Faith Walk / William Carroll
We will be talking about the word of God and how he moved in my life as I stood on his word. His signs and wonders that I have seen during the last forty years praying for my needs and the needs of others. I hope to encourage a new generation of believers to pray the word of God and to believe that He will move on their behalf. God answers prayers!
Faith Walk / William Carroll
Episode 30: My Grandfather Surrendering to Eternity with Grace and Prayer
My grandfather’s journey to faith was a testament to the relentless power of prayer, and it's a story I hold close to my heart. In that spirit of unwavering belief, I, William Carroll, invite you to a stirring exploration of faith's role through life's most poignant moments. In the latest FaithWalk podcast, we delve into a personal testimony that cast light on the deep connections between prayer, mortality, and divine presence. From a man's earnest plea for more time to savor life's simple joys, to a grandfather's tranquil acceptance of his journey's end, these narratives serve as powerful reminders of the strength we draw from our faith and the comfort we find in God's will.
Each encounter, whether it's a chance meeting while buying groceries or a structured community outreach, is an opportunity to live out our calling and make an impact. This episode challenges the traditional view of 'full-time ministry' and underscores the significance of everyday acts of faith. We also grapple with the tough yet tender process of letting go when our loved ones near their final breath. I share deeply personal stories of love, loss, and the gentle permission we extend to ease their passage into eternal communion with their Savior. Join us for a heartfelt session that promises to enrich your understanding of how to embody your faith in every facet of life.
Well, good morning and welcome to FaithWalk podcast. I'm William Carroll, your host. I just did a podcast just a few minutes ago that the Lord laid on my heart. It was episode 29. It was about Granny and how I had believed for Granny, how I prayed for Granny, how I held I just, I just kept holding on to God, the hope in God that she would commit her life into Christ before she died. Go back and listen to that episode. I believe it's going to bless you.
Speaker 1:You know, on this podcast, you know God's just laid it on my heart just to share my walk in faith with him, my walk on learning how to stand on the word, just believing in his word, believing he'll do what he says, because he is a God that is is still alive. You know, once Christ died upon the cross, god didn't die. You know, christ rose again. He said it at the right hand of the father in heaven. But he sent us his Holy Spirit that we might be Christ in the earth Now, not that we're a God in the earth, but we might be his representative in the earth. That we might go and we might share the word of God at work at the grocery store. You know, I believe our lives isn't. You know, when we go to the grocery store, you know it might be to get meat, get to get beverages, get food, but that's not what we're there. We're there on a mission from God. That's what I believe my mission field is, wherever I am.
Speaker 1:So, you know, I used to get upset at the minister's conferences I went to and they would say, well, you know, I'm talking to the people in full-time ministry now. Well, hallelujah, if you know, I said you talking to me. Well, I wasn't in the full-time ministry by their considerations, because I wasn't being paid for the full-time ministry. Well, listen, paul was in the full-time ministry but Paul wasn't being paid for being in the full-time ministry. Paul was doing it and working and making tents. He was a tent maker and he'd make tents. Now, would he take an offering? Yes, if the people were blessed and they wanted to take up an offering, he'd take up an offering and it was to send him to the next spot so that he wouldn't have to rely on the next place that he went to support him. You know, and it's okay for pastors to make money.
Speaker 1:I'm not saying that at all. I'm just saying, listen, if you won't be in the full-time ministry not being paid, and if that pay stops and you quit, and you quit the ministry and you quit the work of the ministry that God's given you because you're not getting paid for it. You're a high-ranking, higher-ranking, I'm sorry, you're just a higher-ranking, that's all you are. See, I've been in the ministry ever since God touched my heart, ever since God touched my heart as an altar boy when he radically saved me at 26. I'm just saying I've been in the ministry. I've done jail ministry I've done.
Speaker 1:I've gone to the apartments and talked. Little kids on the side of the apartments knock on the doors, ask the parents hey, do you mind if I have a little Bible study? Here's my son, we're going to go over here and we're going to have a Bible study with these kids and we're going to teach them the Word of God. And they said, yes, sure, we'd go between some apartments, out of the way, out of the traffic, and have a little Bible study. You know why I did that? Because, like God laid it on my heart, you need to do something.
Speaker 1:See some of you out there sitting back waiting on God to give you some kind of big ministry. If you don't start small. God ain't going to give you nothing. If you feel like you want to do something for God, just start praying and asking God to show you what it is. It might be to go up and just go to an apartment complex and gather the kids up and go, talk to the parents and say, hey, can I have a little Bible study with your kids? Y'all are welcome to come. You know, I just want to teach them some Word of God. I'm going to give them some memory verses and if they memorize something, I'm going to give them a little testament. You know, I mean, that's simple as that. You know, get involved in a jail ministry. Get involved in a prison ministry. There's a bunch of good ones out there. Just get involved in ministry if you feel like you want to do something for God. Don't sit back there and wait for some big door to come open. Okay, so let's go.
Speaker 1:The last one was Granny, and I talked about how God kept Granny from passing away until I could lead her to the Lord. He answered my prayers. Now listen, I want to share a scripture that I didn't share with you last time, and this scripture is in 2 Peter, 3 and 9. The Lord is not slack. I mentioned this scripture but I didn't bring it out to you. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is long-suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to the repentance. All should come to repentance. Wow, the Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some count slackness, but his long suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but all should come to repentance. And that's one of the scriptures that I believed on from my granny and I read a list of the others, and Matthews you know that nothing is impossible for God. See, god answers prayer.
Speaker 1:And my grandfather was sick and this is my grandfather on my father's side, and he was sick and this was before my grandmother. And I guess this was the precursor of me being able to believe that God would do what he said he would do and that he wouldn't be slack concerning his promises. See, god's not slack concerning his promises. He backs up his promises with his word and his power. All right. So my grandfather he was living in San Angelo, texas, about a 10 hour drive from Carthage where I was living, and I got a phone call that he had had some kind of catastrophic event in his life and I don't remember if it was a stroke. I don't think it was a stroke, I think it was a heart attack. He had emphysema. He had been sick for a while. And listen, listen, my grandfather was so funny man.
Speaker 1:I love to spend time with my grandfather in Sonora. He had a Texaco wholesale which he sold gasoline to the service stations in El Dorado, texas, ozana, texas, sonora, texas, to all the ranchers, and he had oil products, texaco products, and he would deliver gas to those stations and to the ranchers and everything. And I just loved going down there all the time and just spending time with him. It was such a blessing and an honor and my grandfather wanted to. I spent a whole summer with him and he'd say, okay, I've got to go take Manny, which was my grandmother, I've got to go take her to work at eight o'clock and then he'd go get a cup of coffee, then go open. Of course he had a guy that was working for him at the, at the wholesale products that drove the truck and delivered the gas, and so he would go back and he'd go have coffee, then he'd go up there and we'd stay up there, you know, till about nine, nine, thirty. Then we'd go have coffee, then we'd go pick up my grandmother for coffee and we'd take her back and then we'd go to. You know, we'd go to work till noon and we'd go pick up Manny and we'd go home and usually have lunch and then we'd take her back, then we'd go back and have coffee and he was just, he loved to visit with people. We'd go to a different coffee shop every time and he knew everybody in there. Sonora, texas is where it was, it was a small town, you know. So he knew everybody, everybody knew him. But anyway, when he had retired he moved to San Angelo and they was living in an apartment in San Angelo, Texas, and he used to tell me he had an old pickup truck, old Chevrolet pickup truck. I believe it was a one time. It wasn't a Dooley, but I believe it was a one time. It may have been a three quarter time, low granny years in it. And he told me he said, man, my truck knows every curb in San Angelo, texas and he just, he was just a fun guy to be around.
Speaker 1:Well, he got sick and he had emphysema. Now he hadn't smoked, he was a smoker in his younger years but he quit and he didn't smoke for like 30, 40 years, you know, and but the emphysema, the damage was already done. The emphysema hit him and he would have hard times breathing. He was a diabetic all his life. He took two shots of insulin a day and, but, you know, he never had a diabetic incident.
Speaker 1:Because I said, I said don't you, don't you miss chocolate, don't you miss ice cream? And he said, well, I got this old diabetic ice cream on and that stuff was nasty, let me tell you, in the diabetic chocolate back then, nasty is nasty, because I always tried it. But he said you know, no, I don't, I don't, because I know it'll make me sick. So I don't, you know, I just do what I need to do and I take care of myself, I take myself and I take it myself. I believe it was 76 years old when he passed away.
Speaker 1:So he had this incident and I think it was a heart attack. And I got a phone call and my dad said, hey, my grandma called and she said, hey, william. She said, listen, your grandfather has had this heart attack and he's in the hospital. He's, I see you, but you won't make it down here before he passes away and and we'll just tell him he loves you because there's no need in you and coming. I said no, ma'am, I'm coming, I'm on the way. I said I'll be there, I'll be there, it's going to take me about 10 hours, but I'll be there. And I said, I said I'm going to pray that when I'm there I'm able to speak to him before he passes away. And so you know, and I just knew in my heart we had talked to about three years before that he had come to me and he said hey, listen, the doctors had said that you know, I'm probably not gonna live much longer and I'm gonna pass away, and this emphysema in my heart and all these other diabetics, you know. And he said you know, they said they don't even give me a year. And he said what do you think about that? And I said well, and I called him R2. His name was William Arthur Carroll, it was his name, and that's where I got William from, of course, and I'm William Alton. But he said, you know? He said what do you think, william? And he knew of my faith in the Lord and I talked to him a lot about my faith in the Lord and I told him. I said listen. I said listen, I called him R2. I said R2. I said listen. I said the doctors don't know, but God does. I said what do you want? I said you know Hezekiah was said that he would, that he sent.
Speaker 1:God sent a prophet to Hezekiah saying that you will surely die, you know. And Hezekiah began to turn to the Lord and pray and asked the Lord for more years. And God spoke to the prophet. The prophet turned around three days journey through the town and came back to him and said the Lord has heard your prayer and heard your plea. And you have 15 years. And I said so. I believe, excuse me, so I believe that whatever you pray for, whatever you believe, I said I believe that God will honor that If you. And I said what do you want to do? He said nothing. He said nothing. He said I just want to go to the ball parks and watch the kids play baseball. And he said and I just want to do what I want to do? And he said I just want to, you know, worship him.
Speaker 1:And he had started a little old church at that time. That was the first time I'd known that he had gone to church. But he loved to go to this church. He loved to go to him because they would ask does anybody need prayer? And he'd raise his hand up and they'd come and laid hands on him. And he says I like it when they come and pray for me, I like it when they just lay hands on me and pray for my health and pray for me. And I said, well, good, you found a church home, you found a place that you like, you know. And so him and my grandmother would go to that church.
Speaker 1:And he said but what do you think?
Speaker 1:Do you think the Lord will give me more time? I said, well, I said R2,. I said how much time do you want? I said you know, as a kid I got 15 years. How much time do you waste? Oh no, I don't want that many.
Speaker 1:He said you know. He said I want three years. He said about three years just to live life and enjoy life and relax and just look at the birds and watch the ducks down at the river and just do, just live life, just do what I want to do. And I said yes, I said I believe that he'll do that and I said why don't we pray and believe that he'll do that? Cause he says nothing is impossible with God. And I said when God says nothing is impossible with him, he says we can speak to the mountain and say be removed and cast into the sea, and if we believe in our heart, it shall be done. And I said so. I believe that if we ask for you three years, that God's gonna honor that. Well, so we prayed and we asked God for three years just to do what he wanted to do, just that he could learn more about God, he can enjoy his church, he could enjoy the children playing baseball, and that he could just enjoy life, you know, just just enjoy life.
Speaker 1:And so I had forgot about that until later on, till he had passed away, because my sister had brought something up and then my father had brought something up and I headed out. Man, it was a 10 hour drive, man, I was driving hard, man, and we got there and it mean me, my wife got there, about 10 hours, you know, and we went on. And then we went to my grandmother's house and it was a supper time and they were getting ready To go for the nightly visit and he was in the ICU and in my aunt Wilma was there, which was my Mamie, my grandmother, which was it was my dad's aunt, you know was there my my grandmother's sister, and she lived right next door. And so we loaded up and we went to the hospital and I Went in the ICU, you know, and I talked to him and he was pretty well drugged and he had all these tubes and all this stuff in his neck and I mean it was just, you know, he wasn't on her breather, he was on oxygen but he wasn't on a event. And I began to talk to him a little bit and he could all he could do. He couldn't talk because he had all kinds of stuff All in him, you know, and he could shake his head and yes, and he could shake his head and no. So I began to visit with him and I said, I said you know I, I said I'm just here, I'm here to see you, I'm here to just to pray with you, and and he said yes, and so we prayed that night and we visited and there was somebody some other people were in there I see you over there and they were having some trouble with I think it was a younger child and not a young child but a Young person, you know, probably a teenager had had a wreck and and I could see the father outside and the mother outside and and so I got to visit with them and pray for them and encourage them in the ICU and we went back home.
Speaker 1:The next day we come up. I told my grandfather We'll be back tomorrow. I said, but you know I can't stay long. I said I I only have Tomorrow and and I have to go back home. So the next day went up and we we visited him in the morning and we visited him. We came back home and we were at home and we were that went back for the evening visit and and I went in and everybody left except my Aunt Wilma, and Aunt Wilma stayed with me and mean Her we're in there and I and I went over to him and I said well, I said I said are to listen.
Speaker 1:You know that God is a good guy. You know that you and I have prayed For him to give you longer time and he's giving you longer time. I said I believe are to that the gods are healing God. I said would you like me to pray for you that he heals you, that you get out of this bed and you come home and you be with us. And he shook his head. No, he just shook his head. No. I said are to? Are you ready to go home? And I knew he was already saved. I knew he had asked Jesus to be the Lord of his life. His life had changed in his last years and he was really serving God.
Speaker 1:And he said he's a no. He said no, no, I don't. I don't want you to pray for my healing. I said well, are to. I said I want you to know this. You don't have to hang on, because I believe he was hanging on for us, he was hanging on for the family members, I mean the.
Speaker 1:The doctors had said he should have been gone a long time ago and you shouldn't have been able to make it here in 10 hours. And I said, well, he's, he was holding on, he was holding on for us. And I I said Lord. I said I said are to. I said listen, we love you. We love you, but we're gonna be okay. And when you get ready to go, when you get ready and you're tired and you're ready to go see your Savior, he's ready for you. His arms are open wide. I love you. I'm gonna miss you. I have so much fun with you through the years, but I know that God loves you even more than I do and he's ready when you are.
Speaker 1:And so I prayed with him. I prayed with him, lord, when he gets ready, call him home. When he's ready, lord, take him home, receive him into your arms, hold him close to your chest and in Jesus's name. And my aunt was in there and and he shook his head, yes, he took his head. Yes, so I didn't know, you know. I said, well, listen or two. I said now, I said I'm gonna have to leave early in the morning and I'm not gonna be able to come by, but my sisters and I love you, we all love you and we're all gonna miss you. But it's your time.
Speaker 1:And so I went home and we, we got to my grandmother's house and we was just sitting down, we made a little quick meal and and we're sitting there, and we all gathered around the table and we said a prayer for our or two and we was praying for a meal and we began eating our meal and the phone ring. And when the phone ring, I Just knew that, I knew that he had passed on the glory, he'd crossed the chilly waters of the Jordan and he was in heaven. And I could hear my mother, my grandmother, made me. She said, she said yes, yes, okay, well, we'll be, we'll be right up there, I. So she came back to the table and she said well, r2 is gone.
Speaker 1:And we just, there was a quiet silence time and we just began to. You know, there wasn't a whole lot of weeping, because we knew what kind of pain he was in, we knew how he had, you know how he had been the last few years and especially the last two weeks of his life, and we just set a prayer for him and for his peace, you know, in the comfort of the family, comfort of my grandmother. And so we headed up to see him. Of course they had all the tubes and all man. I just, oh gosh, I mean it was horrible, all the things that were stuck in his neck and everything. So they had moved all of it and they had, and his hair was combed and he looked at peace.
Speaker 1:I mean he was smiling even, and he was sitting in my aunt Wilma's they let us all go in at the same time, this time, and my aunt Wilma said look at him, he's at peace and he's smiling. And she said, william, he was struggling so bad when you and I was in there before we left. I said, yes, ma'am, and she said and when you told him and gave him permission that he could go, then he was ready to go. And she said, because I could tell right. Then he eased in his breathing when we prayed that when he was ready, he could go, we would all be all right. And I said, yes, ma'am, and listen, sometimes when you have loved ones, you don't want them to see them go. You want to keep them here. You want to pray for their healing. You want to. You want to. You just want them here. You don't want them to leave. I'm not ready, I'm not ready, but sometimes they're ready. Sometimes they're ready to go and they're ready to go see their family, the ones that went on before them. They're ready to go see their God. Sometimes you have to give people that are ready to go the permission Go, it's okay. When you get ready, go, we're going to be all right. We're going to be all right. Sometimes you have to say that to them. You have to give them that permission so that they can go, so they can let go of this world, they can cross the Jordan and enter into eternity. It's just a fact, people, sometimes you have to.
Speaker 1:But I'll tell you what he held on. When I got there, everybody Mamie, the doctors, everybody said I can't believe he made it to you coming. And I told him. When on that phone call, I said, mamie, you tell him, does he understand? She said yes, he understands. I said you tell him, I'm coming, I'm coming. It's going to take me 10 hours, but I will be there, I'm coming to see him.
Speaker 1:And I believe that he held on not only for me but also for my father and for some of the other members of the family that had to travel a ways, a distance, to get there too. But he held on for us until we got there. And afterwards we got to talking about it and we got to looking at dates and talking about it and my sister said yeah, he called me about a month ago and said in a month. Oh no, my dad said hey, he called me about a month ago and said, hey, in a month, come, move your mom and her sister up to San Marcos, be close for you. And he said well, dad, I'll come down there and I'll move all of y'all. And he said no, no, no. He said wait a month and then you can move them up closer to you. Well, it had been exactly a month at that time when he passed away.
Speaker 1:He had said something about the same thing to my sister. You know, in a month, y'all sure take care of your grandmother, y'all just look after her, check on her, call her, and she needs to move closer to you. Well, I had talked to him, you know, and he had told me something. He told me, he says. He said well, william, you know, he says I'm getting ready to go. He said I'm pretty close to getting ready to go. And I said okay. I said but you know, the Lord will give you, as we prayed, you know, three years. And he said yes. He said I know.
Speaker 1:He said I've already been down to the funeral home, I've already made my arrangements. He said man, there ain't nothing but a bunch of money grabbers up there. He said all they want is your money. He said they want you to die so they can take your money. They want to charge you, you know, 60,000 for a funeral and a casket and all that. He said they ain't getting my money. He said I already made them arrangements. He said I want to be cremated, it's $1,500. And he says and y'all can do with whatever you want to with my ashes. You can put some down there at the old business, at the warehouse, or you can put some out at the lake. Or he says, you know, it don't really matter to me. He said, but they ain't getting my money. He said it's a money-grubbing business to make money on people's death. And I kind of agree with him on that, you know.
Speaker 1:But he was a character now he was a character and so I got to thank him back, you know, and I got to doing the math and it was exactly three years from the time he and I prayed and asked for three years when he died. And I told my dad. I said, hey, dad, you know, three years ago I came out here and I talked to my grandmother. I said you remember, I came out here and we came out here for a visit and they had told him that he wasn't going to live very long, six months a year. And I said, and he asked, he wanted three years to do what he wanted to do, to enjoy life.
Speaker 1:And she said, man, I'm going to tell you he enjoyed life. His trucks hit every curb in San Angelo, texas. And she said, you know, but he's enjoyed going and seeing the ducks down at the river and he's enjoyed going out to the lake and he's enjoyed watching the kids play baseball. And he just, he just pitles, he just pitles, that's all he does. And he enjoys going to church and he likes that church up there. And she says he didn't really like it. And she said that's not my kind of church, I'm a Methodist. And she said but he likes that church because those people will come and love on him and pray for him and lay hands on him. And he just loves that church. And I said, well, maybe it's a good thing. And I said, you know, it's been three years.
Speaker 1:God honored his promise and honored our prayer that we prayed. So listen, what I'm saying to you is believe God, take him out of that religious box. You put him in and have a relationship with him. Believe him and stand on his word. He will honor his prayers and he's not select concerning his promises Until next time. God bless you, you know, subscribe, send this to somebody that you may be struggling with the end of life, with somebody else, and it'll encourage them. If you don't know Jesus, ask him into your heart. It'll be the best thing you ever did and you'll become a child of God. Until next time, god bless you. I love you. Faith Walk with William Carroll.
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