Life Has Come Full Circle

Yesterday I had the privilege to worship God with the saints in Conroe. Conroe has always been special to Danny and I. We were married in the church building there nearly 34 years ago. We moved there after Danny had finished his education at Florida College so Danny could “sit at the feet” of WR Jones. He wanted to soak up as much of his Bible knowledge and experience as a gospel preacher he could before setting off on his own. The good people who worshiped there were very encouraging to this young couple.

Now, over 30 years later, the same congregation has the privilege and responsibility of getting another young couple with the last name of Dow off to a good start. Andrew is about the same age his daddy was when he was preaching in Conroe. Listening to him preach yesterday brought a lot of memories back to the surface. Life has come full circle. I know Conroe will hold a special place in this young Dow couple for years to come just as it has for this older Dow couple for many years.

As the wife of a preacher and the mother of a preacher, I know the Christians in the various congregations my husband and son preach for can have and will have a huge influence on them the rest of their lives. We have been blessed with some great encouragers through the years. We have also been blessed with some who presented great challenges to us. Both the encouragers and the challengers have helped to make my husband the man he is today. I hope as Andrew encounters some of the same types of people that he will benefit from them as his daddy has.

I hope Andrew will have people in his life who always have a smile on their face and an encouraging word. These people build confidence and enthusiasm. They can always be depended on to offer a kind remark or a loving pat on the back. I hope most of the people Andrew encounters will be like these.

I hope Andrew will have people in his life who challenge what he teaches. There are those who will challenge him with the truth. They will look at what he says and compare it to the scriptures. They will want the best for him and so they will, like Aquila and Priscilla did with Apollos, present him the truth more fully. I hope that Andrew will humbly and respectfully listen to these good brethren and then adjust his teachings accordingly. I hope that he will recognize their love for God and for him and will learn to love them for the courage it takes to point out error to a brother.

I hope Andrew will have people in his life who challenge what he teaches with less than honorable intentions. Teaching the word of God requires conviction and courage. These people who seem to be a thorn in his side, can be the very ones who cause him to dig deeper in the Word, to pray harder and more frequently to the Father and to build a stronger faith in what is the way of God.

Through the years, Danny and I have encountered many who fit all three of these descriptions. There have been people who have built us up through their love and encouragement. There have been those who have challenged us to think and study about what we believe to the point of either building a stronger conviction or a change of heart. There have been those who hoped to drag us down through their discouraging remarks and actions. All of these people have had an impact on who we are and what we do. For the most part, we have been blessed by and are thankful for all we have come in contact with.

To those who may have the privilege of being part of a congregation who is giving a young man his first start, I hope that as you interact with the young preacher and his wife that you will consider what kind of impact you are making on their lives. As you challenge the teaching you are being presented with that you will do so lovingly so as to build faith and conviction in the young preacher without discouraging him. As you encourage him that you will not create an inflated ego but encourage humility. That if you choose to be one who challenges with less than honorable intentions that you will realize that you may, through your challenges, be building him up to be stronger or you may be destroying his confidence and faith in God. Whichever type person you choose to be, remember that this young man has chosen to spend his life teaching others about God. Your response to his preaching can influence his life work.