Vernon, my precious father-in-law, walked into the kitchen as I was making lunch today and asked me, “What does salvation mean?”
I love that he asks me questions like this…
In January of 2015, Vernon was placed in our care. He was was struggling with dementia, but that only led him down a road of feeling lost, suicidal, without purpose or will to continue, and unloved. His regrets replayed over and over in his mind. He was angry, confused, without purpose. But his story doesn’t end there. God brought him here to our home, and that’s where the beginning of this salvation story begins.
I met Vernon in 1997, so I haven’t known him his entire life. But he has shared many parts of his upbringing. Vernon grew up knowing about God. His mom sang in the church choir and served in several capacities at their local church. But football was Vernon’s claim to fame and his identity in his younger years. He went to church only because that’s where all the “pretty little ladies” went. Once football was out of the picture, he settled down and was married and started a family. They had a daughter named Debbie. Sadly, that marriage didn’t work out and Vernon soon married again. In his second marriage, he had 3 step-children and Eric was born.
Eric says that his memories of his dad were that he was tough, strong, loving, but also that he had a temper. Eric said that his dad literally beat down doors and punched out windows in their house. He also punished Eric once as an 8 year old child by locking him in his room for a week and removing every item other than the bed. But he also remembers his dad teaching him to pray before bed. It was those prayers that helped Eric make it through the hard days. And it was prayer that planted a seed for Eric to seek Christ in his teenage years.
Vernon shared with me in January of 2015 that he replayed the fits of rage, and every uncontrollable angry moment. He said that he did things God could never forgive him for… terrible things. And all he wanted to do was die. When I went to his condo to clean out and move everything to Dallas, I found post-its with list upon list of his regrets and failures. I found cards people sent him and cards that he started to write…
You learn so much about a person when you clean out their home. When I returned to Dallas, I had a deeper understanding of what Vernon was dealing with. But I also had Eric who was the one that had received the hurt and anger from the very man he took in to his home and was now responsible to care for.
God had a plan. And His plan was hard. And His plan forced Eric to face the buried hurt and pinned up anger he had carried for many many years. But God also put people in our path that walked the tough parts with us… Several men at our church have poured into Eric and Vernon. Vernon seems kinda nutty to some people and he doesn’t always know what’s going on… But he is no longer crippled by sin and regret. He know’s he is forgiven and loved by God, loved by us and loved by his friends in community.
Oh I wish you had time to hear the countless struggles, tears, and triumphs we have faced as God redeemed and restored the relationship of these two men. It has been hard. And stuff still comes up — it’s like onions (for those of you who know Shrek, then you know what I’m referring to).
I’ve had the opportunity to watch this man be transformed and see my husband’s relationship with his dad restored as well. God is in the business of restoration and healing through salvation.
Vernon asks me questions about Christ, Scripture — you name it we talk about it, and then we talk about it again because his memory doesn’t always hold on to details… But today’s question sparked this post.
“What is salvation?” Vernon asked.
I smiled and asked, “Has the debt of your sin been paid for?”
Vernon said, “Yes! By Jesus on the cross!”
Then I asked him, “Do you believe what Romans 6:23 says, ‘The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord?'”
He again replied with an enthusiastic, “Yes!”
“That’s salvation. Do you believe that what Jesus did for you on the cross saved you from death?”
He smiled and said, “So salvation means saved from sin and hell. That makes so much more sense!”
Vernon may not remember details all the time, but he remembers that God loves him and God forgives him. Vernon shares Christ with everyone who will listen. He will go to the mall and gas stations just to pass out cards to invite people to church. He also talks to the homeless and anyone else who will stay still long enough to tell them about church and Jesus. I have loved seeing the transformation in him and Eric — all because of Salvation through Jesus Christ.
Thank you, Jesus for all you are doing! Praise be to You forever and ever, Amen.
Vernon exercises his mind every day through scripture memory. He will get so frustrated with himself because he cannot remember a verse that he has reviewed out loud for hours on end… but what I find so cool is that he talks in his sleep, and those verses come pouring out of his mouth perfectly when he is at perfect rest. (Isaiah 26:3)