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Proverbs 27:1 “Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thy knowest not what a day may bring forth.” John 6:44 “No man can come unto me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him.”
Most of my life I remember hearing my
mother state that sometimes God has to use the death of someone to
draw them to him. It was the death of a college friend that drew me
to the Savior. When I arrived on the campus of Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina in the fall of 1985, Kelvin Stephens was on the first people who befriended me. Kelvin was well-liked around the campus and was a football player. Since Kelvin and I were both business majors at Wofford, we had a lot of classes together which bonded our friendship even more. When we graduated in May 1987, we began the journey to pursue our niche in the business world. It was interesting that we both landed jobs with insurance companies: Kelvin was at Liberty Mutual, and I was at Allstate. After graduation, I would see Kelvin on and off for the next two years. We would either be at a mutual friend’s home in Spartanburg or at a local night spot in Greenville, South Carolina. We would reminisce about our days at Wofford whenever we got together and the fun that we had. |
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On July 18, 1989, I received a phone call which would change my life forever. I had just gotten to my desk at work and received a phone call from my friend, Thelma Woods, another Wofford graduate. She told me that she was about to tell me something that I would not believe. Our friend, Kelvin, had been in an accident the night before, and he was not expected to live. My body just went into shock. I could not believe what I was hearing. I had just seen Kelvin along with Thelma at a local club on that Friday night where we talked and danced. She stated that he was going around a curve too fast in his Ford Mustang and hit a truck. Upon impact, Kelvin went through the windshield which caused severe head injuries. After getting myself together, we agreed to meet that evening at the hospital to visit the family and try to be of encouragement in light of the accident. |
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After Kelvin’s death, I began to do some soul-searching and needed some answers to the inner turmoil inside. I needed to know where I would spend eternity if I had died. Being the private person that I am, I consulted with no one. On the outside, I appeared to be in tact. On the inside, I was searching and wanting answers. Sometimes, I would cry myself to sleep wondering about my eternal state in case that I died. Since God knows and sees all things, he saw me struggling with this matter. During this time, I was dating John Walker, and he had mentioned to me about a Christian co-worker at his job. He told me that she wanted to meet me whenever I came for a visit to Maryland. At this time, John was attending Howard University in Washington, DC. On September 30, 1989, I flew to Maryland to visit with my relatives and John. When I arrived in Maryland, John told me that the lady had inquired if there was a possibility that we could have dinner at their home on October 5. I told him that it would be fine as I was scheduling different times to be with different relatives. The couple used the opportunity after dinner to present the plan of salvation to John and me. My questions had been answers. I repented of my sins and received Jesus Christ as my personal Savior and Lord. Now, I knew where I would spend eternity when I died----HEAVEN. They could not believe that a dating couple would accept Christ at the same time, but I was quick to tell them of the inner turmoil that I had been going through since Kelvin’s death. I explained how I wanted to find out how I could know about my eternal state at death and not just guess. On October 5, 1989 around 8pm, Cynthia Martin’s name was listed in the Lamb’s Book of Life. As usual, my mother was correct. God sometimes uses the death of someone to draw them to himself. |
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