A Long Walk with Ed
God moves in many ways
that are unknown to us, and rarely do we understand why our lives are directed
down the paths He leads us on. I am thankful that I made the right decisions to
follow where He has led me.
After three years of
working at a great company, a regional specialist position became available.
Everyone said that I had not been with the company long enough to qualify for
the position; it was too large of a pay jump at a time when there was a wage
freeze. Knowing there was no hope of getting the position, I applied for the
job anyway. One by one the people in line for the position turned it down; some
held out for promised supervisor jobs, while others were not interested in the
teaching and traveling required by the position. Miraculously, I got the
promotion.
I traded my workbench
for a desk in a small office shared by five people. Located at the bottom of
stairs, our office was adjacent to both the regional office and a classroom
where I conducted classes. The area was collectively referred to as “The Pit.”
Larry, Bob, Ed and I spent many hours on the phone helping co-workers solve
equipment problems and overcome factors beyond our control. Our supervisor,
Jack, sat at one end of the office. I had been interviewed by Jack three years
earlier when I first came to work for the company. I was surprised now to find
myself working for him, a leader who was always there to help when called upon,
yet who let us do our jobs without interference.
The five of us worked
closely together in those cramped quarters. With all calls overheard by
everyone else, there were no secrets. Ed’s desk was directly across from mine.
He oversaw the computer output microfilming equipment, and I oversaw the
smaller microfilming equipment. We were cross-trained in each other’s line of
equipment and backed each other up, taking calls when the other was
unavailable. Larry and Bob worked the same way in the photo finishing side of
the business. There were only six regions within the company, six small groups
consisting of four specialists, each supporting company equipment lines. We
were often referred to as prima donnas and envied because of our positions.
Ed and I grew close
and began to share with each other about our lives, not only work-related
stories, but personal experiences as well. He had immigrated to America from
Germany after the Second World War. His family was trying to start a new life
in a new country. Now he was well educated and had a job that paid well and
provided great benefits. He was married to Bev and had two lovely children, and
he was living the American dream.
When Ed first invited my
wife Kathy and I over for dinner, Kathy and Bev hit it off from the start. On
the way home that evening, Kathy said, “You won’t believe what Bev told me.”
“What was that?”
“She could not believe
that Ed had brought Christians into their home. She has been praying a long
time that Ed would meet and become friends with Christians.”
“That is unbelievable,”
I said. “Ed has never shown any distaste for Christians.”
“When Ed stepped out
to check on the BBQ,” Kathy said, “Bev whispered it to me, scared he would
return and hear her. She begged me not to say a word. She told me that he does
not allow a Bible in the house, and he once threw her Bible into the fireplace!
He doesn’t want anything to do with Christians, and she has to be careful not
to bring up the subject. So she’s been praying that someone else could reach
him.”
Months later on a long
road trip, I felt led to share with Ed how Jesus came into my life and how he
watched over me from that young age of twelve. I never slowed down, and Ed
never said a word, staring at the road as though he was not listening.
The years rolled by, and
the subject was not brought up again. Ed divorced Bev, remarried, and moved to
a remote area of north Georgia. We continued to work together and remained
close friends.
Ed was always very
athletic, jogging every day, golfing on weekends, and watching his diet. One
day at lunch he said to me, “Hubert, have you ever read the label on these pink
sweetener packages?”
“No, I never use them.
I gave up on sweeteners for coffee and tea years ago, along with sodas,” I
replied.
“It says, ‘Caution: This
product has caused cancer in rats.’ I have been using this for years!”
Ed became sick later
that year and went under the knife for exploratory surgery to find the cause of
the problems. Cancer had already spread throughout his body; they could do
nothing but close him back up. The doctors told him that they could give him
one good year.
About six months later
I received a phone call from Ed. “Hubert, could you do me a favor? I would like
a Bible, and could we talk?”
In total shock, I
agreed to meet him. On the way to his house, I stopped by the Christian bookstore
and picked up a Bible.
He met me at the door
and asked if I would walk with him. Leaving his house, we walked together along
the dirt path winding quietly through the woods. I had the feeling that Ed had
walked it many times before, and I felt honored that he asked me to join him in
his special place to think and meditate.
“Hubert, I am sorry
that I could not come to you first,” he finally said, “but I promised my
golfing partner that if I ever gave my life to Christ, that I would come to him
first. I have golfed with that preacher for years, but he never condemned me or
preached to me. When I found out that I only had one year to live, I let him
lead me to accept Jesus.
“I want to tell you
something that I have never shared with anyone before,” he said. “Shortly after
we moved to America, I overheard our priest talking to my dad about giving
tithes to the church. I knew how hard we had it, barely making ends meet,
sometimes not even having food on the table. I listened to him give my dad
grief over not giving money to the church. It just turned me off; I wanted nothing
to do with Christianity.” His voice changed as he continued. “But what I cannot
understand is how God can forgive me, now that I have turned to him here at the
end of my life.”
Ed knew his Bible from
attending a Christian school and being taught by his parents, yet it was hard for
him to accept and understand that just a few words could wipe away all the
guilt of the many times he had rejected God.
I did not have to say
much on that long walk, so I just listened. God had done it all: placing me and
other Christians on the job with Ed, giving him a discerning preacher for a golfing
partner, and even providing the daily witness and prayers of a loving Christian
wife—even his second wife was a Christian!
When Ed’s time on
earth came to a close, Kathy and I were by his side. As Kathy knelt by Ed’s bed
and prayed, he told us that he could see angels standing around the room, ready
to help him on his flight to heaven. A smile spread across his face as we had
the pleasure of watching him go home to be with Jesus.
Copyright © 2015 Hubert Clark Crowell
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