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Precious Memories

Praise the Lord all you people. We are such privileged people to be living in this great day. This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.

I remember that, in 1960, we were down in Elberton, Georgia, and we had our small house trailer parked behind the Church of God. We had just three small children at this time, Dale, 12; George, Jr. (Ricky), 10; and Cindy, 8. We were expecting our fourth child. Several people had come to George and told him about dreams concerning my death, so George was seeking God, and praying that everything would be all right because he was deeply concerned. Our little family was happy and content going where Jesus led us and trying to do what we could to build up the kingdom of God on this earth in our small way.

During the time he was seeking God, we attended a church service where a couple from California were ministering. They were strangers to us at the time. After the brother preached that night, he was ministering to the sick and needy, when, all of a sudden, he walked back to where we were sitting and laid his hands on our heads. He spoke prophecy to us like this: "I have heard your prayers and the thing you are concerned about is in the hands of the Lord. The child shall be a man child, and the hand of the Lord shall be upon him at an early age, and he will be of a quick understanding." There was more to this prophecy, but it has been so long, that I can't remember it all. I knew this was true prophecy because my spirit bore witness with it. Sure enough, not long after this, our son David Paul was born. The hand of God has been on him all of his life, and Satan bids high for him over and over, but we just rest in God knowing that someday he will do a work for Jesus.

I remember traveling down a dark lonely highway one night, hundreds of miles from home. David, who at this time was just big enough to stand on the front seat of the car beside his daddy, began to sing praises to God. Everything in the car had been quiet for miles because the three children in the back seat were tired and weary from traveling, and it was getting very late. The Spirit of God filled the car with such glory! I had never experienced anything like it before. David was singing praises that a small child his age knew nothing about, and as he sang, he began to sob. The more he sang, the deeper the sobbing became until there was not a dry eye in the car. We all wept and praised God, knowing it was a visitation from the spiritual world. God always has a way of renewing our strength. It reminds me of how God had Boaz to order his laborers in the field to drop a handful of grain on purpose when Ruth was gleaning the fields. So many times, when we would be worn and weary, God would command His angels to drop a handful on purpose. A special blessing would come our way to encourage our hearts, and we would find new strength to continue on. "We are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus."

While going through a very hard winter in 1960, we were living in our little house trailer and had it parked on a fairground. One Saturday night, a minister's wife asked us to go to a meeting with her where a well known evangelist was preaching. That night he was showing slides of a mission in Korea where little children were eating the bark from trees to stay alive. After the slides, the minister pleaded the cause of these people, and as the offering plate was passed, George asked me if I had any money at all. I whispered and told him I only had thirty-one cents that I was going to buy a loaf of bread with on the way home so I could at least give the children a piece of toast before I put them to bed. He whispered back and told me to give it as an offering. George never carried money; he had purposed in his heart not to handle or carry it. He did this when he first started preaching, and he made a vow to the Lord not to handle money because he had seen so many ministers fall into snares because of money and worldly gain. I dropped the only money we had into the offering plate, and we made a promise in our hearts to send this man an offering as soon as possible. We went home that night happy but hungry. Just before we went to bed, George mentioned that it would be good to have something to eat, and George, Jr. looked up and said, "Daddy, I would be ashamed to think about eating after seeing those little children tonight." What a rebuke from a ten year old! The next morning we went to church where George had been invited to preach. The children didn't say a word about not having breakfast. We had a wonderful service that morning and a great rejoicing. As we started home, George, Jr. said, "We didn't have any breakfast, and I guess we won't have any dinner!" By the time we got back to our little home, we were all laughing because George was asking us if we could sing "Victory In Jesus" now. He picked up a water bucket to go outside and bring in a fresh bucket of water since we didn't have the water hooked up to our trailer. I said, "I believe God can turn that bucket of water into chocolate milk like He turned the water into wine." So we joined hands and began to sing "Victory In Jesus" as George came into the trailer with the water. He laughed and said, "God is ready to feed you; let's pray." As we finished praying, we looked up and across the fairgrounds came the teenage son of the pastor from the church where George had preached that morning. The pastor was not at the church that morning because he had just gotten out of the hospital and had asked George to minister in his place. His son knocked on the door, and when we opened it, he said, "Brother Pike, daddy wants to know if you would mind coming out to the car for a minute? He's afraid to get out in this cold weather." When George got to the car, the pastor apologized and gave him an offering and said, "I was sitting, reading my Bible when my wife came home from church, and I asked her if she thought to take an offering for you, but she said that it was such a good service and everyone was rejoicing that she forgot all about it." He had come over to bring it to us. You can imagine the rejoicing that went on in that little twenty-eight foot house trailer. It was like manna from heaven.

Later on, we were in Prattville, Alabama and George was in the bedroom of our little house trailer praying. I was sitting at the table, trying to figure out how to pay three bills. I had a little money, but it was not enough to pay all three bills, so I waited until George came out. I asked him which one I should pay. He said, "Remember the minister from Korea that we promised to send the offering to? Take every penny we have and send it to him!" When Dale, Ricky, and Cindy heard him, they said, "Daddy, if you are going to do that, we all have saved our money for Christmas, (which was getting close), but we want to send it, too." They all went into their room and got their money and we sent it back to Korea.

Just before Christmas, Mr. Willie Foster and his family from Lanett, Alabama, whom we had become acquainted with from a tent meeting we had held there, came down to visit with us and begged us to go home with them and spend Christmas. We told them we couldn't go until George had finished a revival we were having. So they stayed until the meeting was over and we went home with them. Our children had the biggest Christmas ever that year. We have pictures that were taken during that Christmas as they were showered with clothes and toys. You just can't out-give God.

That was a great lesson in faith that taught us to love God and use the things He gave us. Many people love the world and try to use God, but this doesn't work. My heart cries out from day to day, "Lord, let Your perfect will be done in our lives always, and make us a perfect example in our generation."

By Sister Betty Pike

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