5 minute read
Written by Rev. Dr. H. William Perry
Drifting with the Tide
WRITTEN BY DR. H. WILLIAM PERRY
Imust have been 7 or 8 when I first went to the beach. We left Live Oak on the early morning of July 4th and drove the 100 miles to Jacksonville Beach. I can still remember the sense of awe I felt when we drove to the top of a small hill and I could see miles and miles of ocean water ahead.
“Look at what God has made,” I said.
Daddy parked our car on the beach where scores and scores of cars were already parked. We took a blanket and towels to a vacant spot where we could claim our place for the day. Then my sisters and I ran out into the water and I experienced the wonderful waves. I walked on out into deeper water and I had my first experience of the day with fear. A big wave swept in, lifted me up, then covered me and carried me quickly toward the shore. Wow! I had no control over the swiftly moving water. But what relief I felt when I suddenly was only ankle deep, and the water was calm again. When I could finally see, I found my family a few yards up the beach. I stayed in the shallow water after that.
Mama got our lunch from the car and spread it on the blanket. We sat around eating and enjoying each other and the beauty of God’s creation. After a while I decided to go back into the ocean, promising my Daddy I wouldn’t go deep. It was fun, and I thoroughly enjoying myself, riding on my inner tube, feeling the waves pushing me around. Then I felt that I’d better go back to where the rest of my family was. But I couldn’t find them. Then I couldn’t find our car.
“Oh no!” I said. “They’ve left me!” I panicked. They were nowhere to be found! I was headed up toward the Life Guard’s stand when I looked way on up the beach, and there was my family. I ran up to them, holding back the tears. “Why did y’all move up the beach?!” I asked.
Then Daddy explained what had happened. There is a current in the water that caused me to drift, and during the time I was in the water, I had drifted a hundred yards or more. I had no idea it was happening. It’s just the normal movement of the ocean water, and it caused me to drift and drift.
During the decades since that beach trip I have discovered that the normal currents of life can cause us to drift along, unaware that it’s happening. There are those who have been very careful about their eating habits, staying slim for years, and then without realizing it, they change their habits and gain more and more weight. It was not their intention; they just drifted into it.
Through the decades I have watched active Church members who rarely missed a worship service or Bible study or church activity. Suddenly they missed a Sunday. Then a couple of weeks later they missed another, then another. After a while they missed more than they attended. That was not their intention; they just slipped into inactivity. Drifted away. It happens more than we realize.
Be careful about your drifting. It can cause you to move farther and farther from where you want to be and from where God wants you to be. S
The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way. Psalm 37:23
On Friday, October 1st of this year, I received an email from Statesboro Magazine columnist and dear friend, Rev. Dr. H. William “Bill” Perry Jr., apologizing for a slight delay in sending his column (on the previous page) to me. He said he’d been getting over a bout of double pneumonia. I responded that he needn’t worry about the deadline, to take as much time as he needed, and not to worry about it.
And he did. The column arrived in my inbox as promised. And, Dr. Perry was “much better.” All was right with my world. Until about two weeks later when I heard that he was back in the hospital, not doing very well.
Take the number of times Bill Perry has prayed and multiply that by the Godly populations of Statesboro, Twin City, Hawkinsville, Pelham, north Florida, Kentucky, Tennessee, and every stop in between, and you’ll have an inkling of the number of prayers that were lifted up on his behalf during his brief illness. Those of us who prayed for his recovery didn’t receive the outcome that we had hoped for; sadly he passed away on October 21st, but Dr. Perry would be the first to say, not our will, but God’s will be done.
He was called by God to preach the Gospel early in life. He attended and graduated from both Stetson University and Southern Seminary. He married the love of his life, Margaret, on June 26, 1964. They became the proud parents of Jon Bill, who preceded his parents in death, and two lovely daughters: Laura and Gayla.
The beloved pastor and long-time resident of Statesboro, served as senior pastor of First Baptist Church for over 20 years, baptizing, marrying and burying generations of our citizens. He loved our town as he loved his congregation, serving on the boards of the American Heart Association, the Boys & Girls Club, Ogeechee Area Hospice and the Bulloch Memorial Hospital Foundations’ Grant Committee, just to name a few. He was a member of the Rotary Club of Statesboro, chosen by both Statesboro Rotary Club’s as Citizen of the Year in 2005. For his commitment to the community and his dedication to serving others, he was honored as Humanitarian of the Year at the 2009 Deen Day Smith Service to Mankind Awards banquet.
Dr. Perry has been a contributor to Statesboro Magazine for 22 years. Through his column, The Spiritual Pathway, he has touched thousands of readers with his innate wit, his talent for story-telling and his ability to spread the message of the Gospel, by making it relatable to the common man. We will miss his calm demeanor, his faithful commitment, and his great sense of humor. Thank-you, Dr. Perry, for being our spiritual guide and friend for so many years. S
