Raucous laughter marked the guests in my father's hospital room: Two old truck drivers, one former country/western singer, one craftsman, two women from neighboring farms, and me. "...and then he got up and busted the bottle over my head", the craftsman said, finishing his story about a bar fight. The room bursts into laughter at this now-humorous memory. Dad, struggling for breath as his laughing fought with his cancer for the air in his lungs, puffs out a reminder to everybody that "Randy is a preacher" so they need to watch what they say. Everything got quiet for about two seconds, then the whole room exploded as this news makes them laugh harder and harder.
Suddenly, about forty minutes into this visit, the craftsman clears his throat, turns to my dad, and gets serious. "No more drinking and bar fights for me, Howard. Those days are behind me. Now I have a different reason to live. I want to tell you about my Savior".
He then proceeded to do just that, over my father's surprisingly mild protests. If there's a sweeter, gentler way to present the gospel message, I've never heard it. My dad listened and watched, and some years later believed in Jesus too. It was a simple testimony from an old friend living in a simple life, reminding me again that simple isn't naive or stupid; it's direct and unpretentious. Just like Jesus. And salvation.
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