeding David each day.
All of this was astounding to Joe and Vera -they couldn’t figure out "the servant spirit"
thing that was so pervasive. They couldn’t relate a "Christian spirit" to their attitudes about helping others. Joe would always volunteer to give a few dollars, but time, energy, effort?
On one occasion as Coach Stephens was visiting David after he returned home, Joe was scratching his head about all the volunteers and he asked Coach why. Quickly, Coach Stephens took David’s new Bible and read to them from Philippians 2:5-8,
"Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bond-servant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross." "That’s why, Joe; those who have come to Christ have taken on His nature and character, and servanthood is their way of Life. The night before our Lord died He was at the Table with His disciples, but they didn’t "serve" Him, He served them. He took a bowl of water and a towel and washed the feet of His disciples –
and we are those who take on His "foot-washing" Spirit! It has everything to do with the Christ within us, not us!" Big Joe is still scratching his head!
Coach Stephens knew he had a tremendous opportunity to impress upon the mind and heart of Joe and David the spirit of Jesus. He said, "Let me give you a quote from Frederick Robertson: ‘It is not the possession of extraordinary gifts that makes extraordinary usefulness, but the dedication of what we have to the service of God.’ The people you have witnessed through the hospital and your home are ordinary people
consumed by the passion and love of God to be your servants. David, I know from your English class you remember Shakespeare’s word in "Henry VIII," "Had I but served my God with half the zeal I served my king, he would not in my age have left me naked to my enemies." The Lord God Almighty is clothing you, David, in the most beautiful attire you could ever clothe yourself with, the servant spirit of Christ. You didn’t know it, but even before you came to Christ, He was already preparing you and clothing you in His own servant spirit. God is going to use you in amazing ways. You are destined for greatness in the servant spirit of Christ."
David’s first response was, "How will He be able to use me in the shape I’m in?" And Coach responded, "David, only when Jacob’s hip was out of socket was God able to use him powerfully! Only out of the failure of denial did Peter become a vibrant witness! Only through multiple sufferings did Paul become the strongest New Testament witness! Your life of service to honor Christ will flow out of your tragedy as He makes you a triumphant witness!"
Joe’s attitude had always been, ‘what you gain makes you great,’ not what you give. He really has a hard time with a ‘servant spirit,’ even though he has seen its vibrant witness in ministry to David and to Vera and himself.
Coach said to David: "David, it was John Greenleaf Whittier who said, "If but the least
and frailest, let me be evermore numbered with the truly free who find Your service perfect liberty!" You are a young man who will know that ‘perfect liberty,’ and will daily lay your life down for the glory of your Savior and Lord." To that David said, Amen!"
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN LOST YEAR OR LIFE GAINED?
The summer is over, David is home after three months in the hospital, the new school year is beginning, and the question is, ‘Can David handle the recovery, the skin graft operations, school work at home with someone different every day?’ Will Joe and Vera receive with class the many offers to help? Is this going to be a year before David that he loses hope or will it be a young man surmounting and overcoming adverse circumstances in his life? Lost year or life gained?
And you know the answer! The flood of compassion, devotion, service in the spirit of
Christ, has opened David’s eyes to ‘life in the Spirit’ like he never knew before. His coach was more than a God-send- he was like a substitute father! The youth director that David had admired so much became a vital friend and companion. And Paula Pressley was "the shining light" for David as faithfully she took David’s new Bible to read him vital words for his maturing faith.
The volunteer teachers were superb. They did not push David in any way, but allowed
him to do what he could do without overly tiring him out. Of course, he cannot write – he lost his shooting arm for basketball and his writing hand. The teachers used tapes for David to speak into as he was able to do the schoolwork; then the tapes went to the high school teachers to grade. David did amazingly well under the volunteer-tutelage.
As honorary team captain for this year’s basketball team, David was really anxious to progress by December to the point, at least in a wheelchair, that he could go represent the team he’ll never play for again. They set a target date, depending upon David’s progress, for the Christmas tournament. David’s only comment was, "Don’t schedule another skin graft around tournament time. I want to be with my team."
One night a week the school chorus came to David’s home to serenade David. They were
a talented singing group and always sang outside David’s bedroom window. David was always overjoyed every time they came.
Occasionally David would be surprised by the cheerleaders as they would come by to
have a rousing pep rally for David. Paula was a part of that group and, of course, really encouraged the cheer group to do this for David.
Every month his scheduled classroom teachers came as a group to update David on his
class studies. They were all so pleased that David was doing as well as he had with his limited motion. He always commented, smiling, "My brain wasn’t seared!" And the teachers would smile with him.
It’s Christmas season, and David cannot wait to hear all the beautiful music about the
season. His favorite was "Joy To The World, The Lord Has Come!" And David knew the Lord had come to him.
And Christmas season brought on the Christmas basketball tournament. The city knew,
the school knew, the team knew, "David is coming to the first game, but will be in a wheelchair." There was excitement all over the city. The radio broadcast the news every day, "David will captain his team!" There wasn’t even standing room -the gym was packed! When David was wheeled in by his team members and Coach Stephens, there was a deafening roar of applause, and then all of a sudden, total silence, until Coach announced the starting five with David Matthews serving as honorary captain, and the
gym erupted again in applause with tears flowing on almost every face. Paula led the cheerleaders in pushing David to the center of the gym where flowers were presented to David with an honorary plaque designating him team captain. Then Paula kissed David, and he began to weep- the crowd was hushed, stilled, teary, and then the choral group sang the national anthem. Again, a silence was over the huge crowd as they stood in awe of the moment; then David said, "Thank you!" And the crowd erupted in applause as David was pushed by Paula to the bench of his teammates. And his team scored a runaway victory! He was too tired to come back again, but his team made it to the finals again before losing out.
In the fall of the year David had two skin-grafts scheduled, but from January 1 through
May 31, his doctors have scheduled three more. That doesn’t make it easy for David’s studies, but David is so determined to score well in class that his teachers are amazed. He’s still an excellent student.
Even more daunting is David’s growth spiritually. Between Coach Stephens, the youth
director, and Paula, David is growing spiritually in a dynamic way. Paula has him memorizing scripture and David is loving it. One of his favorite verses was Romans 8:28, "And we know that all thing work together for good to those who love God, who are the called according to His purpose." David was learning that he was ‘the called’ according
to God’s purpose, and it was to his good and God’s glory. He was so anticipatory of what
God was going to accomplish through him!
David really wanted to be baptized, but the doctors told him it would have to be after the last skin-graft had healed.
The spring is a rich time for David. He loved being in a rocker on the front porch on the warm days. He loved the sound of the birds around him. He was thrilled to see the grass beginning to turn green. He loved watching Vera put out new flowers. The spring aroma gripped him and especially as he watched the sun set. David was beginning to be deeper in love with life than he’d ever experienced before.
But the summer was not an easy time for David -the heat seemed to be against him. The doctors had warned he may have a problem with sweat glands, but they provided medication to ease the stress .Also many of the helpers had scattered with summer vacations in front of them. But there were a few who would not let the summer interfere with their ministry to David: Coach Stephens, the youth director, and Paula. They were around, not every day, but almost.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN SENIOR YEAR-NO TEARS
It’s been over a year since the bombing, and David has made tremendous strides. The skin-grafts are finished, and now he’s in the healing mode plus the doctors have said they are ready with prosthesis for both arm and foot. David is extremely excited about that.
For now he’s using a small motorized wheel-chair.
Also he’s been given permission to return to school, but only for an evaluation of how he does. He may stay in all five days or possibly Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. After two weeks the doctors decide he can stay every day. David is thrilled.
David’s experience his senior year with his presence in daily classes has not been "pump
my flesh" time; David is so beyond that. He sees his role now as a ministry to other youth as Christ’s ambassador! He is thrilled that one on one or in a group setting he can share boldly what Christ Jesus means to him. This is a young man that has truly experienced resurrection Life and is glad to shout about it.
After David had adjusted to his new experience as a student after a year’s absence, the
principal asks David if in November, right before Thanksgiving break, if David would like to have a chapel program to share with the student body all that he’d been through. David was like a rocket just shot off from Cape Canaveral! He couldn’t believe what he’d just been offered, but of course he accepted it with great joy. His only request was that
his favorite youth director lead the school in singing, that the school choral group be allowed to sing strong gospel music, and that before he spoke Paula Pressley be allowed to sing, "We Shall Behold Him." The principal agreed.
Of course, it was voluntary, but the entire school showed up. Not one student or teacher
was absent. And, "Heaven Came Down," could not adequately describe what the service was like. The youth director was superb, the choral group was given a standing ovation by the student body, Paula Pressley hit a "grand slam," and David poured his heart out from the pain to the gain, from the suffering to the celebration, from the "Why me?’ to "Thank God for what He has shown me "Through It All."
Christmas will be very special for David this year -because of his new-found faith, his
prosthesis for arm and leg, his captaincy of the basketball team for the Christmas tournament, plus a growing vibrant love for Paula Pressley who also senses a divine love for David growing in her heart. David has a hard time believing it -he’s so scarred on his right side and face, she’s so beautiful, body, soul, and spirit, "and she loves me!" He has no hesitation in believing Paula is His second most perfect gift outside of Jesus!
It was no surprise to David that his high school team that he captained won the Christmas
tournament in a big way. Everyone was surprised because of David’s absence from playing, but with two new transfers as juniors who had been excellent players where they came from pushed Coach Stephens’ team well beyond what everyone expected.
Now begins for David the push for his final semester in high school. He really wants to score well because it would help with scholarship funds even though his community raised enough for four years of his college education. With scholarships, the monies raised still belong to David. And the interesting thing is David and Paula are the top two seniors in grades!
It is a very competitive winter-spring semester between the two seniors who study together regularly.
One of the things that has been a highlight for David his senior year was the time he made available for younger struggling students. He helped them with their study habits, but also built a bridge every week in sharing his faith with younger students. He looks upon this now as more rewarding than winning basketball games. And the younger students know they have a true friend in David Matthews.
Also a highlight for David his senior year was spring break when Joe and Vera decided to take David and Paula to Florida. The two seniors had a week to relax from the school
grind, enjoy one another’s company, grow in spiritual grace, and even have an opportunity to witness to Joe and Vera. Vera and Paula roomed together and Joe and David. Paula made tremendous inroads with Vera, but Big Joe is still Big Joe and nothing has really humbled him.
When graduation time comes David finished one grade point ahead of Paula and was named Valedictorian of the senior class and Paula Salutatorian. It was a rich testimony to the whole city, but especially rewarding to the high school students and junior high students to witness a godly, pure love between classmates!
Back in the winter the two of them had decided they definitely wanted to be at the same
college. It was not a hard decision for them because they wanted to attend a Christian centered college and they settled on Carson-Newman College in Jefferson City, Tennessee.
When the decision had been made and acceptance granted, David was contacted by the
basketball coach there wondering if David would consent to be honorary captain . He was elated! And then the cheerleader overseer contacted Paula urging her to try out for the squad. She made it!
The summer was so different for David than the summer two years before. What a
struggle then through that hot muggy summer after the bombing. But now David lives with keen anticipation for his future. He doesn’t know all that it holds, but he knows Who holds his future, and he is at peace.
As David reflected upon the last two years, he remembers the time Coach Stephens sat
him down after David had received Christ as his Lord and Savior. Coach said, "David, people all over the world are searching for happiness. But I want you to know and understand the great difference between a man’s ‘achieved happiness’ and the joy of the Lord. Happiness depends upon circumstances and are so fickle. But the joy of the Lord is permanent and abiding. The Lord’s joy never changes, and it is your strength." David knew and understood "peace that passes all understanding" more than most adults!
After graduation David was highly sought after for summer youth camps all over the
South. He accepted as time allowed but conditional on Paula coming also to sing before he spoke. Every camp leader agreed. It was a busy summer for the two of them made easy in travel by the local automobile dealer that had given David a new car.
In their travels together to and from the camps they had lots of time to talk. Both knew they wanted to share their entire lives together. They didn’t want to be immature and rush in to marriage and a family, but they agreed to sit down with both sets of parents and talk it out. They had decided that their desire was to marry the summer after their sophomore years in college. The parents agreed. What a celebration for two young people passionately in love with each other!
CHAPTER NINETEEN COLLEGE BOUND -MORE SOUND
It is amazing to so many people that David and Paula walk through his pain and suffering together and come out of it so mature in their pilgrimages. There is such a depth to their faith that it radiates in even their physical countenances. One former teacher said, "To see Christ on earth, look at the relationship of Paula Pressley and David Matthews!" They were such a strong, vibrant, dynamic witness of saving grace.
It was Robert Leighton who wrote: "Adversity is the diamond dust Heaven polishes its jewels with." That would sum up the walk David and Paula shared through their last two years of high school as the fires of trouble and the furnace of affliction brought them through with the quality of pure gold -the act of God upon both their lives.
You cannot look to these two young people and talk about belief apart from behavior. That’s hypocrisy or play-acting, and that could never be said of these two precious young people. The story of their beautiful walk with Christ is summarized by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, in Rhyme of the Duchess May, when she wrote: "And I smiled to think God’s greatness flowed around our incompleteness, -Round our restlessness, His rest."
To David and Paula behavior was not suppression but expression of the crucified life. They understood taking their cross unto themselves that the resurrection life of Christ could be expressed through them. They knew the wars, the battles, the fights with old sin natures, but they also knew the divine reality of walking "by the Spirit" and not the best efforts of their flesh. They knew the difference between walking in grace or striving by grit!
It was the famous India missionary, E. Stanley Jones who wrote in "The Way," (Abingdon Press), "Grace binds you with far stronger cords than the cords of duty or obligation can bind you. Grace is free, but when once you take it you are bound forever to the Giver, and bound to catch the spirit of the Giver. Like produces like. Grace makes you gracious, the Giver makes you give." And these two young people had given themselves unreservedly to God because of His grace fully expressed in Christ -and as a result they were not only bound to the Giver, but bound to lay their lives down in the true spirit of Holy Grace.
College bound-more sound! One of the great lessons learned through ‘lived-out-grace’
is the reality of a healthy soul and spirit. That God has two residences is fully understood when one concedes Heaven is God’s dwelling place but also the home of the heart where, because of their love of Jesus and His Word, Holy God with His Son feels "at home"
with David and Paula. And when that assurance and confidence grips the hearts of devoted young people, nothing is a barrier to their walk of blessing, peace, and contentment. They are fully His!
Alonzo B. Bragdon, in "When the Day is Done," wrote these words long before David or Paula had been conceived in their mothers’ wombs, but it is so expressive of their faith: "From fibers of pain and hope and trouble and toil and happiness, -one by one, Twisted together, or single or double, The varying thread of our life is spun. Hope shall cheer though the chain be galling; Light shall come though the gloom be falling; Faith will list for the Master calling our hearts to His rest, -when the day is done."
Young people called of God, and assured of it, walk in boldness, confidence, and overcoming faith of any boulders placed in front of them on life’s highway. They serve the God who lifts them over highway boulders!
David and Paula had understood and grasped that their love of their Lord and Savior, their love of each other, and their love for the ‘lost’ was because they saw Heaven’s grafted love in them like a natural spring of those ‘rivers of living water,’ and the longer it flows in them the deeper that love grows for all around them.
College bound- more sound! They know their covenant marriage is two years away, but they clearly understand preparation time, with God’s help, for the cutting of that covenant with one another. Paula had found a statement by Benjamin Franklin that she
felt she and David should use as a spiritual guide in their preparation. Franklin said, "God governs in the affairs of man; and if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid?" Paula said to David, "My beloved, my heart-felt desire for our future marriage is that all around us they say, "That’s a God-thing!" And David said, Amen! Marriage -an Empire of God!
College bound- more sound! David asks, "What’s our direction? What is the goal we
want to have accomplished after four years of college? In what type service area do we want to commit ourselves to? What will our degrees be in?" And the truth is both had genuinely felt they should be school teachers or coaches or both. The one thing they knew was that their Lord would give them clear direction, and every day, every year, His calling upon their lives would be clearer with that peace in their hearts ‘passing all understanding.’ When David spoke to Paula about their goals, he said, "I’d like to be another Coach Stephens!"
College bound- more sound! The two of them remembered English and reading Elizabeth Barrett Browning in "Aurora" when she wrote, "I felt so young, so strong, so sure of God." What a holy place to be when in the freshman year of college two youth like David and Paula are young, strong, and so sure of God!
College bound -more sound! A heavenly race, a sure place, a saving grace. "Grow in
grace and in the knowledge …of our Lord and Savior." Grow in the graces, which is the outworking on the indwelling Christ. There was a call upon David and Paula to grow in wisdom also because Proverbs 9:10 has told them, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding." And they understood the holy calling of God upon their lives.
College bound- more sound! Philip Doddridge wrote: "Awake, my soul! Stretch every
nerve, and press with vigour on; A heavenly race demands your zeal, and an immortal crown." They knew there was a crown before them, and they longed for it!
College bound- more sound! These were two young people committed to each other, committed to their Lord, committed to be equipped in education to help other youth face their futures with confidence and assurance, and committed to be all God had foreordained them to be for His glory and honor and praise.
CHAPTER TWENTY CAREER GOALS? SAYING SOULS?
There is not a young person who comes to Christ without reservations who does not consider, "Should I be a missionary? Am I called to be a pastor or a pastor’s wife? What is ultimate service to Christ that honors Him the most?"
And though David and Paula had seemingly settled it in their hearts to be teachers, there were still nagging questions in their hearts the first two years in college. They decided to seek counsel with their favorite youth leader, with Coach Stephens, and with Paula’s pastor.
They took a weekend to travel back to their home community, having pre-arranged with
all three, to counsel them on Saturday. It was interesting that all three of the people they had the most confidence in shared the same verse of Scripture as they closed out each counseling session. It was Colossians 3: 15 from the Amplified translation: "Let the peace of Christ act as umpire in your hearts, settling with finality all questions or decisions that arise in your minds." How awesome that was for the two of them! All three encouraged David and Paula to pray daily for sovereign leadership in their hearts.
After several months of prayer it was their conclusion, with peace, that they were originally on track in determining that they were to invest their lives in teaching. But in that two-month period it was also confirmed to David that he was to go on into graduate school and get a higher degree in school administration. And Paula confirmed it and assured David as soon as she finished her under-graduate degree she would begin teaching until he had finished. She wanted him to stay until he’d finished his doctor’s degree.
Career goals? Saving souls? Both knew God’s calling to be His ambassador, His witness,
His evangelist, the bearers of Good News to all around them. That spirit never diminished in their hearts. In fact, each summer they were booked all over the nation for youth camps and youth rallies.
On campus they were both graciously confrontational -no one was exempt from a witness! Campus Crusade ministry was a big help to these precious witnesses plus they also were tied in with the Navigator’s ministry for discipleship training. They understood "making disciples, teaching them all things."
Both were well-grounded and growing in their own faith and spiritual understanding. And they were fully aware of the need of birthing the babes of faith but not leaving them in cribs under-nourished and under-fed!
In Exodus 31:2-3 it speaks of Bezalel and God says, "I have filled him with the Spirit of
God, in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship." This is how David and Paula saw themselves, two young people who were daily being equipped by God concerning their life calling. They understood being clay in the hands of the Potter. Both thanked God for the college education they were both receiving, but they clearly understood that was not enough in qualifying them as ministers of Christ, priests in the kingdom of God, or witnesses to a lost and dying world. These were qualities of character only God could birth within them. Their hearts and minds were blended as one in the goal, not of being a ‘success,’ but of being of eternal value to God!
It was Robert Southey who so wisely wrote: "It is not for man to rest in absolute contentment-he is born to hopes and aspirations as the sparks fly upward, unless he has brutified his nature and quenched the spirit of immortality which is his portion." God filled David and Paula with holy desires, eternal purposes, and the never-dying aim of honoring Jesus in all things.
There was seldom a weekend the two of them had free in their first two years of college. Somewhere, every weekend just about, they would travel, Paula would sing and David would testify! They saw hundreds coming to Christ because of their witness.
Each of those first two years in college, with their favorite youth director’s help, they led one weekend a year what they called "Youth In The Crossroads." It was usually held in a local civic center that would hold up to 2000 youth. With the cooperation of youth
leaders all over their area, they filled the centers each year, and hundreds more came to Christ.
"In everything God works for good, to those who love Him, and are the called according to His purposes!"
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE MARRIED HIS BRIDE -GOD ON HIS SIDE!
For two long years David and Paula had waited for this historic day when they entered in together to the covenant of marriage. Their parents had given their consent for their union after they finished their first two years at Carson-Newman College. And for the first two years of college they prayed, counseled, and labored over their wedding plans.
Paula was a very gifted girl and decided to make her own wedding dress with her mother’s help and a few friends who were good at sewing. It was an arduous task but Paula was up to it. She wanted to surprise David that her dress was her own creation. The two of them did much, much reading about marriage and family, recommended by their three favorite people outside of family, the pastor, the youth director, and Coach Stephens.
Even before counseling, the pair of precious lovers believed marriage was for life, just
like their union with Jesus!
David found a powerful quote from Edmund Burke and shared it with Paula in one of their many discussion times about their coming marriage. Burke said: "The Christian religion, by confining marriage to pairs, and rendering the relation indissoluble, has by these two things done more toward peace, happiness, settlement, and civilization of the world, than by any other part in this whole scheme of divine wisdom." They knew what they were becoming part of, and their marriage would be to the glory of God and the honor of Jesus Christ!
In their devotions together recently they were reading Ecclesiastes and came to chapter
four, verse 12: "Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken." They saw themselves as the two, and then, with joy, they celebrated that God Himself was the third strand of the strong cord of holy marriage!
They understood marriage and union, marriage and celebration, marriage and maintenance, marriage and the miracles of child-birth, marriage and spiritual maturity, marriage and mutual honor and blessing, and marriage to show forth the Bridegroom and the Bride! These two were not immature children trying to act like adults -they were maturing adults entering a God-ordained relationship.
As often as possible they met with their pastor in their hometown and home church where
they would be married on June 15. It was such an enriching time for them. The pastor always gave them reading assignments to cover between visits, but while they were with him in the counseling sessions he would major on one particular phase of the marriage relationship.
Without hesitation the pastor always discussed the foundation necessary for a blessed marriage -the foundation of Christ alone. He emphasized that Christ is not only Lord over the Church, Lord over life, but also Lord over the home.
The pastor was also adamant about ‘role’ ministry in the marriage with the husband interpreting Christ and the wife interpreting the Church. There was major emphasis on the husband and father as ‘spiritual priest’ over the family- not ‘boss,’ not dictator, not
ruler, but one who walked in the servant-Spirit of Christ Jesus. The husband is to love his
wife as Jesus loved the Church!
The pastor majored also on finances because he had witnessed over the years stress upon marriages because of irresponsibility with money. Of course he emphasized the tithe and giving beyond that. Of course he majored on budget accountability to one another. Of course he majored on savings as a way of life for the long haul. It was truly rich for both David and Paula.
The pastor majored on the marriage relationship of sex as God’s covenant blessing, how "Marriage is honorable and the bed undefiled." Too many young people in their day and time had had that beautiful relationship colored by off-color comments even from parents! The bold pastor said to Paula, "Paula, you are to be a lady in the living room, but when it comes to marriage, you are to be a passionate tigress in the bedroom." And David smiled!
The pastor even majored on child-rearing. It certainly was in David and Paula’s hearts to have three or four children. And they so appreciated the pastor’s efforts in equipping them to be godly parents who truly loved, taught, disciplined, equipped, encouraged, and motivated their children to honor God with their lives.
The pastor majored on God’s Word as being so vital to their individual faith, but also their family faith. Together they should rally around the Word for the health of their marriage and as their children came to teach the Word to them.
The pastor majored on "forgiveness." "Kids, I want you to know that, in Christ, God sees us as finished products, complete in Christ lacking nothing. But in reality and experience we are babes, adolescents, young adults, and maturing adults. None of us ‘have arrived.’ There will be those moments when you will need to walk in forgiveness with each other. Alice Cary wrote: ‘Nothing in this lost and ruined world bears the meek impress of the Son of God so surely as forgiveness.’ "
Both David and Paula wanted to be intimately involved in the planning of the wedding. They asked the pastor if it was OK if they wrote their own vows and then he could adapt them to the spirit of his own heart as he led in the ceremony. He was happy they wanted to be involved. Their one theme about their ceremony? Christ-honoring in all things. Though she had not talked to David about it, Paula wanted to sing a love song to David at some point in the ceremony, and she thought, "Maybe while the unity candle is being lit, by video!" She was excited!
Both had concluded, four ushers and four bridesmaids, with best man and maid of honor.
David wanted Coach Stephens to be his best man and Paula wanted her mother’s closest friend who had been a mentor to Paula to be her maid of honor. David was adamant that Samuel Etheridge would be one of his ushers along with three former basketball teammates. The bridesmaids would be four former high school classmates, dear friends of Paula.
Here’s the exciting thing for David and Paula: Vera, David’s mother, the weekend before
the marriage told them, because of the spirit of their lives, she had committed her life to Christ and would be baptized the Sunday night before their wedding! What a gift! They were like a new spaceship launched off the pad! They couldn’t wait for the whole city to know! They were so excited for Vera and witnessed before their very eyes true life change! Vera was a joy to be around.
David is really going to be surprised because Paula will be singing to David by video a
love song of her choosing as they are lighting the unity candle! She’ll video-tape it in her handmade wedding dress that she personally made! What a beautiful wedding gift for
David because he so loves Paula’s singing. Oh, but here’s the kicker- David has been secretly taking voice lessons at college, and he follows her with his own song, love song of devotion to his bride! And neither knows what the other is doing!
It was a beautiful wedding service that truly honored the Lord Jesus. The music was superb and so heart-warming. The pastor touched God’s throne with great words of wisdom. The vows of David and Paula challenged every couple already married and the young people who were looking forward to their day. The exchanging of the rings was so uplifting as they fully surrendered themselves to one another. The unity candle was being lit -and down comes the video screen with Paula singing to David as they held each other’s hands and watched the glow of the one candle:
She chose Irving Berlin’s song "Always." It says -"Everything went wrong, and the
whole day long I’d feel so blue -For the longest while, I’d forget to smile -Then I met you. Now that my blue days have passed, Now that I’ve found you at last, I’ll be loving you, ALWAYS, with a love that’s true, ALWAYS. When the things you’ve planned Need a helping hand, I will understand, ALWAYS, ALWAYS. Days may not be fair, ALWAYS, That’s when I’ll be there, ALWAYS -Not for just an hour, Not for just a day, Not for just a year, But ALWAYS." [Irving Berlin Music Corporation, 1650 Broadway, N.Y. 19, N.Y.] And it’s over. Right? Wrong!
A new video begins to play, and there on the screen is David singing to Paula Carrie
Jacob’s-Bond’s song, "I LOVE YOU TRULY!" And the words brought a thousand people to tears as David sang to Paula:
"I love you truly, truly, dear, Life with its sorrow, life with its tear, Fades into dreams
when I feel you near, For I love you truly, truly, dear. Ah! Love, it’s something to feel your kind hand, Ah! Yes, it’s something by your side to stand; Gone is the sorrow, Gone doubt and fear, For you love me truly, truly, dear."
What an explosion of true emotion between David and Paula, the wedding party, the
pastor, his best man, her maid of honor, and the whole church! And then the two kneel together at the altar and Coach Stephens, Samuel Etheridge, and their favorite youth director come and lay hands and pray prayers of dedication and blessing upon this union. Then the pastor introduces Mr. & Mrs. David Matthews, and the church erupts in applause as they make their way out! What a wedding celebration!
CHAPTER TWENTYTWO TORTUROUS TIME-DAVID’S PARENTS DIE
Eduardo Montoya has never been a man to roll over for anybody. He knows he was set up by someone, but he doesn’t know who. He’s been in prison now for about two years. It’s never an easy place to live when you’ve had such a rich, indulgent lifestyle from his criminal ways. Every day he is determined to find out who set him up. The authorities were no help: "We got our man." But we know they didn’t get the right man.
Gangs operate in the prison system just like they operated on the streets of most
American cities. Eduardo found it easy to move between gangs in prison. He wasn’t afraid or alarmed about what might happen. He knew fertile ground for the knowledge he needed would most likely filter through some gang member. That’s why for two years he quietly moved through different gang elements building confidence in them.
He also had access to plenty of money through his natural family and his criminal "family." He began to lay the ground work of his own investigation in the prison. It was perilous work but he was good in building bridges to criminal contacts. He knew what motivated them, and he understood after a period of time they would be putty in his hands, and especially because of "big bucks!"
Montoya has been in prison now for a little over two years. In his immediate family visits
he’s been able to share his desire to settle the score with whomever. He knows he’s not going to be out of prison for a long time. He told his father and his wife on the last visit that he must have funds made available to the one who will point the finger at who is responsible. They agreed. The father was ‘mob boss’ in Miami for years and is very wealthy. He told Eduardo, "Whatever it takes, you’ll have the money."
The Tennessee prison has one gang that was tied to a southern motorcycle gang. These
were tough men without consciences. They had been in crime most of their adult lives. One particular inmate came from around the area where Joe Hestert’s barn had been blown up. Montoya took a special liking to this inmate and felt, maybe, "I’ve found the man I need to tell me info that will explain why I’m here."
Over a period of three to four months, having already made his acquaintance, Montoya
began to really befriend the Tennessee inmate. And finally the inmate told him, "Big Joe Hestert paid a lot of money to have his barn blown up with the Tennessee walking horses in it for the insurance money, but there is no way to prove it. They set you up from the ‘get-go’ because of your Miami connections! He owed a lot of money to the Colombian cartel."
Eduardo said to him, "I know you’re getting out soon. What would it take for you to get
yourself on your feet quickly by killing the Hesterts after you get out?" His fellow inmate said, "I’ll do it for $50,000! No one will ever know. But how will you pay me in such a way neither of us will have the finger of law enforcement pointing at us?" He was
assured that Montoya’s father would put it in an off-shore account under a false name the
inmate would decide. The agreement was made-honor among thieves!
The inmate knew exactly where the Hesterts lived, how they lived, even with unlocked doors day and night. He had assured Eduardo that he would use a silencer and that both of them would be dead within two weeks of his dismissal. It would be a clean hit with no chance of survival.
David and Paula have been so pleased with Vera’s growth as a Christian. The mother had seen the dynamic changes in her son’s life and had a godly desire to share in what he had to grip Vera’s heart. She had that passion to grow as David had grown. What was about
to take place had never entered Vera’s thought processes.
She and Joe had had the insurance companies to settle many months ago, the Colombian cartel had been paid off, and Joe had enough to build a new barn and begin to buy horses again.
David and Paula were settled in at Carson-Newman and were diligently studying in their junior year of college. They were so happy, so blessed, and were being so fulfilled in
their marriage and their Christian walk and ministry.
The prison inmate Montoya had bonded with was Ed Smith. He didn’t live where the Hesterts were located, but in the past ran in the same crowds as Big Joe. Years and years before Big Joe had stiffed Ed on a drug deal and he’d never been repaid. No one knew of this but the two of them, so Ed Smith felt extremely safe. He was very careful in
planning. It took him three or four days to lay out his plan. Then the time came. Ed Smith
knew that the two Hesterts were home and tucked in for the night.
He waited until about two o’clock in the morning, made his way quietly into the home, and found his way to their bedroom. Both of them were in a deep sleep and never knew what hit them. Ed Smith fired two shots in each one, one to the head and the other to the heart. He made sure they were dead, then made his way back to his hidden car.
When he arrived home he called Eduardo Montoya’s father to let him know the job was finished. He’s now $50,000 richer than he was when he got out of prison.
It was Samuel Etheridge who found the bodies because early that morning he and Joe
were going on a buying trip for supplies for the farm. He went to the house; both cars were still there; he knocked on the door -no answer; he opened the door and called their names -no answer; and then he knew he must enter and check on both of them. And the shock of his discovery crippled Samuel for a few moments, and then he ran to the phone to call the sheriff.
What a debilitating shock to David and Paula when the college chaplain called them out
of classes and broke the news. They both wept and wept and wept! Then, of course, they made their way back to their hometown and to Paula’s parents. They had to make funeral arrangements and then later follow up with settling the estate.
David and Paula wanted to sit down with the sheriff and find out what he knew, but sadly
the sheriff told them both this was a very cold trail. Law enforcement have no clues concerning who could have carried out this horrible crime. All David could say to him was, "Check out any information you have on the drug dealers and their backers." But no doors were opened there.
The funeral was at David and Paula’s church with their pastor conducting the service.
The church overflowed with a cross-section of the city including a long line of motorcyclists who wanted to be a part of the funeral procession. It was a very sad time for two beautiful young people, but they reached way down in their hearts for divine strength -Paula sang at the graveside and David gave a strong witness of saving grace to the many that gathered around the grave site. His last words were, "Vengence is Mine; I will repay," says the Lord!
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE BABIES BIRTHED-GOLDEN WORTH
[TWO YEARS LATER]
It’s not only college graduation time but time for the birth of twins to David and Paula, a boy and a girl! They have been so excited that their first are twins. At the same time they are preparing for graduation with the news David is valedictorian and Paula salutatorian! It’s been a phenomenal six years from pain to gain in the lives of these two precious young people. It’s been years of caring, years of spiritual growth, years of marriage love and maturing, years that have brought them not only to college graduation but to the birth of a growing family.
And they make the graduation event before the birth of the twins. They were glad though it was not easy for Paula. Their graduation speeches were so heart-warming and Christ honoring! These two will be long remembered by the faculty, classmates, communities that they’ve touched, and the camp-settings where they’ve deeply implanted a living, abiding, conquering faith.
But now, ten days after graduation, Paula gives birth to Mark and Mary Matthews, beautiful twins five pounds each! What a thrilling time for David and Paula’s parents, Coach Stephens and his family, and the pastor and youth director, and a few close friends, when they see the babies rolled out from the delivery room!
David began to weep and to say to those around him, "With God’s help Paula and I will give our children a home that is a haven of rest, a heaven on earth, and a witness of saving grace and triumphant faith. Coach, would you offer a prayer to that end?" And he did.
Then David had the privilege and blessing, with the nurse, to roll them into Paula’s room
and rest her new-born twins in her arms. Then David bent over to kiss his beautiful bride and the mother of his children. They cried together, between tears, saying, "I love you, I love you, I love you."
Davis said to Paula, "I want to pray to our Lord and Savior and thank Him for the gifts of our beautiful children." Which he did:
"Father God, Lord Jesus, Paula and I thank you for drawing us together as brother and sister in Christ, as man and wife, and now as parents to Mark and Mary. You’ve been so gracious to us. You’ve stood with us in tragedy and triumph, and now you stand with us as parents. We dedicate ourselves afresh and anew to love You, to serve You, and to
bless You as we commit ourselves to raise our children on the foundation of saving grace.
We commit ourselves to honor You as loving, caring, responsible parents who will seek to reflect You in all we do with our children, Your gifts of grace to us. Thank You, Lord Jesus. Amen."
Soon they are back to their campus apartment with their twins. This is not an easy
arrangement, but they haven’t had time since Joe’s and Vera’s deaths to really think about better home arrangements. There has been so much to do, yes, over two years in settling an estate, trying to wrap up their last two years of college, preparing for the births, fulfilling their commitments in testifying and singing. But now they know something must be done.
They don’t want constant distractions from their responsibility of caring and nurturing their children. That is uppermost in their thoughts.
So with their children in mind they began to wrestle with the possibility of even moving back to the farm that David inherited. It would put Paula near her parents, back in their home church, and even nearer to a university where David could finish his Masters and Doctorate programs in school administration. Money is not a consideration because of the amount Vera never dipped into from her first divorce. It had grown to over $600,000 and was left to David. Even Joe, after paying off his drug debt, left over $600,000 to David, plus the farm and the home. They decided to totally renovate the home on the farm and make that their personal residence. David even received a substantial settlement from insurance after the bombing, so they are well-set for many years. Plus, David would be able to have a day to day relationship with Samuel Etheridge and his family. He longed for that, and so did Paula. She wanted their children raised under the powerful witness of Samuel. She wanted her children to hear him sing to them, "His eye is on the sparrow,
and I know He watches me!"
It was Horace Bushnell who once wrote: "A house without a roof would scarcely be a more different home, than a family unsheltered by God’s friendship, and the sense of being always rested in His providential care and guidance." Their lives were "covered" by God’s grace and mercy- David and Paula knew that! Their lives were being built on the Godly foundation of Christ alone. They were encircled by His loving, protective arms.
They were blessed as "chosen vessels," aware of His ultimate intention and eternal purpose. They hadn’t sold out to a world culture, but sold out to Christ alone. Their choices were not for the ditches of fleshly life but the Highway of Holiness. There was no desire to bear the marks of worldly imprints, but only the brand-marks of Christ’s nature and character. And they knew it was their life responsibility to build that into their children’s lives as they walked, talked, and taught them the Living Faith. What a joy and what a delight!
There are those where homes have been nothing more to them than the "graves of the
heart" when God intended it to be The Divine School Of Eternal Life And Purpose. Daily David and Paula prayed that they might not fail their children but feed them the faith of loving God and a caring Savior.
By Christmas the farm home had been totally renovated and the family was able to move in. David had not planned on enrolling in graduate studies until the family was settled in to the farm home. They were so pleased that they had decided, at least through the graduate programs, to live on the farm raising the children of "golden worth."
The ties of true family faith are not ties void of love, devotion, discipline, inspiration, encouragement, the validation of worth and value proven by Christ’s death at the Cross as if they were the only family to ever live, but for that one family He would lay down His life. They didn’t teach their children to be overly introspective but only Holy Spirit convicted and led. In their relationships with others they were not to be exclusive but inclusive teaching them to care for others as their Lord cared for them In their walks, even as children, they taught them the higher calling of divine providence and their submission to it. Their one desire was not to raise children who emotionally remained in
‘baby beds’ or nurseries, but children who knew the risk of the reach for the higher things of God.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR GIFTS ABOUND -EVER SO SOUND
[TWO YEARS LATER]
David has finished his Master’s Degree at the University of Tennessee. He’s so excited to make this tremendous stride in his educational goals. He wants to be so prepared in
strong development of educational advances for youth, like his own children someday. And he does get accepted for the doctoral program at UT, another three years of advanced studies.
Paula is expecting the birth of their third child and it’s only a week away. They know it’s going to be another boy, and they’ve decided to name him David Matthews Jr. They are on pins and needles expectantly awaiting the birth of David Jr. The twins are now two years of age and excited they are going to have a baby brother. Can you imagine the great times these three children are in for as they grow up together? Already there is such a strong bond between Mark and Mary, even at only two years of age. They love each other so much!
Gifts abound- ever so sound! Ephesians 4:7-8 says, "But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore He says: ‘When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men."’ That’s men inclusive of women also! Why? Because God spoke through Paul in Galatians 3:28, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus." Is that clear in your family of faith or do we substitute men’s interpretations for God’s revelation?
David has been blessed of our Lord, having blessed him, as well as each of us, "with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ." He’s blessed with ‘the word of wisdom’ far beyond his age both naturally and as a child of the King. The word of knowledge flows through him like spiritual giants of the past with multitudinous years of experience. He flows in the gift of evangelism without a calling on his life to be a Billy Graham. But even more than all that, his giftings of the Spirit flow in "the best or greater gifts," which are faith, hope, and love! Even now, at twenty-four years of age, his ministry is so widespread as time allows. But remember, his first time priority is with God, second with his wife and children, third with his job or studies, and fourth with his church. Out of those priorities he flows into his world with grace and mercy and love – and the world around him becomes a better place!
Being in graduate school has opened doors of witness with both faculty and students and, yes, especially basketball athletes, both young men and young women. David has been sponsoring weekly Bible studies and prayer meetings that has grown to about two hundred in attendance every week. When she’s able Paula has come to share her testimony and to sing and sometimes to teach.
But Paula’s primary ministry has been to really young marrieds, some of them teen-age
mothers who had to get married because of unexpected pregnancies -so much to deal with there because of grave and serious immaturity. And, of course, David was involved with young marrieds who hadn’t planned on it, but at least stepped to the plate to marry the one they impregnated to give their child a name. This was not an easy ministry for either one of them, but they knew someone had to care and reach out to those in desperate
need with words of hope and encouragement. Paula’s mother got involved often to either help in teaching or babysitting her twin grandchildren. In Paula’s ministry to the young, immature married women, as it expanded to the young husbands, she began to develop a curriculum. It all revolved around the Word of Christ as Lord, laying down their lives, ministering and caring in the nature and spirit of Jesus as a servant.
To those young men she developed a number of ministries: The diaper ministry, the
dishwasher ministry, the devotion of commitment of time so the young wife and mother could have ‘alone’ and ‘rest time,’ the discipline of date-time with his young bride, the determination ministry of leading his wife in Bible study and prayer, the dare-to-be strong ministry of faithfully standing upon Christ Jesus as their ‘sure foundation.’ Every week it seemed as if her ministry was growing in spiritual depths and new young families. And David was a central figure in it all as it continued to expand.
Gifts Abound -Ever So Sound!
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE TRAGEDY STRIKES -MINISTRY ALIGHTS
David had finished his Master’s program at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville and when in the first year of his doctoral program tragedy struck the faculty of the university. Three professors were traveling to a continuing education seminar in another state when a semi-truck driver fell asleep at the wheel and crossed over the median hitting the professors’ car head-on, killing all three instantly. These were three of the finest college professors UT had on staff, greatly loved by all the other faculty and students.
The university president called, not only upon pastors of these professors, but he asked David if he would reach out to the grieving wives and children, and, also, if he would speak at the president’s convening of a special chapel service in memory of these three professors. Of course, David wanted to be a part, but was a little shocked when the president asked him to make the main speech. He also requested David to speak on the theme, "From Tragedy To Triumph." It was something David had experienced in his young life, and the president knew it would be words of great encouragement to grieving families, faculty, and students. There were nearly 10,000 in all who gathered in the university gym for this special service.
One of David’s strongest words was the fact that in the blackest darkness God’s greatest
"Light" shines. He knew that when Samuel Etheridge pulled him from the shallow end of the horses’ swimming area that it was God’s hands through Samuel that wanted to save him for a better tomorrow. David had learned as a teenager that God whispered so quietly in the bright days with soothing grace but shouted so loudly in the midst of David’s pain and suffering and sorrow.
To that sorrowing audience he quoted Romans 8:22-25, "For we know that the whole
creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. Not only that, but we also have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly awaiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. For we were saved in this hope; but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance." Then he quoted Romans 8: 38-39, "For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present not things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Out of the pit of sorrow and suffering, God raised David to a new platform of ministry
opportunities especially with men in higher education and the business world around Knoxville and with high school coaches, teachers, and administrators.
Over the next few years Almighty God exploded within David various phases of ministry. Here’s a select few of ministries God birthed within David’s heart, mind, and spirit":
"Hip socket out of place" ministry!
"Sitting by a well or seeing the burning bush" ministry! "Denial of our Lord or returning to bless others" ministry!
"Saving your life for yourself or If I Perish, I Perish," ministry!
"No one stood with me, but the Lord stood with me and strengthened" ministry!
"Killing the babies or saving the child in the womb" ministry! "Losing the lonely or finding the lonely" ministry!
"Personal withdrawing or pressing in to Jesus" ministry!
"Weary with the wounded or witnessing, touching, interceding for the wounded" ministry!
"The greatness of our God worthy ministry of praise, worship, and adoration"! "Time alone with God" ministry
"Wounded wing and missing foot" ministry!
"Prayer alone for world redemption" ministry!
"The Christ alone" ministry for divine forgiveness and fulfillment!
"The blessing of the husband and father upon his wife and children" ministry!
Are you getting the picture? Are you capturing the Spirit of what God is able to do through one available life to ALL God IS?
In Matthew 23: 11 Jesus speaks: "He that is greatest among you shall be your servant." That is the picture the Master-Painter was stroking on the canvas of David Matthew’s life, and he was truly reflecting the glory of Christ who was our servant, laying down His own life in our behalf at the Cross!
It was John Greenleaf Whittier, in "What of the Day?" who wrote: "If but the least and
frailest, let me be Evermore numbered with the truly free Who find Your service perfect liberty!" The true testimony of David Matthews in his "Hip out of socket" ministry!
But of course David had major responsibilities in completing his doctoral program in
education. It was a demanding responsibility. He had a required seventy hours to be completed, internship, plus his doctoral thesis. David faced a wide-range of courses to be completed, he hoped, in three years.
There were courses in the foundations of education, education developmental stages,
leadership supervision, the history, philosophy, and ethics of education, statistics, school law, research developments in education, advanced curriculums, counseling, and a variety of other essential courses.
He was a top level student always setting the curve in most courses. And because of his
Master’s degree, he was called upon often to assist professors in their classes, grading, and planning, even doing some of the teaching occasionally
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX CAREER CLEAR- STARDOM NEAR?
[THREE YEARS LATER]
David has now finished his doctoral program in school administration, and there were those saying, "David’s "star" is about to rise in the skies around us." But they didn’t understand the full work of sovereign, saving grace already at work in David’s life because of that true commitment, that repentant heart, the mind of faith that brought David to the place of so desiring to "become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom [David] shines as a ‘light’ in the world, holding fast the word of life.." [Philippians 2:15-16] The exciting thing before David now is the job offer of associate professor in the department of education at UT in the school administration division. This is so advantageous for David and Paula because, from the farm home, David is in driving
distance daily to UT. They don’t have to move! Both are extremely excited because they
truly wanted to raise their children on the farm near their church, friends, Paula’s family, and schools they had been so much a part of. David accepted the position after he and Paula had prayed it through and knew that "peace that passes all understanding." They had learned from reading John Bunyan that "Prayer is a sincere, sensible, affectionate pouring out of the soul to God, through Christ in the strength and assistance of the Spirit, for such things as God has promised." And they saw, through prayer, God Himself opening the door to the UT faculty!
It was President Theodore Roosevelt who made a speech in New York City, December
30, 1900. He said: "The true Christian is the true citizen, lofty of purpose, resolute in endeavor, ready for a hero’s deeds, but never looking down on his task because it is cast in the day of small things; scornful of baseness, awake to his own duties as well as to his rights, following the higher law with reverence, and in this world doing all that in his power lies, so that when death comes he may feel that mankind is in some degree better because he lived." Theodore Roosevelt did not know he was speaking prophetically about David Matthews, but he was! Lofty of purpose, ready for a hero’s deeds, following the higher law, so committed to making a difference in the world he was a part of by laying down his life for others as Jesus did for David Matthews!
The lofty purpose of David Matthews is the recognition, by the grace of God, that Holy
God has placed David in a unique position and place of redemptively influencing hundreds and hundreds, even thousands, of students who will become teachers and administrators, impacting their lives with a true sense of divine destiny and sovereign purposes as "chosen vessels" to touch young lives with grace.
Since his conversion, his transformation, his salvation experience, David has not been a young man cloaked in an unholy web of self-importance, but a young man who has grown into "Master" manhood, going into his world to honor his Lord and Savior. For him it was not larger influences through him because of his educational status, but the reality of a simple man who walks with God and makes himself available to all God is and desires to do through David Matthews.
It was Elizabeth Barrett Browning, in "Content in Service," who wrote:
"I was too ambitious in my deed,
And thought to distance all men in success,
Till God came to me, marked the place, and said, ‘Ill doer, henceforth keep within this line, Attempting less than others’ -and I stand
And work among Christ’s little ones, content."
David was that young man who so desired to "keep within this line," the line God had graciously drawn around his life and to His eternal purpose. He stood content to pour his life of faith into God’s "little ones."
There are so many things David has had to work through in his "liberal education" framework which every true disciple must do. One of the biggest dilemmas he had to face was "education apart from Truth," "education apart from the Author of Truth," and "education apart from a biblical foundation," which is the direction a godless world and godless governments want to lead a faithless society. That was not David Matthews. He knew what the end result was of nations that forget God, that place earthly wisdom in direct opposition to divine wisdom, that place independence of men above dependence upon God alone! And sadly, this will cause trouble for David on down the line, but it doesn’t concern him because he is a young man sold out to Truth and Him alone.
It was Horace Mann who wrote long before David’s time: "Keep one thing forever in view -the truth; and if you do this, though it may seem to lead you away from the opinion of men, it will assuredly conduct you to the throne of God." And that’s where David wanted to live and teach and educate and point young lives always to The Greater Truth!
CHAPTER TWENTY- SEVEN WIFE DIES – FAITH DEFIES [FOUR YEARS LATER]
[Sarah Doudney, "The Christian’s Goodnight," "Sleep on, beloved, sleep, and take your rest; Lay down your head upon your Savior’s breast; We love you well, but Jesus loves you best- Goodnight! Goodnight! Goodnight!"]
It’s been such a blessed time for David and Paula. The twins are now nine years of age and David Jr. is seven. They are growing up so quickly it seems. All three love school so much -they are like sponges absorbing water!
David now has four years behind him as professor, still assistant, in the School of Education at UT. He has been fast-becoming one of the students’ favorite professors. They genuinely love and adore this professor who loves them more than they love themselves! They know his heart is building into them more than foundations of education but also foundations of faith. They see him genuine in his faith through and through.
Paula’s ministry to young marrieds has continued to explode! David has even been able
to help her open more doors in the university, schools around Knoxville, and churches. Now Paula sponsors a quarterly retreat for either the engaged or newly-weds. It has been so very healthy for these young people as they hear from someone like Paula who has walked out her faith in her own marriage relationship. Knoxville television stations have given her and David quality time to promote their caring ministries.
Paula’s parents, Paul and Brenda Pressley, have been such a huge part of David’s and Paula’s lives, along with the children. Paul, like Coach Stephens, has been a true father figure to David, and Brenda has been ‘true-blue’ mother to both Paula and David. They have had such a rich, rewarding relationship, and especially sense they are so close to the Pressleys’ home.They eat together several times a week.
Paula and Brenda do a lot of shopping together, share often in grocery shopping, and, of
course, Brenda is a huge help when Paula has to take all three children to the doctor. There is such a strong bond between mother and daughter, and, yes, between grandmother and her grandchildren. But also they are partners in ministry. Brenda has been made such a vital part of what the Lord is doing through Paula. And their openness with one another in the conferences and retreats they do together has built such a great desire among young wives to reach out to their own mothers and mothers-in-law and to build great lines of communication and respect.
Brenda is a great grandmother. She dearly loves her grandchildren and would do anything
in the world for their health, strength, education, and witness of a maturing faith in them. That’s what these last few days have been about. School is out for the summer and Morn and Grandrnom have been on a shopping spree for the kids for the summer.
They were in two cars because Brenda had to go early into Knoxville for a personal
check-up with her doctor. Paula met her for lunch at the mall with her three children and then the two of them would pick out new summer clothes for the three children. It’s now late afternoon and they know they must wrap up the shopping and then drive home from
Knoxville, get supper ready, and relax for the evening.
Grandmother wants Mary to ride with her and Paula wanted the responsibility of two busy brothers! They began the ride home, about twenty miles, and Brenda would drop Mary off before she went on home.
Mark and Daniel are in the back seat of Paula’s car, a little on edge with each other, tired, bored, picking at each other as brothers sometime do -and Paula reached around to make sure their seatbelts were fastened, but she had to release her own to do it.
Another scene began several years ago but is just now playing out on this two-lane road that Paula is driving on. Her mother is about a quarter of a mile behind her. Coming from the opposite direction at a very high rate of speed is an eighteen year old young man who has been on drugs for several years. He had quit school as a Junior, he had no job skills, he’d been involved in home burglaries, his girl-friend had just kicked him out of her home, and he was extremely high on drugs. And his decision? "I might as well be dead, I’m a loser."
As Paula turned around, without her seatbelt on, the young man headed his car straight at
Paula’s car. She swerved to miss him but he caught her almost head on. Paula’s car was spinning around and around as the result of impact and she was thrown from the car. She was killed instantly and the eighteen year old also died. Miraculously the two boys, in the back seat, stayed in their car-seats although bloody from flying glass.
Brenda witnessed this tragic accident and saw her daughter fly out of her car. She was
screaming with emotional pain not knowing the end result of this horrific crash. She called 911 immediately, told Mary to remain in her seat-belt, cried to the boys, "Mark, David, stay in your seatbelts. I must check on your Mother!"
And when Brenda saw her on the ground she knew Paula had died! She knelt down and
pulled her beautiful daughter close to her and wept uncontrollably. Then she went to the young man’s car to check on him- and she knew he was dead. She didn’t know he had committed suicide and taken her daughter with him.
She called her husband to come as quickly as possible and as she hung up she saw
David’s truck driving up because he heard the crash from their farm. "Oh, David, David, please don’t look. Please take care of the two boys and let me get Mary. David, please don’t look."
But David could not avoid what he knew has happened. He went straight to Paula and
cradled her broken body in his arms and wept. "My Bride, My Beloved, no, no, it can’t be! You can’t be gone!" But she was.
As sheriff’s deputies, ambulance, and EMT’s arrived, David gently laid Paula down for
the workers to do whatever they needed to do. David went to Brenda’s car where his three children sat in shock, weeping and crying, and not fully realizing their Mother had died. But precious David cuddled all three and wept with them, and then had to say, "Mother is gone. She died, she’s now resting in the bosom of Jesus."
Paul arrived very soon after Brenda had called. He couldn’t believe what he saw, but it
didn’t take long for it to sink in as he watched David and Brenda try to console Mark, Mary, and David Jr. Paul stepped in to take control of his family. He knew they needed to get the children away from this tragic scene. David and Brenda agreed and David said, "I’ll take the three children in my truck. You all follow. And, Paul, please call the pastor and youth director and Coach Stephens for me. OK?"
When David arrived at the farm Samuel was in the front yard mowing the grass. David had to tell him that Paula had died in a car crash. They stood with their arms wrapped around each other, weeping and crying, as three children held tightly to Daddy’s legs. Paul and Brenda arrived in the cars and joined the circle of mourning.
Samuel Etheridge began to pray over the family, "Lord Jesus, we are Your children. We’re the children of faith, but we don’t understand this. But I know You promised the Holy Spirit as our Comforter. You said He would comfort us in all our tribulation. Holy Spirit, please touch David and the children. Please touch Mr. Paul and Mrs. Brenda with Your comforting grace. I don’t understand, Father-God, but I believe out of this tragedy You will honor Your Son and our Savior. In Jesus’ Name, Lord, release Your healing grace upon us. In the precious name of Jesus. Amen."
And they all stood together in a circle of sorrow and wept.
It wasn’t long until David’s three mentors arrived at the home. To say they were shocked is an under-statement! They were broken also! In Paula they had witnessed God’s maturing grace, raising a daughter of faith to a plateau of ministry and service seldom seen. They saw a depth of love of a wife for her husband and children and others on a plateau that you see very infrequently. Paula was a model of ministry in every facet of her young life, and because of it, with David, had touched thousands of lives. And they know, "People are going to be asking, ‘Why? Why?"’
And David’s comment to his family and friends? "Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him!" Only a deep, abiding faith can sustain a man in the greatest hour of pain and loss, and that faith was David’s in abundance. Already he is a tower of strength through his tears. Already he walks with a thankful heart for the many years he shared with Paula, for her love and devotion to a young man who so easily could have gone another way, for her superb devotion to her marriage vows, to her husband, to her children, to her friends, and to those God was most concerned about who could have been left in ditches, except for Paula’s sacrificial love. Already David’s life is permeated with, not only overcoming grief, but overcoming faith, trust, and dependence upon the God who sovereignly brought David and Paula together.
David then asked for time alone with his three children. He took them to his bedroom and
sat down with them to pray over them, to console them, to cry with them, to build, yes, even a stronger faith in the Lord in them, to take his Bible and read the resurrection passage from John 11. And wherever allowable he put Paula’s name in that resurrection passage and assured his children, "One day we will see your Mother again. And she’ll greet us with open arms."
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
FUNERAL DIRGE OR DISCIPLES’ CELEBRATION?
[Thomas Carlyle: "He who has no vision of eternity has no hold on time."]
So many people across our world face death and seek to frame it in the immediacy of the moment-David’s one desire was to frame Paula’s death in the Eternal! He mentioned to his friends Shakespeare’s statement about those who "sells eternity to get a toy." That was certainly not Paula nor David. The two of them had resolved their marriage vows with the Eternal in view- and Paula’s funeral would not be that sad song, but disciples’ celebrations of the glory of God and a saving faith that transcends one’s death!
As David met with the church staff in planning Paula’s service of commitment to God for His glory and honor and praise, it was his desire that a large choir be available to honor Paula’s Lord through music. Of course the pastor will preach, and David said, "Preach Christ crucified, Resurrected, and Coming Soon!" The choir will sing right before the pastor preaches. He asked that the huge choir sing, "Peace! Be Still!"
"Peace! Be Still!" which says:
"Master, the tempest is raging! The billows are tossing high! The sky is over-shadowed with blackness, No shelter or help is nigh; "Do you not care that we perish?" How can You lie asleep, When each moment so madly is threatening A grave in the angry deep? "The winds and the waves shall obey My will, Peace, be still!" Whether the wrath of the storm-tossed sea, Or demons, or men, or whatever it be, No water can swallow the ship where lies The Master of ocean and earth and skies; They all shall sweetly obey My will; Peace, be still! Peace, be still! They all shall sweetly obey My will; Peace, peace, be still!"
David also asked that two hymns be sung with Coach Stephens reading scripture between them. The first song to be sung is "All Hail The Power Of Jesus’ Name!" And the second hymn is "We’ve a Story To Tell To the Nations."
The pastor said to David, "David, it is not possible anywhere in our small city to contain the crowds that will be here for Paula’s funeral. I do not hesitate in saying that there will be between 5,000 to 10,000 people who attend this service. I’m suggesting to you that we hold the service at UT in an auditorium that will hold up to 10,000. David agreed.
David had two other suggestions for the service: One, as the family leaves first, I want the congregation to sing, "God Be With You Till We Meet Again!" Second, I want Samuel Etheridge to speak at the graveside and you, Pastor, have the final prayer. Is that OK?" And the pastor responded, "That would please Paula so very much. Of course, I want Samuel to share."
The pastor asked, "David, on the back of the program I want to have printed the words to
a very old hymn written by Katharina von Schlegel. The hymn says:
"Be still, my soul: the Lord is on your side; Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain; Leave to Your God to order and provide; In every change He faithful will remain. Be still, my soul: your best, your heavenly Friend, Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.
Be still, my soul: your God does undertake To guide the future as He has the past. Your hope, your confidence let nothing shake; All now mysterious shall be bright at last. Be still, my soul: the winds and waves still know His voice who ruled them while He dwelt below.
Be still, my soul: the hour is hastening on When we shall be forever with the Lord, When disappointment, grief, and fear are gone, Sorrow forgot, love’s purest joys restored. Be still, my soul: when change and tears are past, All safe and blessed we shall meet at last." David responded, "I genuinely pray that those without faith will have faith birthed within them as they read these words. Thank you, Pastor. The hymn says so much that I need to be reminded about."
Arrangements were made at the university in Knoxville. There is an auditorium there that will seat up to 10,000. Newspapers, radios, television stations have majored on Paula’s tragic death and the death of the young man who hit her almost head-on. The news goes out about the 3pm Sunday afternoon service at UT’s auditorium. David had asked for "no flowers," but gifts for Campus Crusade and the Navigators.
The funeral home provided a limousine for David and the children, Paul and Brenda, and
Samuel Etheridge’s family. At 2:30 pm they arrived at one of the side entrances to the auditorium and made their way to a small lounge area. There the pastor, Coach Stephens, and a few other close friends met them to pray together before the actual service started. Organ music and piano accompaniment had already begun. By 3pm someone told them that a crowd between 8000 to 10,000 had assembled!
It was a glorious hour, as David had requested, centered on Christ Jesus because his Lord and Savior, and Paula’s, had led them in a victorious walk together. Nothing would
please Paula more than pointing to Jesus, uplifting His name, rejoicing in His saving grace.
The congregational singing was heavenly. The choir was angelic in its ministry of music as they sang "Peace! Be Still!" Coach Stephens, before he read the scriptures out of John 11 said, "Paula Matthews was a chosen vessel of God’s grace and mercy. Her faith was not something she simply believed in her mind -her faith gripped and guided her walk. She had a divine, eternal mission in her life, and she walked it out every day as she laid down her life for others. In all of my years of working with students, seeing them in the age of discovery and days of demonstration, I don’t know anyone who walked with such integrity, with inspiration, with holy ideals birthed so practically in how she cared for others, especially David and her children. Her countenance reflected faithfully the nature and character of Christ. She loved God’s Word and desired it daily for her family and friends. She didn’t idolize the Word, but inspired devotion to that which is "living, powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword." And then he read John 11 and turned everyone’s attention to the reality of Resurrection Life, Hope, and Power.
Paula’s pastor was moved with deep emotion and heartache. The one he was to eulogize had touched the chords of faith in his own heart so deeply. He was like Coach Stephens, "In one’s pastoral ministry there are usually only a few who touch a pastor and a church and a community as deeply as Paula touched us. We’ve been so blessed of God to
witness a dynamic woman of faith who lived out what she believed." And then he poured
out his heart with Paul’s word, "For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain." He knew Heaven had a standing ovation for Paula as the angels escorted her through the Pearly White Gates into the presence of her Lord and Savior!
And then at the end of this memorial service, as the family was ready to leave first, behind the casket, the congregation sang, "God Be With You Till We Meet Again." When they came to the graveside with a huge crowd of several thousand, (they’d pre arranged for sound equipment), Paula’s pastor introduced Samuel Etheridge to the huge gathering. Samuel was as confident as a Billy Graham as he stood to share his heart. He’s
not a preacher but a disciple deeply in love with his Lord. For years he’s been pouring his
faith into David. What a celebration, even through tragedy, when he saw David come to Christ. And he knew Paula had played such a huge role in David coming to Christ.
As he stood by that graveside with the microphone in front of him, all he wanted to do
was to pray:
"Lord Jesus, Author of healing grace, I come to You alone in the time of our need. You alone are our salvation; You alone are our purpose; You alone are our freedom and deliverance from everything and anything that would sweep us away from Your loving care; You alone are our comforting grace because You tell us to come to You and You’ll give us rest. Father, David and his children are not strangers to You -You are their Eternal Friend. You are not their cruel task-master, but their sure salvation. You are not the hammer to crush them, but The Holy One to comfort them. You are not dogmatic
God to whip them into line, but the Holy Spirit of comfort to ease the pain of their loss of
wife and mother. You are not mean but merciful; You are not dictatorial but disciplined in Your grace and mercy; You are not angry with them and Paula, but You are their advocate, atonement, and eternal aim of blessing and fulfillment. Dear God, touch Your children with comforting grace. Touch them and draw them into Your arms of love. Touch them with the Eternal, and give them eyes to see beyond this grave. Let them know "Your Eye is on the Sparrow, and You care for them."
And then Samuel began to sing over the family and the large crowd, remembering Ethel Waters as she sang this song at Billy Graham’s crusades often:
"Why should I feel discouraged, Why should the shadows come, Why should my heart be lonely and long for heaven and home, When Jesus is my portion? My constant friend is He;
His eye is on the sparrow, And I know He watches me; His eye is on the sparrow, And I know He watches me.
"Let not your heart be troubled," His tender word I hear, And resting on His goodness, I
lose my doubts and fears; Though by the path He leadeth But one step I may see;
His eye is on the sparrow, And I know He watches me; His eye is on the sparrow, And I know He watches me."
David and the children arose from their seats before Paula’s casket, went to Samuel, and
embraced him and cried with him as he broke down with many tears following his ministry song.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE MILITARY HEARS -NO FEARS [FOUR YEARS LATER]
It seems impossible that Paula has been gone from the family four years, but it has. With Brenda’s help David and the children have survived. David has been a very devoted father who has not hesitated to love his children well. After Paula’s funeral he knew the weighty responsibility that was his to nurture his children in a way that would bring healing to their hurting hearts.
In that stretch of four years, not only have the children been blossoming, but David’s educational career made major strides. He was promoted to full professor two years after Paula died. In that four years David leaned more and more to the counseling ministry God had put on his life. It even fit well in UT’ s Department of Education. In that four years David even began to take more and more counseling courses as his counseling ministry increased across the South.
Then comes a very interesting call from Washington, D.C., and the office of Chief of Staff for the military. The chief of staff, General Michael Montgomery, was on the line with a very specific request. "Dr. Matthews, our office has had its eye on you for quite awhile. We have been deeply impressed by what we know is a ministry more than educational requirements. We’ve seen the large sphere of influence you have from Junior Highs through universities and beyond. The Joint Chiefs have asked that I invite you to Washington to sit down with us and see if we could work together in ministering to wounded soldiers, physically, emotionally, and mentally with the target including their wives and children. Would you consent to come?"
At first David was shocked, but then he reminded himself, "I’m not in control. God opens
doors and He closes them. At least I need to make a step to see if my Lord is in this." And he did. His one request was that he be able to fly his three children with him for the interview. The General told David that he would personally see that David’s children had the best tour guide in Washington! The twins are thirteen years of age and David Jr. is eleven. This will be a great trip for them with their father even though they are unsure of all its implications.
They left from the Knoxville airport for Washington on a Joint-Chiefs’ small jet arriving
in about an hour in Washington. Their hotel reservation was in one of Washington’s finest hotels. They flew in on a Friday morning and were scheduled to fly back on Sunday afternoon.
The children were chaperoned by two young officers, one male and one female, and had
the time of their lives seeing all of Washington’s historic places. Dad David had interviews scheduled for Friday afternoon and Saturday morning. On Friday night David and the children were scheduled for dinner with the Joint Chiefs. David felt blessed of God having himself and his children eating dinner with these famous men and their wives.
In the Friday afternoon interview General Montgomery shared the vision of the Joint
Chiefs. They have been so concerned about their soldiers’ mental, physical, and spiritual
health. David’s ministry across the South and beyond caught their attention. They’ve
been following his ministry for years and are one hundred per cent committed to establish a ministry to soldiers and their families out of the overflow of David’s ministry educationally and spiritually. It’s their desire to establish at Ft. Benning, Georgia, a training center, under David’s supervision, that would include officers and chaplains and others as the vision grew, equipping men and women to reach out and touch those in
need. They know the loss of limbs that David experienced through the bomb blast at the barn, they know his conversion experience, his education, his marriage, and his ministry. They want David to establish and build both curriculum and facilities.
They told David he would be well-paid beyond a UT professor, insurance, retirement, a beautiful officers’ quarters home, education for his three children in the best Christian academy in Columbus, Georgia, and ample time for his own ministry outside Columbus. He wanted to share the proposal with his children after dinner tonight and then would come back Saturday morning for whatever else they had to share plus any questions that were flowing through him. The children were overjoyed with their Washington experience and especially meeting all the generals and admirals! David and Paula had built into their children’s lives a great respect for the military.
Now, it’s crunch time! David must share the new job opportunity, the possibility of moving to Columbus, Georgia, a new school, new friends, a good distance from their home in Tennessee and their grandparents, and many other things. But as David shared the Chief Joints’ vision he was amazed at his children’s maturity and spiritual insight. It was if they understood God planning for their father to lead in a healing, counseling ministry with soldiers and their families. They were genuinely excited for their father and the opportunity for them to be educated in a very strong Christian school that majored on college preparation.
On Saturday morning David called General Montgomery to see if it was OK for his
children to be with him, and of course it was OK. As they met David had numerous questions but he knew they didn’t have all day. Questions? Project launch time, budget, staffing, curriculum, and one other vital question -"Would I be restrained in my Christian approach in any way?" And the Joint Chiefs assured him his faith and ministry were what led them to David!
As they came to the close of the morning session, David said, "Please give me one week to pray about this with my family and friends and I’ll then get back with you with my answer." They agreed.
After a week in prayer with family and friends, David agreed to accept their offer and to
be in Columbus after spring semester had been completed and he and the children had their vacation. David does not have to move his furniture because the beautiful home they are providing is fully furnished. His one request of the Joint Chiefs? "I want Coach Stephens to be my staff leader under my authority. I know of no man better suited to help me get this program off the ground." Coach Stephens already had enough years in for early retirement from the school system -this will be icing on the cake for him. And the Chiefs agreed. It’s David’s call.
Mark and Mary and David Jr. are really excited. They sense so maturely the God-given
gifts in their father, and they believe this is going to be a good fit with the military community. And they are thrilled about Coach Stephens and his family being a part of this new adventure.
CHAPTER THIRTY ORGANIZATION OR ORGANISM?
It was George Eliot who once wrote: "It is vain thought to flee from the work that God appoints us, for the sake of finding a greater blessing, instead of seeking it where alone it is to be found- in loving obedience."
You will no doubt remember Saul of Tarsus and his Damascus Road experience. We know it was true conversion when Saul asked Jesus, "Lord, what would You have me to do?" And without any reservations, when David Matthews heard from his Lord, he promptly obeyed! It was letting "peace act as umpire" in his heart "settling with finality all questions or decisions that arise within one’s heart." (Colossians 3:15, Amplified Bible)
Now before David there is the challenge of putting together a ministry team that is
infused with the very Spirit of the life of Christ. That is his desire, his goal, his plan. He does not want an organization but an organism that breathes the Lord’s nature, spirit, and character. He understands how vital his department is to the health of soldiers and their families mentally, emotionally, psychologically, and spiritually. He knows the best of medical doctors and nurses will be taking care of them bodily, but he has the responsibility of soul and spirit.
Coach Stephens and his family were thrilled to join David in this new phase of his life and theirs. The coach believes, without a doubt, he can be a major contributor to what David wants to accomplish. The coach’s wife will also truly be a great helpmate. Her heart and spirit was so much like Paula’s in reaching out to young marrieds and youth. Temporary offices were set up at Ft. Benning, but plans are to use a huge, unused hangar and convert it to David’s offices. It will be nice because it is big enough for all of his team and big enough to hold conferences or retreats.
Of course, another huge responsibility is putting together his team. The Joint Chiefs gave him a free rein in the selection process with a more than ample budget to meet his staff needs.
He and Coach Stephens had begun to evaluate their needs even before they arrived at Ft.
Benning. It became a huge prayer priority because they both understood the vastness of this division’s responsibility. They begin at Ft. Benning but then expand across the U.S. and even to military bases overseas. It is a massive endeavor. It is definitely a multi-year development.
David had come to the conclusion, at least on a temporary basis, that he needed a team of at least 28-30 people who worked with him daily in initial development. All of these leaders were to be strong Christians with a shared vision of "touching their world with grace." This did not include secretaries etc. David and Coach Stephens knew it would take a number of months to finalize who they wanted and where they would be situated with offices, strategy rooms, training facilities, and conference rooms. But they had finalized their plans:
Four chaplains from various military services, four pastors from four different regions
from across the U.S., four men or women with doctorates in counseling, four counseling degreed military wives, four grass-roots military personnel (not officers of high rank), four sports leaders, four medical doctors, and two professional children’s workers.
These would form the initial nucleus of David’s ministry team. The Joint Chiefs were ecstatic with David’s plan and endorsed it unanimously.
Over the next six months, having settled into their new homes, the Matthews and Stephens were getting acclimated to their new responsibilities. David’s children were thrilled with their new school and new friends, so many of them from military families.
The recruiting process had begun intently, and both were thrilled with the quality of
people available to them in the selection process. Of course, there were those David knew personally that he wanted on his team. The question was, did they share his vision?
It was James L. Christensen who wrote many years ago, "The purpose of Christianity is not to avoid difficulty, but to produce a character adequate to meet it when it comes. It does not make life easy; rather it tries to make us great enough for life." David had certainly not avoided difficulty in his life -he suffered through traumatic events, much like Job, but came through triumphant because of the witness of others in a saving, redemptive, transforming faith. By God’s grace divine character was being shaped in him like clay in a potter’s hands. He knew the God who was given His rightful place in David’s life could do the same in anyone’s life. Already David’s Lord and Savior was building into his life a deep, rich, abiding love of the soldiers and their families. It was his one desire to see men and women and families becoming vitally connected to Christ. Daily the staff prayed together before assuming their individual responsibilities. David was so strong concerning the prayer ministry of his team. It was not an option they had; David considered it a divine imperative. Jesus had said, "Men ought always to pray and not to faint!" And David believed Him.
Many of his new staffers were strong in the ministry of prayer and others were learners. Some were intimidated by strong prayers and had to learn from David that their prayers were not measured by a certain degree of eloquence but by the passion of earnestness; it was not what one called "artful monologue," but a child’s vocal and heart-felt dialogue with his Father in heaven; it was not a determined drawing down of God into our situations but an aligning of our hearts to God’s eternal purposes; it is not "gimme, gimme, gimme," but "God, as your ambassador in this world, what are Your orders for me today?" David’s thrust in prayer is and has always been dependence, the need of direction, the determination of God’s good, acceptable, and perfect will, and the discipline to stand in faith until God alone answers. That spirit of prayer ingrained in his associates leads this new ministry to great heights. They are touching so many lives!
Someone asked Henry Drummond, "Why do you believe in miracles?" Drummond
answered, "Because I see them everyday in the changed lives of men and women who are saved and lifted through faith in the power of the living Christ." David would only add, "And because someone prayed believing for another’s salvation, healing, and deliverance!"
If this ministry impacted the military positively, it is because team members prayed and
prayed and prayed. David was a leader who groped "for the keys of the heavenly harmonies." [John Greenleaf Whittier]
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE CHILDREN EMERGE – QUITE A SURGE
You know the depths of a parent’s true love when you see their passion for their children’s spiritual success "in the Lord." Too many parents are overcome with desire for their children’s earthly success without any consideration of their children’s intimate. personal relationship with God. Because many parents don’t live with a consciousness of God’s presence with them, in them, over them, around them, they don’t encourage their kids in the greater knowledge and wisdom.
But David’s fatherly passion for his teenagers was a home that was God’s workshop in developing love, faith, and hope within them, developing a deep hunger to honor God in all things, to develop Christ-like aims and purposes with Eternity in view. They’ve already learned the uncertainty of time as they witnessed their mother’s death. And they’ve witnessed God at work in their father’s life. They want a similar testimony!
The twins are almost fourteen and David Jr. almost twelve. And what a major responsibility for him now that Brenda is six hours away! Coach Stephens’ wife will be available some of the time, especially "crunch time," but David has the weight for his children’s training. He understands the next few years are not going to be easy, but, with God’s help, he’ll see his children through! He knows his family was ordained of God, and He will not leave David hopeless. He knows his major ministry is training up his children well. The Word will be so very imp01iant in their young lives in the immediate years ahead of them, and David understands his "priestly ministry."
It is not in God’s will to isolate children from the world, but to insulate them from the
world’s ways by his example, teaching, and majoring on the Word in their daily lives. Psalm 119 was one of the major passages that David used for the next several years. He always brought them back to that powerful word about the importance of the Word in their walk with Christ. He had them reading one chapter from Proverbs over and over, month after month, and year after year. They did "Word" studies in the New Testament. They had memorization responsibilities. I and II Timothy were major with David and his children. He understood God’s Word will "make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus." [II Timothy 3:15]
Mark Matthews is going to be one tall dude. And, he takes after his Dad in his passion for
basketball. Though only fourteen in his first year at the Christian school, he will no doubt be a team leader his four years there.
Mary Matthews wants to be a nurse, but also she has a passion for music just like her mother, singing in the school chorus and church youth choir, plus singing on her own as a soloist.
David Jr. is a very strong student with a desire to get a medical degree and care for
people’s needs. He isn’t "nerdy" but borderline.
The interesting thing is that Mary and David Jr. want to go back for university studies at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. Mark has his eyes set for West Point and a military career.
It’s not coincidences that David’s children are finding their way in academic circles.
Father David always majored on "The Virtue of Vocation." It wasn’t incidental to him, but fundamental, "If a man will not work, neither shall he eat!" Is that clear to you?
But the major reason David’s children were so stable, so sure of their identity in Christ, so settled in life’s purpose was the regular "blessing" David placed upon his children’s lives by his verbal expression of his love for each of them, by his prayerful intercession daily for them, and by his "laying on of hands" with a spoken blessing of God on their lives.
You’ll remember Isaac’s blessing upon Joseph and his sons found in Genesis 48:15-17! In earlier verses Joseph had brought his sons before Israel and Israel "kissed them and embraced them." Then in verses 15-17, (Read carefully and thoughtfully!), "And he blessed Joseph, and said: ‘God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has fed me all my life long to this day, The Angel who has redeemed me from evil, Bless the lads; Let my name be named upon them, And the name of my fathers, Abraham and Isaac; And let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth."
One of the explosive dilemmas David Matthews saw around him was fathers who did not
truly love nor bless their sons and daughters. The Jewish community understands obedience to God’s Word, and you do not find many criminals in prisons across America who are Jewish because the fathers still "bless the lads."
David Matthews knew, without a doubt, that one of the major responsibilities he had was leading soldier-fathers to bless their children. He knew it was a mandate from God, and that faithfully and regularly he was to encourage fathers to bless their children.
David’s children grew in blessing because David understood "The Virtue of Vision."
And it always came back to Saul of Tarsus’s spirit, "Lord, what would you have me to do?" That became a key component to the children of David Matthews in their walk with Christ. David understood "vision" (from God) was the key that unlocked the door to heaven’s blessing upon one’s life; he understood it was that kindling flame that lit a fire in one’s heart and mind that could not be put out; he understood ‘vision’ diminished darkness in one’s mind and let "The Son" shine in; he knew vision cemented wings in one’s life that helped him soar in the heavenly places; he understood "vision" was the overcoming spirit of death itself granting resurrection life and hope in any circumstance; And David understood "vision" birthed an untiring, undying spirit in one’s life that raised him from the ordinary to the extra-ordinary, from the natural to the spiritual, from the temporal to the eternal. His children had that lovingly taught by their father in both example and rote memory!
David also majored with his children upon "The Virtue of Victory." How omitted this is
in most modern-day circles of those called Christians! David regularly took his children to Colossians 2:9-10! This was a "mirror verse" for them constantly. It says, "For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; AND YOU ARE COMPLETE IN HIM …" David taught his children that victory in Jesus is immediate because of His finished work at Calvary; that God sees each of them complete in Jesus, lacking nothing; and that, in Christ, they are "more than conquerors!" He understood "Identity" from God’s point of view. The sad thing is Satan himself fills the minds with doubts and fears and untruths. David also majored with his children on "The Virtue of the Virgin-Spirit!" David had been blessed by those who faithfully discipled him in the Word of God. He grasped
Paul’s explanation of the adulterer in Romans 7 who lived for the "flesh" though married
to Christ! But that struggling disciple found in Romans 8 the victory that comes through yieldedness to the Spirit. He understood "the Virgin Spirit" that enters in because of their
faithfulness in keeping their lamps alit by the infilling of God’s Holy Spirit! That’s Matthew 25:4 where Jesus speaks of "the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps." Jesus also spoke of the foolish who delayed preparation for the coming of the bridegroom, and in verse 10 of Matthew 25, Jesus said, "And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut."
Mark, Mary, and David Jr. rejoice with their father in the awareness they are "chosen vessels" in the plan of God to touch their world with the amazing love of God and allow Him, through them, to reveal the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. They celebrate the fact regularly, as a family, that they are instruments in God’s hands unveiling the resurrected Savior and Lord of life who leads and guides and directs the very footsteps of His children of faith.
It was William Paley in "The Principles of Moral and Political Philosophy" who wrote:
"Virtue is the doing good to mankind in obedience to the will of God, and for the sake of everlasting happiness."
David and his children are totally yielded to being vessels of honor to the glory of God
because of His saving grace and because of the example of their Lord in laying down His life as a servant unto others. They long to live a "footwashing" life in caring for others. One other thing that David instilled within his children as they came to the teen years. He said to them often, "God was gracious to me in that He led me to your mother and your mother to me. It was His will for the two of us. You must remember that, even now, you pray regularly for Him to lead you to His choice of a mate to share your life with. Marriage is of the Master, not simply ‘glandular gladness!’ Protect your heart, your spirit, your soul for God’s plan of marriage in the Spirit!"
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
MILITARY MINISTRY-MASTER-PIECE PAINTING
No one should ever assume that any calling on one’s life from the Lord comes easily or without opposition or suffering through intense times of frustration. Satan is never pleased when someone steps to the plate and can hit a homerun to the glory of God, or stands before the easel of life to stroke a masterpiece to the honor of one’s Lord and Savior, or reports for duty before the ultimate "Commander-in-Chief," ready to fulfill His good, acceptable, and perfect will, understanding opposition will arise.
David Matthews knew he was under unsealed orders from the headquarters of God
Himself! There was never any doubt in his mind that he was on a mission to honor Christ. He had that peace that passes all understanding because of his submission to this calling upon his life.
But he clearly understood opposition. There would be those opposed to Christian
involvement in the military, whether Army, Air Force, Marines, or Navy. He also understood divine support and disciples’ commitment to walk with him through the mine-fields of explosive resentment.
Paul had been an example to David and his teenagers as he majored, with them, on Paul’s writings to Timothy. There were those moments when Paul saw no one standing with him. He knew the reality of co-workers, friends, and fellow disciples forsaking him. But David learned through Paul, "But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me. And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom." On that Word, David stood strong also.
Over the first four years of military ministry, David’s department had mushroomed all
over the United States. Now there are four regional offices scattered across the U.S and even offices across Europe and into Asia. It has been such an accomplishment that all can only say, "This is a work of Jesus Himself!"
That was truly David’s heart, spirit, vision, and personal desire: "All glory to Him alone." His team knew that, the Joint Chiefs understood that, the military leaders and families knew that, pastors and churches all across the U.S. knew that. The Lord was being honored and glorified as David stepped further and further into the background. His team of visionaries were coming into their own under the Lord’s permissive and perfect will. Time and space does not allow even attempting to enumerate the vastness of ministry opportunities that had been birthed through David’s humble beginnings at Ft. Benning. But regional events are happening on a monthly basis; local events in military areas on a weekly basis; national events on a quarterly basis; and, yes, even conferences all over the world.
Chaplains and pastors are front-men in every area where the department ministry has
penetrated. Under regional directors these men and women pray regularly together for the guidance of God. They pray, ‘brain-storm,’ deliberate, discuss, form, and carry through those ministries that God births within their hearts. Of course, David makes himself available for, not only regional meetings, but sometimes local meetings at military bases or churches.
There are times David takes his three teenagers with him to deal with grief and sorrow,
one-parent parenting, teenage wars and battles that must be fought, the "fleeing" call
upon every Christian teenager’s walk, praying for the godly mate, resolving inter relationship problems of brothers and sisters and friends, learning communication skills with parents etc.
But as David has entered into his fourth year with the military, he’s beginning to sense a ‘wind-change.’ He begins to contemplate if this is the "Wind of the Spirit" with that moving cloud by day and fire by night.
On one of the last trips when his three teenagers were with him, he began to talk with them about what he was feeling. "Is my time with the military coming to a close? Can I say God is through with me in this role and is opening another door? Is this a selfish thing or the sovereignty of God in operation?"
And all three kids said, "What do you believe the Lord would have you to do’? Are there many doors open or do you sense only one door?" David responded, "At this moment I want to go home, to the farm, to Paul and Brenda, to Samuel and his family, to our church and friends, and maybe to the University of Tennessee if they’d have me." The children were absolutely elated! Mark is going to West Point, Mary is going to UT, and David Jr. would have two years in his Dad’s high school before he would graduate. Nothing would please his children more than "going home."
Then David said, "There is another reason why I am considering this, and it relates to
someone I have met through the military ministry. She is a military widow that I met over a year ago in a conference. She was sharing the weekend I was there. She is from Knoxville and has recently been employed by UT because of her doctorate in counseling and her experience through the ministry at military bases. I want you to know we are only friends now, but I sense it may become more than that." The children? Ecstatic! "When
do we get to meet her? What is her name? Who is she?" And David said, "Ginger Granger. That’s all you need to know right now!"
And David decides, "This is a done deal. It’s back to the farm and hopefully UT staff." He contacts the administration at UT and receives a positive endorsement. No interviews necessary, only, "When can you begin?"
Employed by the university in Knoxville, David submitted his resignation to the Joint
Chiefs and encouraged Coach Stephens be appointed his successor. And it happened!
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
[One Year Later]
TWO WIDOWED UNITED
How great is the God of the Matthews and the Grangers! There is no doubt that God sealed something in David’s and Ginger’s hearts the very first time they met. There was a connection that was more than physical -it was spiritual, a divine endorsement, "This is of God!" Ginger had had no children but was thrilled that she was going to become substitute Morn to David’s children although two were already in college.
Though having met several times when David was attending military conferences, and
having arranged to see each other when possible, the intenseness of the relationship grew when they both settled around Knoxville and began work at the university. Their dating was on the fast-track almost immediately.
Mark was the only one of David’s children who hadn’t gotten acquainted with Ginger
because of his move to West Point, but Mary and David Jr. kept him filled in week by week. By the end of their first six months at UT, David and Ginger announced their engagement. There was great joy in both households, and, yes, even with Paul and Brenda. They fell in love with her the first time they met her and were delighted for David.
This gave them six months to plan their wedding which was not going to be a huge event
but actually a small family and close friends’ wedding at the farm. They had decided that was where they wanted to live.
But David had a surprise for Ginger and his three kids. He wanted to give to Samuel
Etheridge the home he and Patty had renovated for Samuel’s own home with a few acres around it, and then build a new home on a special place on the farm where he felt the original farm-house should have been built.
That thrilled Ginger, David’s three children, Samuel and his family, and anybody else
who’d been a part of the Matthews life. They began immediately, and the builder promised he could have the new home finished within six months. It was David and Ginger’s commitment that this would be their retirement home though both had many, many years before them before retirement became a reality. They wanted a home big enough for David’s three children to feel they still had a bedroom of their own during college vacations. Other than that David gave Ginger a free hand in designing their new home. It was a blast for her, but at the same time she always sought David’s approval. One of the things David requested was a big back yard with a huge patio, a big swimming pool, and lots of gardens for beautiful flowers, shrubs, and roses. He wanted his grandchildren to have great memories about granddad and grandmama’s home!
Ginger not only met with the architect and builder, she also met regularly with David’s pastor because he was going to do the wedding. They had to fit the ceremony in around Mark’s, Mary’s, and David Jr.’s college schedule, but it all worked out to everyone’s satisfaction.
The wedding is scheduled for June 20 which fits into the children’s summer schedule to
be at home. David and Ginger wanted to make sure they’d be a part of the ceremony. It’s interesting that Ginger had no problems at all in having Patty’s best friend to sing at the
wedding. She was excited that Coach Stephens would again be David’s best man. David had no problems with Ginger’s former mother-in-law being her maid of honor. Head usher? Samuel Etheridge!
The wedding event is scheduled outdoors in a beautiful, beautiful setting, but they did add a tent for the reception and back-up just in case it rained. They invited about two hundred people to the wedding. Afterwards a full course dinner was planned for everyone.
Following the wedding David and Ginger planned their first night of the honeymoon in a
hotel in Knoxville and then planned to fly to Florida for the rest of their honeymoon. These two are deliriously in love -so thankful to God for bringing them together. They have a strong commitment to the Lord, they love the ministry of counseling, they love reaching out to youth and young adults with the claims of Christ as the sure foundation of good marriages, and they love sharing weekend conferences together.
It was William Shakespeare, in "Henry V," (Act V, sc. 2, 1.799) who wrote: "God, the
best maker of all marriages, combine your hearts in one." And that is so true of David and Ginger! They were one in the Spirit of Christ, one in vision of ministry, one in the understanding of "chosen vessels," and one in purpose of being examples to David’s children and others about a fulfilling, prosperous, Christ-honoring marriage.
They had such a rich, rich time on the honeymoon. Both had been so deeply wounded years ago over the loss of their marriage partners. But after years of aloneness and the healing grace of God, they were ready to find someone to share their lives with. Divine appointments are truly a reality if one has the spiritual eyes to see! And David and Ginger "saw." This wasn’t a David and Bathsheba kind of thing but a David and daughter of God experience!
After a week in Florida they were anxious to get back to their newly completed home and
to Mark, Mary, and David Jr. They did not know it but the three kids planned a small "Welcome Home" party with close friends. And the three kids planned the meal, prepared it, and served the newly married couple and guests. The dinner was served on the new patio around the beautiful new pool.
Before serving the meal Mark asked for a few moments to share the hearts of him and his
brother and sister:
"As you know Mary, David Jr. and I have the greatest Dad in the world. We thank God every day for a father who cared for us more than he cared for himself. There was never a day any one of us doubted his love. And we had the greatest Mom in the world, for a very short time," hesitating as tears began to well up in Mark, "but I want you to know that the three of us are so very blessed to have Ginger as our Mom now, and we thank God for bringing her into our Dad’s life. Ginger, thank you for loving us and welcoming us into your life. We bless and honor you as our divinely appointed Mom. To God be the glory." And the small crowd stood and clapped and cried as David’s three children embraced him and Ginger. It was a sweet, tender, touching time for all who were there.
Mark then asked Samuel Etheridge to come and pray over David and Ginger and the
three kids and then bless the meal. What a moving prayer as Samuel prayed the stars down! There was a deep awareness of a "glory-cloud" all around that patio as Samuel committed David’s and Ginger’s marriage to the honor of Christ Jesus.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
THE BELL SOUNDS – THE ANGEL CALLS
[FIFTEEN YEARS LATER]
Someone wrote the following words anonymously: "Some day the bell will sound, Some day my heart will bound, As with a shout that school is out, And lessons done, I homeward run."
These are not words of a troubling dream, a delusional nightmare, the figments of one’s imagination, dark thoughts of a divided mind, or a funeral for faith and hope -they are words of one who knows the earthly journey is complete and the heavenly journey is on the horizon. They are not words of hopelessness but the words of satisfaction of a job "well done" and words of peaceful rest, "My eternal home awaits me."
Jesus gave us luminous footprints through the dark, cold grave that each man faces to the
Light of the eternal treasures of faith fulfilled, hope completed, and love enriched in the grandeur of the glory of God and the graciousness of His sweet embrace with His words, "Welcome Home, My child," as one rests in the bosom of Jesus.
It’s been a blessed, fulfilling fifteen years of marriage for David and Ginger. Their commitment to one another was in the treasure of desire to honor their Lord in their relationship -and it was so evident. Both were professors at UT, highly respected, even honored by the university; both were still growing in their faith and understanding of God’s call upon their lives; both still walked in that servant spirit imaging their Lord and Savior; and both were still highly active in the Christian retreat and conference ministry for youth and young marrieds.
One year ago David was asked by his pastor to share what was on his heart in a Sunday
morning service. For days and days he prayed for guidance from Christ Jesus and the leadership of the Holy Spirit. He so wanted his words to minister Life to the hearers. When that morning came David had been deeply moved by the Spirit of God in what to share. For one of the first times in speaking David was uneasy, even teary, but deeply confident in what he was to say. It was recorded. Listen to David’s words:
"A tragic, traumatic childhood can be the springboard into hellish living or the stepping stone into the very garden of God where He walks with me and talks with me.
Living in a family without faith can become a life void of the richness of relationship with a personal God or the awareness that there’s something more for me my earthly family could not provide.
The emptiness of parents who refuse to acknowledge the need of God in their lives can either become the confidence of rebellion in their children or the conviction of the need of "the risk of the reach" in reaching outside a child’s life to the God of revelation. Homes that are not a taste of heaven can lead one into deeper bondage and captivity or lead one to cry out for something or Someone the present home knows nothing about. There are families that are nothing more than a gathering of natural seed or they are families of the gift of the spiritual Seed.
There are families that truly love this world and all that it has to offer or families that
truly love God and all He has to give to them in a victorious faith and an eternal reason for living to the glory of the Redeeming God of Calvary.
There are families totally committed to see that their children are educated and validated as a member of family faithlessness, rich in what the dying world has to offer but bankrupt in the significance of eternal purpose and bankrupt in the need of Dad and Mom and sons and daughters reconciled to God.
But there are those who know "faith living;" they know the reality of repentance toward God and faith in the finished work of Christ; they know the reality of regenerative grace; they comprehend ‘reconciled to God;’ they experience "born from above, born of God, born of the Spirit, born the second time" by the gift of God’s love, grace, and mercy.
I came out of the heartache of a broken family. I lived through the emptiness of a God less family. I was, as a child, the recipient of parents who were ‘play-actors’ concerning faith and a right relationship with God. If anyone has ever experienced ‘hell on earth,’ they understand my first fourteen years of up-bringing, which was an attempt to bring me down.
Divorce occurs, separation is a reality, questions abound about what life is all about, and
then Mother steps from the frying pan into the fire.
Love is absent and lust becomes the calling card of debased living. Alcohol and drugs become "the milk of godless living." Abuse, verbally and physically becomes the primary activity of loveless living and loveless marriages.
Then comes the heartless bombing where a sixteen year-old loses an arm and a foot,
burned over seventy per cent of his body. But he gains a spiritual family of faith, he gains a substitute father rich in faith, he gains a youth leader who truly cares, and he gains a young lady who knows my only hope was ‘in Christ.’
She became my Bride, the mother of my children, having led me to an intimate relationship with Christ Jesus, and what was God’s true intention in the love of a husband and wife.
Paula and I were married, God gave us three beautiful children, and we were living our
dream. And then, she’s gone- struck down by a young man who wanted to end his own life in a head-on collision, not knowing what he was stealing from me.
The children and I survived together by the grace of God and with the help of family and friends. The children have matured so much in their faith and their walk with God; they know their identity in Christ and their eternal purpose as "chosen vessels."
It hasn’t been easy for Dad; there has been such a void in my heart and life; the woman who taught me true love and devotion was translated into God’s eternal presence, her heavenly home and eternal family; and for years there has been a deep well of emptiness within me.
But then God led Ginger Granger into my life. She was a military wife who lost her
husband through war. Now she’s Ginger Matthews, my Bride who has restored light in my inner man. I continually thank God every day for His gracious gift to me in Ginger. The last fourteen years have been so rich for both of us.
We’ve seen Mark finish West Point, presently serving as Lt. Colonel Mark Matthews,
stationed in Germany. He’s married to a beautiful, strong Christian young lady who has given him two beautiful children.
Mary is an RN, her heart’s desire from childhood. She’s Mary Alford and the mother of
three children.
David JR. is a medical doctor, always his life’s ambition, majoring in orthopedic surgery, and anxious to create a better arm and foot for his Dad, married to a doctor who shares in his practice of orthopedic surgery. They have two children.
And now, here I am, fifty years of age, wondering what tomorrow holds. I don’t know of a man on the face of the earth that has been more blessed than I’ve been blessed!
I am the richest man on the face of the earth in the things that truly count for eternity’s sake and the glory of God alone -but there’s a rumbling within my spirit, a restlessness about what tomorrow holds, a questioning in my spirit about whether or not my earthly usefulness is coming to an end.
Ginger and I have talked about this openly. We know "three score and ten," the "long life" promise of Scripture to the man of faith, but I also understand life’s uncertainty, even an indefinite tomorrow, and I wonder if God is saying to all of us, "Time is short, closing time is near, eternity is about to dawn experientially for you."
I don’t fear death- I embrace it, "For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain."
I’m not running from death -but resting in faith. I’m not resisting death but putting my arms strongly around the Life of Christ.
I don’t know or understand fully what this pulling is within me, but I believe God is saying to each of us, "Look up for your redemption is drawing near."
I know He is saying to me, "Live every day as if it were your last." He’s saying to me, "Listen for the music of the angelic chorus." He’s saying, "Get ready- I’ve got a new robe, a ring for your finger, new shoes, a fatted calf, and the party-band is playing. This
is your Heavenly Father speaking, and I say, Get ready- it’s about time for you to come home."
It may be that my early life was like Job’s journey, but the majority of my life on earth has been a journey with Jesus. It’s been a full and rich life, not under the curse but under the blessing. It’s been a life in the blessing of the Holy Spirit, not a life in the futility of the flesh or the old man or the domination of that old sin nature.
It’s been a life, not with the falseness of Satan and his friends, but a life rich in the
fullness of God-like friends and companions.
I pray that you understand, know, and experience the life of blessedness that I have known and experienced for over thirty years -and Heaven awaits my arrival!
Look to Jesus! Lean not unto your own understanding but in all your ways acknowledge Him. Give Him His rightful place in your hearts and in your homes, and He will guide your every step."
And when David finished and sat down, there was total silence. No one moved. For a
long time the pastor sat in his chair on the platform. Then he arose to stand behind the pulpit. He began to weep uncontrollably. He fell across the pulpit stand continuing to weep. One by one the congregation stood and then made their way to the altar. Many were weeping also.
And then someone cried out, "Oh God, that we all might be ready to further our journey
with Jesus beyond this fleshly life into the region of eternal, holy presence with You and Your angelic chorus!"
One year after this historic night of David’s testimony, at David’s funeral, having
dropped dead from a massive heart attack, the pastor reminded the family and friends of, what he called, "David’s prophetic words about himself." He reminded the multitude,
"No one was more prepared to die than David Matthews. Are you prepared to die? No one truly lives who is not prepared to die!"
Hundreds stood beside the gravesite as the casket of David Matthews was brought in. The pastor had shared the Holy Scriptures and given last words of encouragement to Ginger, David’s three adult children and David’s grandchildren, and friends. And then he asked Samuel Etheridge if he had words he wanted to say before the pastor prayed the closing prayer. Samuel started to sing "His Eye Is On The Sparrow," but he broke into tears again and just sobbed. But David’s children and grandchildren, with Ginger, picked up
Samuel’s desire for that song and began to sing with the hundreds gathered around the family. It was a touch of heavenly grace poured out on the mourners! To God Be The Glory!
Then Samuel, composed in heart and mind, shared for a moment: "David’s departure from this earth has left us so lonely for his presence, his goodness, his witness, and his love. But he has climbed the mountain and looked beyond. He has seen that land of promise, and guided by the love of God and graced in the wisdom of God, he said to His Father, "I’m coming home." David has climbed the celestial stairs, knocked on the Pearly Gates, and heard that holy angel say, "Come on in, David Matthews; we’ve been waiting on you." And my brother in Christ said to the angels, "Lead me into the presence of Jesus
and let me love Him for about ten thousand years; then I’ll look for Paula and I’ll look for
my Mom. Then, I’ll wait for Ginger and my kids and grandkids while I rest on the bosom of Jesus, looking for those blessed companions of the past from my yesterdays and longing with anticipation for the reunions of tomorrow. Death may be a stepping stone we cannot avoid, but eternal Life in Christ is an empty tomb we joyously walk through. Rest, my brother, David, rest in the arms of Jesus."
Several weeks later, when it came time to read David’s last will, the attorney shared that Ginger, Mark, Mary, David, and Samuel Etheridge shared equally in his estate with forty acres for Ginger and their home of the last fifteen years, and the three children forty acres each of the family farm, and Samuel Etheridge forty acres around David and Paula’s original home already given to Samuel, plus a five-way split of David’s monies. Ginger was well-cared for in both of David’s retirement incomes from education and the military. This all had been worked out between David and Ginger long before his death. And the spirit of David’s sacrificial service was carried on!
John Bunyan said it so dramatically and true when in "The Pilgrim’s Progress" he wrote:
"My sword I give to him that shall succeed me in my pilgrimage, and my courage and skill to him that can get it. My marks and scars I carry with me, to be a witness for me that I have fought his battles who now will be my rewarder. When the day that he must go hence was come, many accompanied him to the riverside, into which as he went he said: ‘Death, where is your sting?’ And as he went deeper, he said: ‘Grave, where is your victory?’ So he passed over, and all the trumpets sounded for him on the other side."