The Unseen Hand

This is no time for fear / This is a time for faith and determination / Don't lose the vision here / Carried away by emotion / Hold on to all that you hide in your heart / There is one thing that has always been true / It holds the world together / God is in control

“God is in Control” – Twila Paris

I was walking through Books-a-Million one Sunday evening recently, getting my weekly fix.  I was just wandering around when I saw a familiar face.  It was a man I saw often in the parking lot of Parkview Baptist Church.  I knew his first name was Ellis and that he drove an awesome car.  I didn’t know much more than that about him.  Our eyes made contact, so I flashed him a warm smile and extended my hand. After a brief moment of pleasantries, I began to and walk away.  He looked busy.

I felt a pull back to him.  I didn’t know his last name.  I knew next to nothing about him, yet saw him almost every day.  I turned around and extended my hand again.

“By the way, what is your last name? I know your first name is Ellis.”

“Ellis Amburn, and what is your last name.”

That exchange of formal names led to a 45 minute conversation, where I learned that Ellis lives in High Springs, not far from my house.  I also learned Ellis was related to the Kalich family.  Many years ago, Ellis’ cousin, Richard Kalich, changed my life.  Richard Kalich was the first adult to ever tell me I had potential and could be somebody.  I learned a lot about Ellis’ faith and convictions that night.

During our conversation Ellis thanked me for bringing Israel Cohen to Parkview.  I knew Ellis had not attended Parkview that morning, so I asked him why he was thankful Israel had come to Parkview.  He told me about a friend of his named Eddie.  I learned that Ellis is kind of like a father-figure / mentor to several writers in Gainesville.  One of those writers was a young guy named Eddie.

Maybe you saw Eddie or met him that Sunday morning.  He was the guy dressed in shorts and flip-flops.  Ellis explained to me Eddie was nervous and tried to quietly leave shortly after arriving, but someone talked to him in the parking lot and invited him back in.  He left anyway and went to Starbuck’s.  After a few minutes, he talked himself into coming back.

Well, to shorten the story, Eddie was there to hear Israel Cohen.  He wasn’t attracted by Greg, me, or anyone else.  He had been wrestling with many issues of his faith, one of which concerned the Jewish roots of Christianity.  Ellis had seen our advertisements about Israel around the church, and challenged Eddie to come.  Pastor Greg invited Eddie to join Israel Cohen and him for lunch after church. During that lunch, after many answered questions, Eddie committed his life to Jesus Christ.

I hope you are as amazed as I am by the way God works, sometimes in spite of our best efforts to thwart Him.  I want so much to happen for my comfort or enjoyment.  The thing is, God has a plan in place.  He is going to accomplish that plan.  That Sunday, God wanted Eddie to hear Israel Cohen to move him that last step to acceptance.  Eddie received the salvation that has awaited him for so long.  God chose Parkview to be a part of that.  I hope you are amazed!

Oh, by the way.  I googled Ellis Amburn when I got home that night.  He wrote one of my favorite biographies of all time, “Pearl”, about Janis Joplin.  I hope he will sign my copy (if I can ever find it).

In His Grasp,

Shane