Read
Come and hear, all you who fear God,
and I will tell what he has done for my soul.
Psalm 66:16
Reflect
Everyone who follows the Lord has an original story to tell about what led them to His side. The same is true about people who not only follow Him but who have devoted their lives to service or ministry in His name. I don’t think I’ve ever heard two testimonies that were identical, and some stand out as being fascinating.
And then there’s the story of Al Green.
You might know Al’s name from his string of Top 20 hits in the early 1970s. During this time, Al had an experience with the Lord and accepted Him as his Savior. But it wasn’t until an incident on October 18, 1974, that Al started to realize that his life truly needed to change directions.
Al was at the height of his popularity, and he found himself surrounded by women who were star-struck. One of these was Mary Woodson. Mary was married and had three children (though she told Al she wasn’t married or a mother) and she had left her family to spend time with Al. She was also a bit troubled, and one night after she was tossed into jail for smoking marijuana, Al bailed her out and took her to his Memphis home. There, she started cooking grits and talking about marriage. It was late, and Al, not wanting to get into a deep discussion, excused himself to take a bath.
This is where the story goes completely off the rails. While he was undressed in the bathroom, Mary entered with the pot of grits and threw them onto Al. His screams of pain drew the attention of another houseguest named Carlotta, and while she tried to help Al rinse the scalding grits from his body, Mary went in search of Al’s .38-caliber pistol. Finding it, she committed suicide. In the aftermath, Al had to tell the police about this insane story, and then he went to the hospital for skin graft surgery, followed by months of painful physical rehabilitation. The emotionally and physically painful events of that evening were a catalyst for Al, who less than two years later became an ordained minister and started a church in Memphis.
Al Green’s story is wild, and it has elements that keep people on the edge of their seats when they hear about it. I’ve heard others that are similarly engaging – but no story is any better than another as long as they lead to the same place. The Lord calls each of us to follow Him, and He calls some to a life of ministry and service. We each just need to know that our story is special, mainly because He reached out to each of us in a special way. And your story can inspire others to follow Him. That’s why it’s so important for each Christian to know their testimony and to be prepared to share it with others whose story is not yet written.
Today, if you haven’t thought much about how you came to know the Lord, spend a little time going through your spiritual history. You might not have had flaming grits thrown at you, but you have a story to tell. Even if it seems mild and less than entertaining, your story is your story, and the fact that it involves you winding up as a follower of Jesus Christ makes it perfectly worth telling to others.
Reflection copyright © 2024 Doug DeBolt.
