Note: This is a lengthy testimony and usually I would break it up into daily parts, but due to the possible impact this testimony may have, I am going to separate it into pages so that those who want to read it in one sitting may and those who need to read it in parts may find it easier to find their place. I sincerely pray you will be blessed as I was. ~ Roland

Our church had a men’s fellowship meeting a couple of Friday’s ago and it gave me a chance to get to know some of the men in the church that I hadn’t truly met formally yet. It was a wonderful and blessed time and I felt the Lord had really showered me with His blessings.

I sat next to a man that was a respected leader and pillar of our church and he shared with me during our fellowship time about his grandkids and kids. It was heartwarming and telling and oh what a testimony he had! He started to share with me the story of his older son who had went to be with the Lord in 1995 and when the fellowship was over, he gave me a link to a story about that testimony that a dear friend had written and which he had posted on a social media platform years ago.

He has blessed me with the permission to repost it and since I care very deeply about Body Ministry within the Church of Jesus Christ, I present it here as it was posted on his account.

I’d like to mention that we gain testimonies to glorify God only when we go through trials and testings and come through them knowing that God has been in control. These situations are never easy, but they make us stronger in the Lord and when we are through, they give the Lord the glory He deserves.

I will tell you in advance, this testimony deals with the natural death of a precious loved one, but even more importantly, it deals with a life that has stepped through that doorway we all must step through and into an eternal victorious life because of faith in Jesus Christ!

Train up a child in the way he should go . . . – Proverbs 22:6 (ESV)

But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. – 1 Thessalonians 4:13-16 (ESV)

Written by Dianna Overholt

“Dr. Moffe,” Nurse Genifer spoke quietly. “What are the chances of his survival?”

Exhausted, Dr. Moffe looked down at his patient. For five and a half hours his trauma team had been fighting to save the boy’s life. He had never seen anyone survive who was so critically injured. But something was definitely keeping the teenager alive. What was it? Could it be his fighting spirit?

Dr.Moffe shook his head incredulously. “I’ll give him a 20% chance to live.”

“Thou hast . . . laid thine hand upon me. Lead me in the way everlasting.” – Psalm 139:5, 24b.

God’s perfect plan for us on this way everlasting is often very different from what we envision. Especially as a young person with dreams for the future, it is hard to grasp the fact that life may be ending instead of beginning.

But God knows how He wants to use us. He gently prepares us for His plan. And then when it unfolds, the trials, triumph, and blessings that come with it are more far-reaching than we could ever imagine.

His plan for this young man began on April 22, 1979. A blond-haired boy named Delton Jon was born. Joy shone in the eyes of the parents, Elton and Carolyn Kropf, as God placed Delton in their care. There was laughter and happiness in the Kropfs’ home in the Ozarks as Delton grew. In time God spoke to Delton about Himself and His love, and on February 5, 1990, He wrote Delton’s name in His book of life. A few more years rolled by. With them came baptism, more brothers and sisters to bring the total to six, and then the long awaited sixteenth birthday.

Sixteen . . . full of life. God waited until spring turned into summer and then it was the time.