At the Y with Willie

Since September I have been working at the Y in Wakefield as a lifeguard. Kim and I initially decided that I would work there for the sole purpose of making more money. However, the Y has proven to be quite the mission field. Since working at the Y, the Lord has presented me with countless opportunities to share the gospel. I am so thankful to God for my job at the Y and for the ministry that He has given me there.

Since I have been working at the Y, I have been specifically praying for an opportunity to share the gospel with the head of the maintenance department, Willie. Week after week, morning after morning, I would pray that God would give me a divine appointment with this older gentlemen. Well, our God answers prayer!

On Friday morning, God blessed me with the opportunity to speak to Willie. By chance (ha!), a row of lights on the pool deck went out early that morning. Thus, Willie needed to come into the pool area to fix the lights. As soon as he came in, my heart started pounding and I thought, "Ok Lord. This is the appointment. I'm going to talk to him." So, we chatted for 10 or 15 minutes about the lights and other maintenance type stuff. Then I asked him what he was up to this weekend. He said that he had to work all weekend, even on Sunday. So, I asked him if he ever got an opportunity to go to church. (This is a great question to open up a spiritual conversation....what are they doing that weekend; do they go to church?) He said that he would go on the rare occasion, but due to work and life in general that he was unable to find the time. Willie went on to say that he still maintained his faith and knew that in the end, his good works would outweigh his bad and that he would go to heaven. Through our conversation, I found out that Willie had recently been in a terrible car accident where his car was completely totaled. Willie walked away without a scratch though. I told him about how God had spared his life and that I knew that it wasn't an accident that he and I were talking. I told him about how Proverbs 27:1 tells us not to boast about tomorrow, for we do not know what a day will hold. From here we were able to transition into talks about heaven and hell, and how none of us are "good" enough to get into heaven. I told him about God's law and how each of us have broken His laws, and if God is a good Judge, He must punish us for our lawbreaking.

It was at this point that Willie's expression changed. Willie had been trusting in his own goodness to save him for so long, and the fact that his goodness was not good enough, seemed to shock him. He began to realize that he was a sinner, and worthy of hell. He said that it alarmed him that if he were to die that he would go to hell. There is something truly amazing about seeing the Holy Spirit at work in the convicting of a man's heart of his sin. Then, I said, "Willie, do you know what God did for you so that you wouldn't have to go to hell?" He said, "What?" He didn't have a clue. It was then that I was able to tell him about Jesus, and His amazing love; how He came to this earth, lived a perfect life in thought, word and deed, and then willingly went to the cross and died a horrible and painful death, taking our penalty of sin upon Himself. He then rose from the dead 3 days later and validated who He said He was. I was able to tell Willie that through repentance of sins and trust in Christ alone that God would grant him everlasting life, would wipe away every sin he'd ever committed, and would take away his heart of stone and give him a heart of flesh with new desires to serve Him.

Willie seemed very thankful for our talk. He seemed like he was interested in attending Providence Baptist with me in the future and learning more about the gospel. God never ceases to amaze me at how good He is and how He is in the business of changing lives.