MEMORIAL SERVICE
FOR
REV. O.V. DODSON
FEB 14, 2013
WILLARD, MO
Today is
a day when lovers exchange cards, flowers, gifts. When those whose heart beat as one, celebrate
their love and shout to the world their love, commitment, desire for one
another. Today, I
want to talk about a love story. A love
story that includes Orville Verdayne Dodson (O.V.).
But this
is not a love story surrounded
with the
people he pastored or cared for
with his
many grandchildren and great grandchildren
with his
step-children
with
Janice
with
Brian and Dana
with
Sharon or Butch
This is
not a love story surrounded even with Elaine.
Those are
love stories of the heart and dear ones, we could talk for days on end of O.V.'s love for you and your love for him.
Rather, I
will tell of a love story of the soul. A
song that plays not for a few days, but one that continues through
eternity. A sonnet that reaches to the
very depths of where one lives, breathes, exists: the love story of O.V. Dodson
and Jesus; The picture of O.V.'s life could be filled with images of his
preaching, praying, countless hours visiting those who were ill or sitting with
those mourning holding their hands and hearts.
No, the depiction of O.V. is best captured by his love, his deep love for
Jesus. His desire to love God and love
others. His desire to serve God and serve others. His desire to point people to
the grace of God as expressed through hope in Jesus.
According
to official records, O.V. was 99 when he died.
O.V. counted the day of his birth as his first birthday, so when you asked
him how old he was, he would reply that he was 100. I think he did this just to get a reaction
from Janice. O.V. certainly stirred ones heart and brought about a reaction.
O.V. Dodson
was man of who deeply loved and was loved
deeply. He was also a man who could not drive.
If you rode with him, you typically did it once and your prayer life
increased. He loved many people into the
arms of Jesus and might have scared a few into His arms as well.
His
prayer life was legendary. He told me
once that he did not keep a prayer list but rather simply prayed for those whom
the Lord placed on his heart. And the
heart of O.V. was tremendous. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man
accomplishes much. If O.V. Dodson prayed
for you, you were indeed being brought into the presence of The Lord.
O.V. prayed
and walked; 5 miles a day up into his 90's.
In fact, he was prayer walking before it was called prayer walking. He was 99, or if you use O.V. math, 100. He did a lot of things before they were in
vogue. One time I asked him what life
was like before TV, he replied "TV? I can tell you what life was like before
radio!"
The
experiences he had riding in the families Model T from MO to ID, jumping a
train and getting kicked off in Kansas City, teaching school, playing offensive
tackle in football, seminary, marriage, kids and grand kids and great-grand kids,
the crackers he carried with him in case restaurants did not have them, his great love of food and the strange ways
he mixed them together, the 58 year marriage with Elaine, the 17 year
marriage with Janice point to the
remarkable life he lived.
His life
was full and filled with experiences you and I will never have, save one. In the spring of 1933, he surrendered his
life to Christ and soon thereafter, to the ministry. As O.V. grew into The Lord, his love of
scripture grew. Ps 121 was a particular favorite.
Psalm121
1 I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence
cometh my help.
2 My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and
earth.
3 He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth
thee will not slumber.
4 Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor
sleep.
5 The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy shade upon thy
right hand.
6 The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by
night.
7 The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall
preserve thy soul.
8 The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in
from this time forth, and even for evermore.
As you
think about this scripture, the writer is lifting his eyes while in a valley,
while surrounded by those who wish to do him harm. In military tactics, you want the high
ground. When the enemy is above you,
they have the advantage; you are more susceptible to attack. When the enemy has you surrounded and you are
in the low position, you need reinforcements.
There was
a time when O.V. was surrounded,
when the witnesses around him were not the ones encouraging him to continue,
but the voices telling him to quit, stop, give up hope. He was in the valley
and the enemy of depression desired to invade and conquer his life. His beloved
wife, Elaine, died. He was heartbroken.
Jan 2,
1995:
My dearest darling wife, how, after more than 7 months, I
miss you still, I'm sure I always will.
This afternoon, Sharon and Dana came by after an afternoon of shopping.
Dana had several garments to show me; she was so excited and proud. I oohed and awed over them, thinking of how
you would have gone on about nice and neat they were. I am so thankful to be able to share their
joys, always remembering so vividly and how much you enjoyed our relationship
with them. My joy is dampened because
you are not here to share with us and I cant bring you back, but I can come to
be with you and our dear Lord who saw us through 58 years together. Maybe it will be soon. In the meantime, my heart grieves and I shed
tears, but that will all be gone then.
Until that time, I keep plugging along.
O.V. was in
a valley of grief. And as he looked to
the hills and asked where does his help come from, he knew, in this love story,
his help comes from The Lord!
God
indeed preserved his going out and his coming in. O.V. desired his life to be a reflection of the
light of Christ. His life was
surrounded, consumed, by his hope in Christ.
And that is, really, all that we have.
If our hope is in anything other than Christ, we will be
disappointed. I can say with certainty,
that O.V.'s identity was not in who he was, or his name or anything other than
Christ. His identity was most assuredly
in Christ. He trusted, to the fullest,
that God would provide for him in ways that were beyond comprehension.
In the
midst of the battle, when all seems lost, darkness and weeping may last for the
night, but we can take great confidence that joy does, indeed, come in the
morning.
The
second part of the journal entry:
Mar 10,
2010
I had no idea what was ahead, but God did. He revealed it sooner than I realized He
would, for in 1995, He brought Janice to my attention soon after her husband,
Johns death. Somehow in His own good
way, our minds and hearts blended. So, on Dec 30, 1995, we publicly exchanged
marriage vows and have had 15 (17) good years together. Praise and thank God for His ministry to a
grieving heart. O.V. Mar 20, 2010
O.V. experienced first hand the deliverance and the hope of The Lord. His life was filled with this promise; grace
and mercy of The Lord were with him.
God's
love, sacrifice, goodness, and kindness kept O.V. plugging along.
Even in a
place where he was surrounded, his HOPE was in The Lord for his
restoration. His love story is what
carried him through the night until joy returned in the morning.
O.V. was a
godly man and his love story was one of faith.
I am confident that had he lived during the period scriptures were
written, we might have Romans, 1 Cor, 2 Cor, 1 O.V., 2 O.V.
His life
was a life of faith that was found in the perfect and long-suffering grace of
Christ.
Although
he was not known as a patient man--when it was time to go, it was time to go!
But, he
was patient with Janice when she went shopping.
Janice would go into a store and O.V .would sit in the food court and very
soon, he would start a conversation and hand them one of his cards. On the back of the card are written "Ten
things I have learned in 99 years." (or 100 according to O.V.):
1. love is the supreme virtue
2. family is of great importance
3. God and His will are vital for
personal fulfillment
4. things are no guarantee of
happiness
5. honesty really is the best
policy
6. God keeps His promises
7. Life is in God's hands
8. Learning is a life long
process (I'm still learning)
9. God's divine providence is
beyond comprehension
10. Ones only hope of eternal
security is God's grace through Jesus
Hebrews 12
Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses
surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so
easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before
us, 2 [a]fixing our eyes on Jesus, the [b]author and perfecter of faith, who
for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat
down at the right hand of the throne of God.
O.V. ran
for many years, in 1978 he ran 1100 miles. At some point, he transitioned from
running to walking. On average, he walked about 1100 miles a year. Now using O.V. math, 1100x100 means he walked
110,000 miles. The circumference of the
earth is 24000 miles. He walked around
the earth 4.5 times.
He was
not a fast mover, but he was a mover. In
a race, no one remembers how you start but all look at how you finish. Sometimes, people don't finish, they quit,
they give up, they look up and the hills that surround them are overwhelming;
their eyes no longer look up to the hills and ask where their help comes from,
their eyes are downcast. Their heart,
desire, perseverance stops.
Not
O.V. He ran with endurance, he walked
with purpose, he served with compassion, he preached fervently, he loved
deeply.
O.V. kept a
journal. He chronicled his life experiences; from the mundane to the
thrilling.
His last
entry was Jul 27 and all it said was Bible and Prayer. O.V.s love story is surrounded and kept true
by scripture and communion with God. His
story is one of love for Jesus, the
author and perfecter of faith.
O.V.'s
love story of the soul does not end on Feb 10th. The conclusion is not with his last
breath. Indeed, loved ones, Rev. O. V.
Dodson's love story begins with these words:
"His master
replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a
few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your
master's happiness!'
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