Impact ~ No Regrets

Tonight I worked on my business. I haven't watched any TV in days more than a couple minutes of news here and there. Just after 10:30 I decided I might relax, take my mind off things and watch some HGTV. As I headed toward the bathroom something (God!) compelled me to read the local paper instead. I am researching prospects for my business as I am building it and this was my reasoning for reading the paper - must not waste my time on the television. I read part of the first page, went to read the second page (obituaries), and decided to turn back to read all of the first page. Once read, I turned to the second page and saw the name. It's amazing how much a business customer can get woven so deeply into your heart. This was definitely God's doing, because I remember the first day I met this man. We had just bought the laundromat. He came in with a cup of coffee that was dripping and managed to get coffee on every surface there, didn't notice and didn't clean it up. He instantly bugged me. I grew to like him and, for some reason, I was always led to talk to him about God. We had some fierce debates. I say fierce but both of us knew how to leave a heated discussion as friends. Those conversations ended after we owned the place for a few years. I remember him, not too long ago, asking me why I wasn't trying to convert him anymore. I told him I was never trying to convert him. That was God's job. He isn't old but started to have a health issue this past winter. I'm not saying this to pat us on the back, but Dave and I really felt the love of God for this man. I remember one storm Dave drove by his house to see if he needed his driveway shoveled. Dave hates to shovel and, as far as we knew, his illness wasn't life threatening. We sent him a card telling him how much God loves him. When he came into the laundromat this spring, I asked him for the last time (I didn't know) if he would ask God to reveal Himself. He said he would think about it. I don't know what happened. The impact of seeing his name and picture in the paper was very hard. To know he faces eternity. My heart is heavy. Knowing God is all you take with you. Sharing God with him - I have no regrets.