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.We didn’t charge any admission, but we did leave a bucket in the back for people to drop in a station donation if they wanted.There were probably fifty people at the first performance, and Natalie did even better in front of people than she did in the studio.She was a regular pro on that microphone, and she quickly learned how to talk to the people and get them to respond.It was like watching fireworks go off every time she came onstage.Jimmy brought all the equipment we needed, and I had Callie return to the station and switch to the recorded music when everything was over.The crowds grew steadily with each concert until we filled the fellowship hall and had to move into the main sanctuary.The Internet hit count went through the roof.I wasn’t sure what that meant, but I just kept doing what I felt like God had called me to do.It wasn’t the Grand Ole Opry, but it was close enough.* * *One of the best days of the year was when Sheriff Preston came by the house.“I’ve been listening to your station anytime I’m in range, Billy.I love the music.It speaks to my heart like few things do these days with everything going on in the world.”“I hear that from people,” I said.“Well, my wife said I ought to tell you.It was all she could do to keep from running over here last Sunday herself.”“What happened?”“I’m in.”“Excuse me?”“I’m in with both feet.Just shows that the prayers of a good woman will go a long way.”I smiled.“I’m really glad to hear it, Sheriff.I don’t think you’re going to regret it.”“No, don’t expect I will.I’ll probably regret waiting this long.”“He understands,” I said.“And I’ll bet there was some celebration on your behalf when you finally came to your senses.”“You really think there are such things as angels, Billy?”“I know there are, Sheriff.I have personal experience.”“Well, I thank you for the part you played.I’ve watched you through the years.I want something genuine like you have.Now I think I’ve got it.”“One thing about that, Sheriff: once you get it, don’t hoard it.It’ll spoil if you don’t give it away.”* * *Living and dying and everything in between.That’s what the music is about.Faith, hope, and love.The glass seems to be growing darker every day.I try to make sense of the world and it just doesn’t.All of the pain and the hurt and the leaving and crying and bloodshed.I still believe in hidden songs that run through us.And I believe the pain has made them more rich and full.I’ve felt the songs overrun the banks of my life with equal amounts of joy and sorrow.I don’t know why all these things happened to me, and I sure don’t know what’s planned for the future.But I know a few things for sure.One of them is that there is a fountain supplying the waters that both quench our thirst and flood our lives.I also know that the love of a good woman is a treasure to the heart of a lonely man.And the love of God will change you, if you let it, no matter who you are and what you’ve done.God cares for us too much to leave us the way we are.He hounds and pokes and prods until we see the truth, and I have loved and hated him for it.Sometimes in the still of the night, when the train whistle sounds, I sit up in bed and listen for something.A voice.A whisper.Something happened to me back in Buffalo Creek the morning of that flood.My life was preserved for a reason.Was it so I could save Callie? Was it so I could meet Natalie and help her find her way? Was it because of the people who have been touched by the radio station?I’m not sure if it’s one or all of the above.Perhaps God will do something else down the road, though I’m not sure how long of a road I have to travel.But I have come to the point where I don’t need to know.That’s the best part of my story.I just plain don’t need to know.34I will not divulge secrets of hidden things.I have told you that.And I have endeavored to keep hidden those things that must not be revealed to the earthbound.In a little while you will see fully, but not yet.So I will not divulge the method by which I was extricated from that unholy assembly of malevolent forces who entrapped me, but suffice it to say, the very height of heaven was not ashamed to come to my aid.We rejoiced at the victory, but heaven fell silent with the death of Clay.And not long after, I was given a new assignment and the orders to leave my friend Billy Allman.I will not say whether angels weep at such partings.However, if we rejoice and sing for gladness, it follows that we can experience the opposite emotion.There was at least a bit of melancholy leaving him, for I knew there would be hardship ahead.To live earthbound means there are many questions.For one moment I was able to think as they do, wondering about Billy’s future.Would he and Callie have a long life together? Would his diabetes cause irreversible health complications? Would the station continue and grow, or would it—like many things of earth—fade, dim, and wither?Grappling with life and its many decisions takes the heart of a warrior.After my close encounter with the enemy of men’s souls, I see that anew and I am more sure than ever that there is only One who can be trusted with every question mark.As many on earth have found, to cast oneself on the sure mercy and love of the Creator is not an act of blind faith, but a daily act of contrition.For my questions are never answered with an explanation other than the twin beams of wood known as a cross.If I can live with that great question mark of history, I can live each day with the questions that arise from Billy’s life and my own.Still, I lament that I am not allowed to stay longer.I wanted to be present at his last moments, to usher him into the presence of the One he served faithfully.But I know that Billy and Callie and the others will be in the care and protection of the One they serve.As David so aptly wrote, “The Lord directs the steps of the godly.He delights in every detail of their lives.Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand.”I serve this God of details.This God of commas and exclamation points [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]