[1]
When Jerry stood to speak to us he did not have the platform presence of an experienced Minister of Music—he actually looked frail—and for very good reasons!
"After twenty-six years of marriage, my wife said she did not want to be married any longer. This was made even worse by the fact that I was no longer able to be on the church staff. But as bad as it was, it was about to get worse!
"The doctor discovered a cancerous-looking growth on my brain which had to be removed at M.D. Anderson Hospital. Almost immediately afterward there was another serious surgery to my abdomen, which caused other complications affecting my vision.
"No wife, no children, no job, no church, few if any friends, sick, failing health, and scared, I lay face down on the floor of the small rented upstairs garage apartment just sobbing my heart out: 'Lord, what is happening? Where am I headed? What does all this mean? Why is this happening to me? Where are You, Lord?'
"Just then I heard a knock at my door, and without thinking how I might appear, I opened the door to discover a lady and two men I had never seen. (I discovered later this was a FAITH team from a Sunday School class of a local Baptist Church.) Those people and that visit saved my life that night because I felt as if I were literally drowning in grief, loneliness, sickness, and sorrow, with no one to care.
[2]"They witnessed to me but I did not need to be saved—I was already saved—but I was drowning. Those three knew how to turn a would-be soul winning visit into a ministry visit that literally rescued this drowning Christian and has changed my life. They picked me up, took me in, cared for me—yes, rescued me!
"I was on their FAITH team last semester but want to lead my own team next semester because I'm just certain there are so many others out there who feel like they are drowning and no one is coming to help. Well, I'm going to try!"
As Jerry concluded with a song, I thought, "Not everyone that is drowning needs to be "saved" … sometimes it is the rescued that needs rescuing."
I'm going to try harder, too! How about you?