Enjoy this snippet from our conversation:
Billy
has always been a special encouragement to me. I was with him the day
before we went to Haiti. My wife and one of my girls, Anna, we all went
up to Montreat and had a visit. I try to go every three, four months
just to be with him and visit him.
I think we actually have a
little bit in common. You know, we both have five children and we’re
both in ministry and everything that comes with that. It’s a high
calling and sometimes it comes down to the whole family thing. Billy
will say, “I wish I hadn’t been gone as long.”
He seems to
really want to pour into me, family wise, especially when my kids were
growing up. He’s just so encouraging. You walk in the room and he
starts talking and you’re edified for a good year! You got a good dose.
He has a real gift of encouragement and I see that encouragement as
nothing but a blessing.
Even this last time, he was such a
blessing and then I felt like, for the very first time, maybe I have
been a blessing to him. I think he’s so grateful that I come to see him.
It was the very first time with Billy that as we were getting ready to
leave—and I always look forward to him praying over me—that he looked
at me and said, ‘Would you pray this time?’
So I got to pray over
Billy which was just amazing. I was saying, ‘Oh Lord, thank You…’ what
an honor to be able to not only pray for his health and his well being,
but I pronounced a blessing over him. It’s so incredible how it kind of
comes back around. I’m very, very grateful.
Used with permission from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.
