"My religious beliefs teach me to feel as safe in battle as in bed. God has fixed the time of my death. I do not concern myself with that, but to be always ready whenever it may overtake me. That is the way all men should live, and all men would be equally brave."
~ General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson
I received a heart-breaking phone call at Los Angeles airport while I was entering the security area. It was the daughter of my 95 year old friend, Ted Bennett. Ted has been preaching for 80 years and his mind is still as sharp as a tack. He was rushed to the hospital and given only 2 hours to live. I could do nothing but pray because I was about to board a plane to Wichita. He couldn't talk, but he could listen as I spoke to him over the phone. To my joy, I returned to visit him two days later in ICU. I brought my wife and children from school to say goodbye as Tedd lay there with tubes and wires entering and exiting his frail body. We prayed, read scripture, and even joked with one another before we said our farewells. Two days later, I got another call that the miraculous had happened. Tedd had recovered, was no longer in ICU, and could talk freely without the respirator in his mouth! I rushed to see my friend and ask him what he was thinking as he lay so close to the edge of eternity. He said to me, "Kirk, If the Lord has more for me to do here, then so be it, but if it is time to go, then I'm ready." He then quoted Charles Spurgeon (as he so often does) and reminded us both that "Not a single shaft can hit, till the God of love sees fit." Ted is a man doing battle in bed, knowing that his time on earth may be very short. Never have I seen someone so brave as my friend Ted, waring against fear and a broken body at death's door, trusting in the faithfulness of his Savior.
~ Kirk Cameron
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