If God Calls

The names, if there are any, in this narrative have been changed to protect everyone. Me included. Otherwise it is factual.

It was Thursday night, the 1st of December and it was desperately cold. You know, the kind of cold that makes you think you will never get warm again. It might have been a bit warmer in your house but I wasn't in your house, I was on a motorcycle headed out for a meeting and I was implicitly instructed to ride as opposed to "drive". So I was cold. And I missed several turns. And I was late. I'd planned this for a month. Was suppose to be free of work by 4. As it happened, that did not happen. It was almost 5 by the time I left work. And I needed to get home, shower, dress, saddle up, and be there by 6. You know who didn't make it by 6. Not too sure I made it by 7. What I am sure of is that once inside the room, listening to the speakers, I was warm. And hearing some really good stuff. There is something moving about a grown man, a huge grown man, standing in front of hundreds of people and admitting he has made mistakes.

At some point in time he will also tell you that he has seen the errors of his past and is now sold out to Jesus. Or God. And he lives like it. And talks like it. Puts his money where his mouth is so to speak. You have to admire a guy like that. Well, you don't have to but I do admire him or in this case several of them. One being Bill Glass. It is an event with his name on it although he has tried several times to get his name removed. Former football hero. Former this and that. Now he speaks to people in an effort to get them to speak to other people about their salvation. Their personal relationship with God. Trying to get them to develop one. Relationship. With God.

I stood through most of the speakers that night and have to admit, I didn't mind. Matter of fact it seemed to be the proper thing to do. And yes, I did get inspired.

Next morning the clock went off at an unbelievably early 4:30 am. Man!!! It must have been 10 pm before I got home. And now it's just 4:30 and I am contemplating getting out of bed? What is wrong here? Well, nothing actually. I am following through on a commitment. And I intend to keep following through all weekend. At 5:30 I'm at the local IHOP having breakfast with "Herb", who talked me into this in the first place. Not just the weekend which is pretty darn awesome but riding. Riders are considered celebrities where we are headed. Oh, I didn't tell you that did I? We are headed to prison. Or a "Unit". And we are going there to mix and mingle with the inhabitants and talk to them about their salvation. What, me nervous? Never! Not much. Maybe a little. Ok so it was kinda like induction day in the military. The question of the day for me was "What have I got myself into?" Before the day was out I would have an answer.

We left the IHOP and meandered (that means BMW following Harley slowly, for those of you that don't know) over to the hotel where the main body was meeting. Here we picked up four more riders and headed out. Not a real long trip but you make it four times in a weekend plus the banquets and other miscellaneous riding and before you know it I had added 250 miles to the bike's collection. But I am getting ahead here a bit.

When we get to the destination, I am amazed that the place looks like a prison. It is. A state prison for men. We wait for the 4 wheelers to show and get processed. When we ride in they will be in there already and will be huddled safely out of our way. Two more riders join us. When you have eight bikes, seven of which have no mufflers, and you are entering a prison, you do not go softly. We entered with engines racing, horns blowing and amazing bursts of speed. A tight turn at the end of the concrete and head back to do it all over again. One of the leaders told me he thought I was doing over fifty when I passed him. I told him I would have gone faster but could not get the bike out of first gear, which was true. I didn't have time to look at the speedometer as I was too busy watching the guard house grow in my vision at an alarming rate. And loving it. Did I mention that? I absolutely loved the show off stuff. Imagine that. At my age.

After several trips up and down the ramp they had us park, half on one side of the stage and half on the other. The stage being a wagon used to haul outside workers to their jobs.

Unsaddle, put the gear away, get out the packet they gave us the night before, found all the correct forms, got them stored on my person, and then took the time to look around.

The compound is surrounded by buildings, fenced in buildings, with all the razor wire in the world on top of fences and buildings alike.

We had not cleared the concrete by more than a couple of minutes when the inmates started arriving. It was a cold morning but they kept coming. They were seated in groups and rows. If one wanted to get a cold butt off the cold concrete, he was advised quickly and forcefully to "Sit back down." And he did. Quickly. The guards were mixed as to race and gender but they were all very businesslike. I'm very sure I don't blame them.

First thing on the agenda for their entertainment was a young lady singing oldies and gospel. Then a speaker. A man who has spent a lot of time in jail and knows what it is about. He found Christ in jail. Eventually he found freedom and started working to evangelize his part of the world. Eventually he ran head long into the Bill Glass movement and joined up, been there ever since. He is a good speaker and knows the peaks and the valleys. Easy to see he has been there. He held everyone's attention. When he finished it was our turn. We didn't get to go up on the platform and speak. We got to meet with the inmates in small groups of from one to five right there. They just stood up and found you. We had a small handout for each of them and went over it with them word by word and explained each thought as it was presented. Then we would go back to it and try to make arguments against what we just read. I just didn't want any "me too's" putting their name in the hat to be saved. After the first group I realized that just was not my job. That part belongs to the Holy Spirit. If he is working in a person, it is their time. If he is not, it is not. Nothing I can do with either side of that. Life was easier after that realization. I had some men give their lives to Christ that day and the next. I had some rededications both days. I had some interesting conversation with Christians who were also inmates.

I learned a good bit too. One of the things that God just kept pointing out to me was his love for these men is/was/will be the same as his love for me and for you. I learned grown men can do a lot because of pride but when the Holy Spirit is convicting them of the error of their life, the pride leaves and they are very capable of bawling like a baby.

It was an awesome two days. The afternoon of the first day was very similar to the morning. The second day was warmer, I ate with the Guards instead of the inmates, same food, longer to eat it. Will I do it again? If God allows it, yes! Since that weekend I have been actively seeking his will for the rest of my life. Not sure what that will be but I am sure of this, it will be great, and I will know true peace.

One more day and then Christmas.

My wish for all of you is this: Peace in your family and in your life. Love to share. Joy with life and with God. Happiness that can only come with a certain knowledge of where you are and where you are going.

Be kind to each other. Give God a chance to be kind to you.

Oh, and if God calls, just say yes. Much easier that way.