Finishing well

Father-in-law makes four in our newly constituted household. Wesley is easy to live with, but it hasn’t been so easy for him. A man who was once an insurance salesman–turned-pastor of a church in the mid-1980s finds himself walking aimlessly around the house, like a sidelined aging lion in winter.

So we talked about it, and I reminded him of all the acts of God he has seen and told me about in the course of his lifetime and suggested he write them down for posterity—at least our household’s posterity. Then I was reading the Bible one day and happened upon this:

“One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts. On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works I will meditate. They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds, and I will declare your greatness. They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness and shall sing aloud of your righteousness. … All your works shall give thanks to you, O LORD, and all your saints shall bless you! They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom and tell of your power, to make known to the children of man your mighty deeds …” (Psalm 145:4-12).

I shared the passage with Wesley, and he told me about a mighty work of God when he was 16 years old in Worcester, Mass., having dropped his girlfriend off at home at 11 p.m. after a date. His car wouldn’t start, so he decided to walk to the bus stop 2 miles away, the last bus of the night leaving at 1 o’clock. As he approached his destination he saw a man on a street corner striking a woman, and another man (presumably the woman’s companion) already on the ground. Wesley ran to the scene and the assailant pulled a knife on him, and a chase ensued.

At some point the armed man dashed down a dark alley. Wesley says a voice in his head warned him not to go there. After a moment or so, the knife-wielding man emerged from the alley, followed shortly by a second man and then a third. Just then Wesley heard the sound of a bus. Cornered and not sure what to do, he waited until the bus was very close and then jumped in front of it. The bus driver stuck his head out the window and started cursing, but Wesley told him, “See those three guys over there? They’re trying to kill me!” Then the driver changed his tune and told him to hop on. They sped away to safety.

I didn’t see much of my father-in-law yesterday—no usual multiple trips to the mailbox, no shuffling of feet, no staring out the window. He was busy on his new book, a testimony to his children and grandchildren of the mighty works of the Lord. For “One generation shall commend your works to another.”

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1). And this season for my father-in-law will be for telling of God’s work in past seasons. There are no idle, useless times. Even on our sickbeds we can move the kingdom forward with our prayers.