A Blessed Life (9)
Shortly after my baptism our family started attending Mt. Carmel Christian Church. It was located only a couple miles from our home. Since the move to Bourbon County, we had been driving over half an hour to attend the Salem Church where I had grown up. Being so close to Mt. Carmel allowed our family to be more involved in all the church activities.
From the first visit in 1958, until his death in 2014, my father served faithfully in that church. He and my mother served as treasurers of the congregation for over thirty years. Dad became an elder and served until his health began to fail. Even after becoming an inactive member, his counsel was often sought when difficult decisions were being made. I was blessed to see my father grow in grace and wisdom as he grew older.
It was during those early years of transition from the Salem Church of Christ to the Mt. Carmel Christian Church that my grandfather Padgett passed away. He succumbed to a heart attack in December of 1958. His funeral and burial were on Christmas Eve. As a lad of twelve, I was caught somewhere between the excitement of Christmas and the loss of a man I admired. It was my first experience with death’s reality. There were two things that were given to me by Papa Padgett. First was a love for baseball. In that era, baseball really was the American pastime. My grandfather had the time to teach me the basics of the game, and give me an enduring love of the sport. The second gift was a hunger for studying the Bible. I would go with him to the Wednesday night Bible studies, and I am sure that I absorbed a great deal more than I realized.
My youthful years were far from perfect, just as all my years have been. But I know I was blessed to have truth instilled in my heart and mind that has served to keep me on the right path, or return quickly when I wandered.
– Terry A. Morrison
A Blessed Life (9)
