Altar Call –
Opelika-Auburn News
Walter Albritton
The scene of many stirring
moments of my life
Memory affords me a long string of
significant sights I have witnessed with my own eyes. So many I hardly know
where to begin.
I first saw the snow-capped
Our family visited the
On a missions
trip around the world, my wife and I stood before the Taj
Mahal in
We spent a week in
I admired the
History never meant more than when we
visited ancient
My friend Al Krinke
took me for a
Having traveled in every state in the
union, including
Along the journey I have met few of
the world’s dignitaries. No president ever invited us to tea in the White
House. No governor ever called on me to come pray for him.
Yet on many occasions I have had a
personal audience with the most important person in the universe. I met him in
a holy place called the sanctuary of that sacred building called a church.
I met him there when my sins
overwhelmed me and drove me to my knees. There he gave me the precious gift of
forgiveness and boosted my hope for the future.
I met him there when I began to
question the purpose of my life, and I felt him call me to preach. I met him
there when I pledged my life to my sweetheart Dean in holy matrimony.
I met him there when our first child
died. There I found comfort and healing for my sorrow. I met him there when in
brokenness, I confessed my need for the Holy Spirit to take over my life, and
he graciously filled me with the presence of his Spirit.
I met him there when my children, and
grandchildren, were baptized and consecrated to him. I met him there when my
sister Laurida died, and when my father and mother
slipped away from us. Every time he touched me and met my need, despite my
unworthiness.
I have met him there hundreds of times
when praying for persons who were weary of emptiness and ready for God to
cleanse and change their hearts.
All of this to say, of all the places
I have seen, none has meant more to me than the sanctuary where I met the Master,
and where I continue to go to find the peace that he alone offers thirsty
souls. + + + +