The forgotten statement
We’ve all been there. All of us have, at some point, missed an opportunity to share God’s love with others. Some of us haven’t even noticed the missed opportunities, while others deeply feel the pain of a missed chance. I’m one of the latter.
I’m going to share my missed opportunity with you in hopes that you will learn from my mistake and choose to teach everyone you can.
Freshman year and beyond
My freshman year was one of the hardest times in my life. I moved to a different city, away from all of my friends, including my two best friends. I started attending a public high school after being home schooled for two years, and I was having a rough time with other things in my life as well. I made friends, but only two of them really understood my heart. One of them was Seth. Seth was a grade below me and in a different school, but we rode the same bus. He always sat directly behind me and would ask how I was doing. He could tell the minute he walked on the bus if I was having a bad day. He always knew instinctively what would make me feel better, whether it was leaving me alone, telling me jokes until I had to laugh, or listening to me tell him about my bad day.
Seth lived one road over from me, so even though I stopped attending public school after freshman year, we continued to be good friends. He would come over sometimes to help out on our farm, and he always accepted my mom’s gifts of homemade cookies.
My lost opportunity
Seth knew I was a Christian, but I never invited him to go to church with me. I never opened a Bible in his presence, and I never prayed for his soul (1 Timothy 4:12-13).
When I moved out of state, Seth and I lost contact with each other, and even though he entered my mind when I was in town, I never went to visit him.
One day our mutual friend Kelly called me, and I didn’t make it to the phone on time, so she left a message. At 19 years old, Seth had committed suicide. I’d lost my chance.
If I teach a thousand people about God’s word and they all become Christians, I still won’t be able to replace the opportunity I missed with Seth. By not teaching Seth about God, I unknowingly chose to lose my chance. Please don’t choose to lose yours.
See the chances today
There are so many people around us every day who need to know about God. The girl who wears the mini skirts and belly shirts is begging to be loved. She doesn’t know that what she’s missing is God’s love. The guy who makes mean jokes in order to feel superior needs to know the God who is King (Ephesians 3:17-19). Our friends, who we’re with every day, need to know. They deserve that.
The word of God is in your hands, to use or to lose. Choose to share it.
Davonne Parks
That is such a powerful story. I appreciate your willingness to share that so others can learn from you, and I suspect Seth is part of the reason you’ve started this magazine. It’s obvious that you’re doing a great job of taking every chance you have today to use and share God’s word!
Thank you so much for sharing your story here. . . I know it’s hard to tell others of times you regret, and it’s very humbling that you have shared yours with us. It opens my eyes to see, even more, just how important it is that we pray to see our opportunities, and seize them when they come along. Also, it re-establishes the realization in my mind that I have GOT to share the Gospel with the lost, before I lose my chance…!