Prairie Prayers

Many years ago, my dad and Charlie, his long-time friend, set out to sell Bibles. They were very nice Bibles from the Hertel Bible Company of Wichita, Kansas. They had a lot of success as they traveled around the state, for people were usually pleased to purchase such a valued treasure, especially from such polite and earnest gentlemen.

Fast forward some 30 years to when our oldest son, Mark, was pastor of a church in a small Kansas town. One Sunday he happened to mention that his grandfather used to spread the Word by distributing Bibles across northern Oklahoma and southern Kansas. After the service, a church member approached him with an interesting observation.

"I think I met your grandfather," he said to Mark. He recalled that one time he, a farmer, had come in from the field for a bite of lunch. His wife, who was expecting a baby, was working at a school cafeteria, so he was on his own. He told about two men in a big Buick who drove up and knocked at the door.

He described them and said he invited them in to hear their presentation. (I must admit that Daddy, with his soft voice and persuasive way with words, and the older gentleman who looked like Burl Ives, would be a hard pair to resist!)

"I bought the Bible," the man said, "And after they left, I got to reading it. I found I couldn't put it down, and didn't go back to the field. It touched me so that I got down on my knees at the sofa and gave my heart to the Lord."

He went on to say that he wasn't established at that time, but as the years passed he became very prosperous. The two sons that were born into the Christian family grew up to be very successful. They started a magazine, a copy of which I saw at Mark's house once.

My husband was reminiscing about this a few days ago and gave Mark a call. Mark filled in a lot of details we didn't know. A son of Mark's church member amassed a fortune, becoming a billionaire (he even said trillionaire) and was listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

In later years, Howard was on staff at a Kansas church and was making hospital calls one day, when he visited a patient that turned out to be the man who had bought the Bible from my dad. He reiterated the story of the salesmen calling on him and the blessings that followed. The Word goes on forever!