Describe a man who has positively impacted your life.
I’ll never forget the day I met Howard. I was in view of a call to the church that brought me to the upstate of South Carolina. He and his wife were in the choir. We had an immediate connection because his sister lived in the town I was about to leave. Howard and I exchanged several jokes about the town. Little did I know the friend he would become.
When I got to the church, Howard and I worked together a lot. He would take me out to breakfast quarterly, and we would talk about whatever thing at the church we were working on plus life in general. Howard has a real heart for mentoring other men, and I have been one among many.
When I moved away from the upstate for a year, Howard and I maintained that friendship. He was even part of the crew that unloaded my U-haul upon my return. Howard befriended me in some of my darkest hours. I was never met with platitudes or cheesy advice. Instead, I was met with compassion and genuine concern. Howard knew how to listen, and that was what I needed.
There was a time when I felt like most people had walked away from me because I had not met their expectations. Howard was right there with me. He would call periodically and ask his infamous question – “When do you want to have breakfast?” If you saw Howard, you also saw food either in him, on him, or around him. That’s Howard!
Howard is almost 90 now. His wife went to be with the Lord almost 5 years ago. Up until a year or two ago, Howard was playing basketball every week and mowing several lawns each week. Health issues no longer allow him to do what he was doing, but God has been gracious to allow Howard to still be with us.
If I live as long as Howard, I hope to be a crazy old man who still has big faith and attempts big things. You may think I’m being disrespectful by referring to Howard as a crazy old man, but you have to know how he and I pick back and forth. Anyone who observes me with Howard knows I have the deepest respect for him. If I’m like him when I’m 89, that will be just fine.
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