by Bro. Johnnie Dunlap
As far back as I can remember, my mom has always had a thyroid problem and the effects of it were worse at times than others. During those times, the doctor would treat one problem and the medication would trigger a reaction and cause all different types of problems. In 1995, the doctor gave my mom an overdose of medication and it affected her behavior, reactions, vision, and sleep– just about everything. I was trying to work and take care of her at the same time. My mom was put in the hospital but it did not help because it was not a physical problem. The medication had affected her ability to think and act normally.
My mom was seeing things that were not there and not sleeping much at all. I was driving a truck back then and I explained to the company that my mom was really sick and that I needed to be home as much as possible. They were very understanding. They would try to keep me close in the area or let me suggest my runs so that I could be home Monday through Friday.
Every day at around two or three in the morning she would come to my room and tell me that she was going home to take care of my brothers, who were no longer living under the same roof. This would happen so often that if I heard her get up I knew she was coming to speak to me about something she wanted me to do, while she was being called to go home to Jesus. I didn’t really know what to do, but I would pray in my room at night. But the Lord spoke to me and at that point, I knew that I had to pray out loud with her as well. When I was home on weekends, I would put it off because I was scared or not sure if I could do it.
Occasionally, I would have an early run to New York. On the way back from one particular trip, I stopped at a truck stop. It was late – around 11 p.m. – and I was sleepy. I tried to park my truck that night but it was late, and the truck drivers parked any kind of way making it difficult to find an adequate spot. Another driver helped me get into a tight spot so I made sure to thank him when I got out of the truck.
We started talking about where we were from and also about family and stuff like that. I told him that I was trying to get back to check on my mom because she wasn’t doing well. Before I could tell him exactly what was going on he told me about his mom. He explained that she was very sick at a time and that God had told him to pray for her. He had put it off but God brought him right back to that same situation in his life and so he had no choice but to do that. Deep down inside, I knew that my situation mirrored his. He said that you can’t run from God when he is leading you to do something. You have to do it because he will bring you right back to that situation. To this day, I think it was very strange to meet a person who had been in the same situation that I was in. After talking to him, I felt more positive about doing it and I didn’t want to run anymore.
That Sunday morning, I got up and cooked my mom breakfast and then I set out her medications. She finished breakfast and took her meds. Before my mom got sick and I was on the road on a Sunday, I would have church time in my truck. I would play the Canton‘s Spiritual cassettes in my truck and pray and just give God His time. So that morning, I told my mom I wanted her to hear this record that just uplifted me when things were not going so well or I felt down. I hit play and the song, I’m in Your Care by the Canton Spirituals came on. The song was playing low while I started talking to my mom and I knew it was time. It seems that something took over me and it went into a praying service for her. The only thing I knew was that I had to do this and I could not let God and my mom down.
When God gives you a mission in life, you have to see it through no matter what. I learned that He will bring you right back around to that situation and you will still have to see it through because that is His will for you. I remember in the Bible, God told Jonah to go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against their wickedness, but Jonah decided to flee to the city of Tarshish. Jonah paid the fare and boarded the ship, but while he was asleep God allowed bad weather to come up and toss the ship around. The captain and other men talked with Jonah and knew immediately this was his fault because he disobeyed God. Jonah was thrown off the ship into the sea and the storm ceased, and at the same time God had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah up. Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights. He cried out to God from the fish’s belly in the bottom of the sea and God heard him and spoke to the fish and the fish vomited Jonah up onto dry land. Then God spoke to Jonah a second time to go to the great city of Nineveh saying to preach to them so that they can stop their wicked ways and stop doing all their evil works. We must do what God has instructed us to do the first time, rather than run away, only to come back and do it anyways. My mom has gone home to be with the Lord; I will never forget my time with her.