Lent day 9 - inheritance

In 1966 Billy Graham came to London and preached a televised message which reached into households across the UK.  One of those households was that of my great Auntie Gladys  ( Auntie Glad) who got down on her knees in front of the telly and gave her life to Jesus.   Her life was eternally transformed and everyone in the family recognised ( but not necessarily welcomed) the change.

I was born in 1966 - so all in all it was a fairly monumental year  😇

Growing up I remember occasionally hearing about ' mad Auntie Glad' who preached at everyone and went on and on about ' being saved'.   I never met her - she was my Dad's Aunt by marriage so was really on the fringes of our extended family.  But her reputation went before her and she was a bit of a legend for all the wrong reasons as far as my family were concerned.

I was in my late twenties when I was between jobs and houses and decided to go and stay with my Dad for three months.  Looking for a church,  I asked Dad if he knew of any local fellowships and he said he thought that there was one in Ripon - a nearby town.  He thought it was perhaps the church that his Auntie Glad went to.    Off I went one Sunday to explore - and there she was.  A tiny white haired old lady who was standing at the door greeting everyone who entered with a huge hug.   She introduced herself to me as ' Auntie Glad - I'm everyones Auntie here'  and I was able to tell her that in actual fact she really WAS my Auntie Glad because I was Mike Pearson's daughter.  Her face was a picture.  She had tears in her eyes as she told me that she had regularly prayed for my Dad when he was a young man but that she had lost touch with that side of the family over the years.  Her delight in discovering that her prayers had been answered in the next generation was palpable.  She hugged me and prayed for me and invited me to lunch and we chatted and connected and marvelled at the goodness of God that we had found each other.

Not long after that Auntie Glad went to be with the Lord.  And today Billy Graham has joined her.  The fruit of his preaching way back in the fifties and sixties was a spinster called Gladys.  The fruit of her prayers in the sixties and seventies was me!   So I feel especially thankful to Billy Graham today.

I heard him preach at a mission in Edinbugh in 1991.  Nothing he said was particularly astounding and his delivery wasn't particularly gripping or exciting.  But the anointing for evangelism was truly amazing.  I saw thousands of people leave their seats to go down on the pitch of Murrayfield stadium and give their lives to Jesus that day.  Thousands of ordinary people like my Auntie Glad whose lives, I trust, were transformed and whose prayers went on to affect those who came after them.  Ripples spreading outwards across the world.

Who was praying for you before you knew about it?  Who was praying for the person who ended up leading you to God?  Who are you praying for now ?  How many ripples are we all creating for God?

Billy Graham was a faithful servant and a wise disciple.  He made more ripples than most.  I hope he enjoys the reward the Father has ordained for him in heaven.