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AS I SEE IT Bob
Connor
Saved at Last, Part 1
1"The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out at dawn
to hire laborers for his vineyard. 2After agreeing with them for the
usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. 3Going out about nine
o'clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, 4and he said to
them, 'You too go into my vineyard, and I will give you what is just.'
5So they went off. (And) he went out again around noon, and around three
o'clock, and did likewise. 6Going out about five o'clock, he found
others standing around, and said to them, 'Why do you stand here idle
all day?' 7They answered, 'Because no one has hired us.' He said to
them, 'You too go into my vineyard.' 8When it was evening the owner of
the vineyard said to his foreman, 'Summon the laborers and give them
their pay, beginning with the last and ending with the first.' 9When
those who had started about five o'clock came, each received the usual
daily wage.10So when the first came, they thought that they would
receive more, but each of them also got the usual wage. 11And on
receiving it they grumbled against the landowner, 12saying, 'These last
ones worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us, who bore
the day's burden and the heat.' 13He said to one of them in reply, 'My
friend, I am not cheating you. Did you not agree with me for the usual
daily wage? 14Take what is yours and go. What if I wish to give this
last one the same as you? 15(Or) am I not free to do as I wish with my
own money? Are you envious because I am generous?' 16Thus, the last will
be first, and the first will be last." Matthew 20, 1-16.
My nephew was a strong young man - tall, slender, muscular. He jogged
9 miles a week and played basketball with his friends. His first
vehicular love was a Ford Mustang which ultimately was totaled; but,
then his affections turned for a while to motorcycles.
He didn't eat junk food and even had a toothbrush at his work so that
he could brush after lunch. Yes, he took care of himself. And, oh yes,
he was handsome! We thought that he resembled John F. Kennedy, Jr.
He was smart too - well read. He loved to read.
Didn*t much like school but could learn anything on his own. Everyone at
work liked him. They bragged about how good he was at his job and that
he would always take time to help a co-worker solve a perplexing
problem. He was in information technology. He was soft-spoken and never
had a bad word to say to anyone. He was polite to a fault.
We have a very small family and, it was always a treat when he made
it to a birthday party or Christmas or Easter. Often, he was "on
call" at his job or was spending time with his girlfriend and her
family who lived in East Texas and he could not be with us. Also, he
spent several years living in California, and we really missed him.
He had met his girlfriend about seven years
ago. They dated all this time and neither had anyone else. But, the
marriage had not yet occurred. Yes, it was a long courtship.
All was well but then he was diagnosed with
germ cell cancer. His cancer was very similar to that suffered by and
conquered by Lance Armstrong - the famous cyclist who won the Tour de
France 7 times after beating his cancer. This gave him and us a lot of
hope.
My nephew was treated by doctors in Houston, by
Lance Armstrong's doctor in Indianapolis, and by doctors in Tomball. He
endured massive doses of chemotherapy. Two treatments of "high
dose" chemotherapy in Indianapolis were so severe that stem cells
had to be removed from his bone marrow before the treatment, frozen and
then re-inserted after the treatment. This was necessary because the
chemotherapy was so destructive to cells of all types. The unaffected
stem cells that had been removed prior to the treatment would then
regenerate healthy bone marrow and various blood cells.
His girlfriend became his caretaker and then
his wife. I have never seen greater devotion from one person to another
than the care, love and sacrifice that she gave to him.
As good a human being as he was, my nephew had
never been baptized nor was he a "church-goer." I talked with
him about this and he said that he would think about being baptized.
Then, one day in May he was rushed to the emergency room of Spring
Branch Hospital. He could hardly breathe. It turned out that pneumonia
had now struck him.
Knowing the seriousness of the situation as I
drove to the hospital, I called my good friend who was a close friend of
a priest. I asked my friend to call the priest and to be on standby.
When I reached the hospital, I saw my nephew
gasping for breath. His head and neck were purple from the lack of
oxygen and the attendants had him on a breathing machine. I asked him
again about being baptized and he nodded his head "yes."
Immediately, I called my friend. He and the priest rushed to the
hospital. It did not take them long. It seems that God had arranged for
the priest to be on his way to our friend*s home for a routine visit and
had almost arrived.
My nephew was baptized at about 12:30 AM on May
10, 2007 in the presence of his wife, his mother, my friend, the priest,
and me. Later he said that he felt a "rush" through his body
and his breathing became easier as he was being baptized.
(Near
Northwest Banner, October
4 , 2007)
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