Mr. Johnny Came Home

Mr. Johnny died the other week. He was a chain smoker, was known to be an alcoholic back in the day, and generally led a rough life. Maybe because he was a logger, but probably not. Most likely it was because he didn't know the Lord.

I saw his widow this week, and she told me all about the events leading up to his death. She's one of those that, once you get her started . . . well, let's just say you just might sit there awhile. So she recounted how he ended up in the emergency room and then in hospice. He was there for 2 weeks before he died.

In the past year he'd been going to church when he could, but he was never ready to make any kind of commitment. He did have a pretty good relationship with the preacher of a local baptist church, though. The Preacher must be a remarkable man, because at the funeral he described how God woke him up at 4 am and told him to go visit Johnny. He did.

When he walked up to the room where he was staying, he could hear Mr. Johnny himself praying out loud. Strange, but he sure did show up at the right time. Wouldn't you know The Preacher led him to the Lord right there? Mr. Johnny made things right with his family, and then a few days later, he died. It was a good story.

Talk about last minute repentance! Some of us had prayed for him, and we've (mostly me) wondered if he would ever repent. Sometimes a person just feels like giving up on praying. But then when you least expect it, something changes. One never knows.

I thought of the old Steve and Annie Chapman song, "Uncle Bud Came Home."

Some come home in the mornin'.
Some come home at noon.
Some come home when the sun's goin' down,
Uncle Bud came home by the light of the moon.
Uncle Bud came home . . .