I ask God to give me someone to talk to every day. Yesterday was one of those days I got to do what Chaplains do. Listen. He was out walking his dog in the park. I had taken a busload of kids to a place in Jacksonville for a tour. I usually park my bus on the opposite end of the building, but for reasons that seemed better, I parked in a different area near a park with a playground. I’d never parked there before in all the trips I’d done there.

Well, this guy was walking a Dachshund. Being a Dachshund owner, I walked over, introduced myself, and told him I, too, owned such dogs. It did not take long. He told me a lot about his life. He’d lost his wife to pancreatic cancer years earlier. He was a retired law enforcement officer. He’d had a coronary heart attack and was told by doctors that after he woke up, he’d been dead for almost ten minutes. The doctor was amazed that he had fully recovered.

In all this, he’d suffered depression and had taken his gun to end it all when the phone rang. For some reason, he answered it, and it was a family member asking him if he’d like to get lunch. He said he looked at the gun, and he looked at the phone. He put the gun down and went for a meatball sub instead. He goes to church, so I’m quite sure he understands how God saved his life that day. He’s an interesting guy with a story of a miraculous life. I blessed him for his stamina to take hold and continue in life.

It’s not for you to know who he is, but it is important to know that someone reading this is touched by the story, because we recognize we all have a story to tell. I appreciate God allowing me to listen to him. His victories in life are to be commended. If you don’t know God, like I think this man does, now is your opportunity to introduce yourself to the One true God that can bring you the victory you desire in life.