My step-father, Walker, passed away on Tuesday morning, January 18th. He was 84 years old. Walker and my mom got married a couple of years ago. My mom and dad divorced when I was in 7th grade and she never re-married until she met Walker. Walker was a very Godly man. He served faithfully over half of his life as a deacon in a Baptist church in urban Chicago. Walker had a great impact on my mother, who grew up Catholic. She became born again only a year or so prior to meeting Walker. I was very blessed to able to baptize my mom on a Mothers Day, right here at New Beginnings. But it was after she met Walker that her faith deepened. Walker showed her the importance of prayer. The importance of having a daily relationship with our Lord, Jesus Christ. Every relationship develops through communication and that communication with Jesus is done through prayer. Walker didn't just talk about Jesus.He lived out his faith in front of her.He modeled who Jesus was to her.
The most dramatic impact for me was when I became ordained as a Pastor at New Beginnings in October of 2009. Walker and mom had just begun "dating" at that time, but he came all the way from Chicago with my mom to attend the ordination service. In fact, I believe it was the first time I had met Walker in person.
Two other men from our church were being ordained that evening as well. All three of us were on our knees in front of family and friends with our spouses right behind us. Each person attending had the option of coming to pray over us. Walker came and prayed for each one of us, even though he had never met either of the other two men. What came later though, was that all of my family had come to kneel and pray for me except my mom.She was fairly new in her born again faith. She had never, up to that point in her life, had prayed a spontaneous prayer out loud, that wasn't a recited prayer, such as the Lord's Prayer.
Walker pressed my mom to go and pray for her son and he wasn't going to take no for an answer. She was so nervous she couldn't get up. Walker kept pressing. He told her, "Sandy, if you don't go and pray for your son during this moment, you will regret it for the rest of your life." He told her that he would go with her and she did. My mom prayed a spontaneous prayer over me, out loud that day, for the first time.
Even though the time for my mom and Walker to be together as husband and wife was cut short, I will always remember the impact that Walker had on my mom and our entire family. A righteous man of God, who lived his life as a living sacrifice, serving his church family as a deacon for all of those years and who helped to be a catalyst in the spiritual growth and transformation of my mom. And God blessed Walker in his last days on this earth, with a wife, who helped him live out his last days with dignity, comfort and grace, by her serving him, up to his last breath.
Philippians 1:21 "For me, living is Christ and dying is gain."
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Terry Langenberg
: TheLangenberg: TheLangenberg
Great stuff Terry! Thanks for sharing.
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