Back in the summer of 1994, I worked for the Alabama Baptist State Convention. I traveled around the state with a guy named Mike; he was a worship leader, and I was the speaker for a series of revivals all over the state. We worked with several small and medium sized churches from one end of Alabama to another. One of those churches was Little River Baptist Church in Chrysler, Alabama. Chrysler is located due south of Uriah, Alabama, which means it is smack dab in the middle of nowhere. However, it is within driving distance of Atmore, where my grandfather lives.

That summer, my grandmother was still alive, though just barely. She was completely bedridden with Parkinson’s and dementia. Parkinson’s was destroying her body, and dementia was ravaging her mind. Frankly, I am not sure she even knew who she was during those eight years she spent in the back bedroom, much less who we were. God used that eight years to transform my grandfather. He went from being a particularly gruff man to an incredibly tender caregiver who refused to even consider a nursing home as long as he was able to care for her at home. He didn’t get out much during that time.

But he did make plans to come to Little River Baptist Church to hear me speak. In fact, he even drove over during the day before coming over that night: he wanted to make sure that he knew how to find the church. He came in right after the service began, so I didn’t get a chance to speak to him. I did acknowledge him before I spoke by introducing him to those in attendance that night.

After the service, the members of the church were very friendly as they welcomed my grandfather and told him how they had enjoyed having me there that week. In fact, I had to wait my turn to get to speak to him. As I approached him, I was mindful of his less than affectionate nature, and I just stuck out my hand to shake his.

He took my hand in his, and for the first time, he pulled me into a hug. He told me how much he had enjoyed the service and how proud he was of me. His face was beaming that night, and I will never forget the pride in his eyes or the way he hugged me.

Grandaddy is not doing well. We have been noticing his mental decline over the past months, and we know that he is now experiencing Alzheimer’s firsthand. Two weeks ago, he had surgery on his feet and was kept in the hospital in Atmore for observation and antibiotics by IV. While there, his lungs began to fill with fluid, and he experienced congestive heart failure. A doctor there was able to revive him, and he was airlifted down to Mobile. He was in ICU for a week and half, and only two days ago was placed into a regular room. He has been stabilized, and his lungs and heart seem to be functioning better. In fact, they are now looking at transferring him back to Atmore.

Unfortunately, many times when an Alzheimer’s patient experiences a physical problem like this, it speeds up the mental decline. Thus far, it seems like that might be the case. We are hoping that part of the confusion might be from the drug-induced coma he was in for over a week, but we just don’t know. Only time will tell.

If you pray, keep him in your prayers.

Six Things About Me You May / May Not Know

1. I drove an ice cream truck one summer. My parents had a friend who was always coming up with one scheme or another that was going to be his ticket to fame and fortune. One summer, he decided that an ice cream truck was what my small southern town needed. The truck was big enough that I could pick up friends and let them ride around with me. That was a great summer!
2. I am an avid Apple guy. My first computer (which I got none-of-your-darn-business years ago) was an Apple IIe, and it lasted me for years. At some point, I bought into the lies of the evil empire (Microsoft) and started using Windows machines. I have seen the error of my ways. For the past year, I have been using a MacBook that I purchased through the school, and I will be buying my dream iMac later this week. I can’t imagine life without my iPod, and I can’t wait for my contract to expire with Alltel so that I can buy my iPhone.
3. I am inked up. I have two tattoos, and I am already planning my next one. (Really, I have three, but two of them are combined into one.) My plan is to have a complete sleeve on one leg, that way I can cover it up and look all professional.
4. I suffer with OCD about crap that really doesn’t matter. I can’t handle it if I notice that my fingernails are in need of trimming. It doesn’t matter if I am running late for work, I will stop at a gas station and buy fingernail clippers even though I am pretty sure that I have two pair in my top desk drawer. Also, if I am putting ice in glasses for a larger gathering (my extended family, for instance), I have to make certain that each glass has the same number of ice cubes. Crushed ice is a great thing because I don’t have to worry about the number of cubes.
5. I am a voracious reader. I have hundreds upon hundreds of books in my classroom, and more at home. I read almost every night before going to sleep. I don’t care if I am already up too late… I must read to turn off my brain. If I am in a particularly busy season of life (for example, drowning in grad school), I still read, I just pick a book I have already read. This way, I have no problem putting it down to go to sleep. In other words, I not only read, I re-read.
6. I am messy. Way messy. I am glancing over at my side of the bed as I write this, and I see the following:
   On my nightstand -
   three books
   one CD
   one DVD
   a bottle of generic Benadryl
   a package of Nutter Butter cookies
   an empty Diet Pepsi can
   a large Cherry slush from Sonic
   my cell phone
   a Leatherman tool
   a PedEgg
   two small boxes of CDs with Mac software
   On the floor-
   two three pairs of shoes
   five pillows
   two pairs of dirty socks, a t-shirt, a pair of shorts, and a pair of pajama pants
   three books
   last week’s Entertainment Weekly
   my backpack  

   For the record, I will totally step around and over all of this stuff until Miranda gets pissed enough that she makes me clean it. (She really wishes I was OCD about cleaning up some of it!) My desk at work looks just the way you imagine it.

One of my assistant principals is the pastor of a church in Montgomery, and he had previously invited me to visit his church. When the assignment was made, I immediately thought of him and his church. I asked him about it in passing, and his face lit up. He seemed as excited about the possibility of my visiting as I was.

So, this morning, I taught my class at my church, and then I jumped in the van and drove down to Montgomery to visit my coworker’s church. I will end up writing up the experience for the class, and when I do, I will focus on the experience as a whole. Tonight, I am focusing on one particular aspect - the fact that I was blessed with the opportunity to see a coworker, a man that I have known for the past year, in a whole new light. There are several images that I will never forget.

Anderson smiling as he visited with his church members before the service. At school, he has to wear his assistant principal hat. Whether he is dealing with students or with faculty members, he must constantly wear the hat of an administrator. The role of pastor is quite different, and I am glad I got to see him as he reached out to those he shepherds.

Anderson speaking with the children about light and darkness. Since several of the kids either lost power or had it blink off and on during the storms last night, the time was perfect to talk about living a forgiven life as walking in the light versus walking in darkness. My favorite part of this scene was watching Anderson as he hugged each of the children, smiling and laughing the entire time.

Anderson as he preached. Considering the communication skills I had already observed, I wasn’t surprised at all by his eloquence or passion. I was, however, blessed and challenged by it.

Anderson as he stood by a young man. There was a young man who responded to the invitation, coming forward and sitting in a chair as one of the elders of the church stood beside him. Anderson came around, knelt by the young man, and shared with him quietly. There is no way I can accurately describe the look on his face as he stood beside the young man with his arm around his shoulders and his head bowed, but I am glad I witnessed it.

Anderson as he stood with his arms outstretched, praying a benediction over the congregation. ‘Nuff said.

Prior to this morning, I knew that Anderson was a follower of Christ and a pastor, but that knowledge was theoretical. Today, I got to see it being fleshed out. Today, I was able to see a totally different side of a man whose office is just two doors down.

I was blessed by what I saw.