Page 26 - May 2015 Catalyst

LIFE CHANGING EVENTS
By Joe Grimaud | Continued From Page 6
changed.
My pastor recalled some of these events in his message this morning as he pointed out that all of us have impacts on our lives that are vividly remembered 30 or more years later and make tremendous changes in our lives going forward.
But there are no events that have a greater impact on our life than encountering Christ with the life change that occurs when we accept him as our Savior. It makes a great deal of difference, a positive difference, in our lives while we struggle with situations that occur during our life here on Earth. But it makes an even far greater differ - ence after death and through eternity.
And what a blessing it is when we can create an event that helps one to come to know and accept Jesus as Savior, to experience that change and inherit eternity in Heaven with Him. To create that greatest of life changing events.
As a young Christian boy, and on into adult- hood, I had a lot of problems being vocal in wit- nessing to others. I felt a lot of guilt about it. One of the reasons I felt so much guilt was because I grew up with a wonderful Father who witnessed to others at every turn. He was not obnoxious, but he seemed to be able to put himself into posi- tions where he could witness without being ob- noxious, if that is even possible when you witness about Jesus.
Daddylovedtogofishing. Hewouldriseattwo or three in the morning and go off to the farm- ers market in Augusta to run his wholesale pro- duce business. During vacations or days off from school, my brother and I would go with him, and we always had prayer together before we left. EveryoneonthatmarketknewDaddywas a strong Christian. Often after arriving home at nine or ten in the morning he would hook up his boat and head to the lake to f ish. And it was not unusual for him to invite someone to go along with him. He found that while he was out on the lake he could engage in longer conversations with someone he wanted to influence for Christ. And he was also a good fisherman for fish as well as for men.
I have walked down the halls of the University Hospital in Augusta with him and turned into the room of someone he might not have known and asked if he could pray for them. I have never seen one person in the hospital turn down a prayer. But still, even though I had seen my fa- ther do this a thousand times, I seemed to have trouble with it.
But one day I was meeting with some unchris- tian friends and business associates, one of whom had terminal cancer. Because of my concern for him, as we were about to part company, I asked him if he minded if I had prayer. Much like in the hospital, he welcomed the prayer. In
26 CityLight.org
May 2015