Perhaps the biggest thrill was when I met Billy Graham in person. I heard through a friend that he was staying on Marco Island, finishing up his book Just As I Am. I went into work the next day and told my boss, “I have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to meet someone who has significantly influenced my life. I have to go. I cannot work today. I am going to find Billy Graham.”
I believed there was a plan for me to meet him. God presented an opportunity to me that day, and I took it. I found him, and not surprisingly he took the time to talk to me personally. Although it was brief, I could not help but think as he walked away, I am amid greatness.
MY PRAYERS ANSWERED ON A PLANE …
I was a flight attendant for many years. Usually on my drive to the airport, I spent time praying. One morning, the Holy Spirit led me to pray, “Of all the people in the whole world, Lord, would you please put Billy Graham on my flight?” I was working a flight that month that went to Atlanta and then on to Los Angeles. Within three weeks of that request, God answered my prayer. There is nothing impossible with God! Mr. Graham boarded the flight in Atlanta, and his seat was right where I was assigned to work! Thank You, Lord Jesus. Billy Graham was so polite, kind, and such a gentleman. It was an honor to serve him. He was a humble man and so very precious. I have never forgotten that day. Many times since then, I have prayed for Billy Graham. He touched my heart. I thank God for that divine appointment.
GOD AND SHOW BUSINESS
Many years ago, in Washington, DC, I had the privilege of meeting Dr. Graham, and I told him that my husband wanted to go into show business and sing. I asked him if he thought a Christian could stay true to the Lord there. He told me it could be possible, but it had to be God’s will. He also told me he would pray for me and to meet him in the same place the next day. When I went to meet him, I saw him coming up the hallway, and he told the many reporters to wait; he had to talk with me personally. The first thing he said to me was, “I prayed for you last night.” I shall never forget that. He was so right in his counsel; my husband went into show business and on his separate way. Thank you for praying for me.
THANK YOU FOR SHAKING MY HAND
I met Billy Graham when I was a teenager and he was just starting his crusades. When he came to Pittsburgh, my friends and I were invited to sing one night in his choir. When the crusade started, we met in the Hunt Armory, which was a rather small place. By the time the two weeks were up, we were meeting in Forbes Field because the crowds had grown too large for the Armory. Notice that I said we. After hearing Billy just one night at the beginning of the crusade, my friends and I had to keep going back—not just to sing in the choir but to hear him. His message was very brief, loving, and much to the point. And I believe this man started changing my life for the better. Not that I have always followed God’s teachings—far from it—but I have followed Billy Graham and his ministry since then. Whatever person I am today—and I know I am God’s child—I owe to Billy Graham. Thank you for shaking my hand back in 1952 at the Hunt Armory in Pittsburgh. Thank you, too, for being such a wonderful influence in my life since then.
ROLE MODEL AND MENTOR
I was a Bible college student preparing for the ministry in North Carolina. On a Sunday afternoon in 1954, I heard the name Billy Graham for the first time while traveling in my car to visit my mother in the hospital. I was tuned to the Hour of Decision broadcast. I was so fascinated with his marvelous voice and powerful message that I’ve followed his ministry ever since.
I attended my first Billy Graham crusade in Richmond, Virginia, as a young pastor. His ministry so profoundly influenced me that I moved from being just a professed believer to a committed Christian. I learned the difference between allowing Christ to be dominant rather than merely dormant in my life. If I’ve ever had a role model and mentor that influenced my life and ministry above all others, it is evangelist Billy Graham.
Later, I was invited to begin a revival in Hawaii on the day that Billy concluded his crusade there. The main part of the crusade was in Honolulu, but Billy came to the island of Kauai to speak at the last service where one of his associate evangelists had been ministering.
After the sermon Billy delivered, I had the opportunity to meet him and have a few minutes to share. I consider it one of the most thrilling encounters with a fellow minister of my fifty-six years serving our Lord.
I love Billy Graham for his faithfulness to the central message of the Christian faith, for his honesty, integrity, and the crowning virtue of humility. I only wish he could be forty years old again and continue what he has been doing for more than half a century.
“BILLY, MAY I HAVE YOUR AUTOGRAPH?”
I have two special Billy Graham stories, twenty-five years apart.
I was twelve years old when Billy came to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1952. My mother, a faithful listener of The Hour of Decision, convinced our little church to charter a bus and attend one of the meetings. Growing up in a Christian home, I was aware of Billy Graham, and even in those days he was kind of an icon for believers.
We arrived early and found our seats, and I noticed Billy and the team checking out the stadium from the infield. As Billy and the team left, they went through the dugout right below us. Excited, I asked permission from my mom to go and see if I could get Billy’s autograph. She approved, and I bounded over the fence before I realized that they were already in the dugout tunnel headed back up underneath the stands. I followed and called out to Billy from quite a distance in my young boy’s voice: “Billy, may I have your autograph?” He immediately turned and came back toward me, met me halfway, and very humbly gave me what I wanted. At the time you’d have thought I had just gotten an autograph from Mickey Mantle.
Only years later, after seeing this wonderful servant of the Lord rise to prominence, did I realize how rare that little encounter was—that a person of his stature would take time for a snot-nosed kid and even give him the time of day, much less give that kid something to hold on to for life. Now I realize how Christ felt and acted when the “least of these” came to see him.
The second story occurred at a crusade in Nashville in the mid-1970s. Grown by this time, I had my family with me. Storms were predicted—and scary ones at that. As we settled into our seats, the clouds to the west were begining to rumble, and tornados were in the forecast. The blacker it got, the more concerned everyone became.
Just as we were thinking we would need to leave, Billy came out on the stage and lifted his hands, much like Moses must have done when God parted the Red Sea. Billy began to pray, asking for an immediate miracle. To everyone’s pleasant surprise, the clouds parted, with half going north and the other half going south. The stadium stayed dry that day, and it’s a good thing because that was the day my youngest daughter accepted the Lord. News reports later indicated that severe damage had occurred in the path of the storms.
So, not big stories of presidents and kings, but for me it was something to show that Billy was everyone’s pastor and friend.
THANKSGIVING FEAST
While teaching at Coral Springs Christian Acadamy, I had Billy Graham’s grandson Antony in my second-grade class. What a delightful experience to work with him and come to know his mother and dad. In November that year, we had a Thanksgiving feast and the Rev. and Mrs. Billy Graham came for our feast and I got to meet them in person. I was thrilled. So humble and gracious in person.
I have continued to follow Rev. Graham (and his son Franklin) through the media and his books. What a blessing he has been to so many people throughout the world.
THE HIGHLIGHT OF MY DAD’S CAPITOL HILL CAREER
My father retired in 1995 from the US Capitol Police in Washington, DC. He was acting assistant chief of the entire department, protecting presidents, members of Congress and their staffs, the US Capitol building, and tourists who visited from around the globe on a daily basis.
Dad is a humble man, and integrity and discipline are two of the hallmarks of his life. He made everyone he met,
known and unknown, feel important. My parents took me in person multiple times to watch Billy Graham preach.
My father had the pleasure to meet earthly kings, prime ministers, Hollywood celebrities, and Super Bowl champions, and he protected seven US presidents. But when asked at his retirement who was the most memorable and influential man he met while working in Washington, Dad said without hesitation, “The two times I met Dr. Billy Graham.”
On one occasion, Rev. Graham was in a holding room at the US Capitol, getting ready to give the prayer for the inauguration. Dad had a picture of his childhood home, which is now on the grounds of the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte. The picture had been taken twenty years prior, and Dad found it and asked Dr. Graham if he would sign it. One of his aides politely said, “Dr. Graham doesn’t sign autographs much anymore.” But despite having Parkinson’s disease, Billy Graham took Dad’s photo and signed his name with a smile.
The other occasion was after President George H. W. Bush’s last State of the Union address. That evening, Rev. Graham rode in the motorcade with the president to the US Capitol. My dad shook hands with the president and was pleasantly surprised to find Billy Graham right behind him. Dad shook hands with Dr. Graham, and the evangelist said, “God bless you.” Dad later recalled that he had just shaken hands with “the most powerful person in the world” (President Bush), but when he shook hands with Dr. Graham it was almost as if lightning went through his body. Dad taught me twenty years ago that political power is temporal, but God’s power is eternal.
Thank you, Billy Graham. After seventeen years working for Congress, I walked away by faith to follow God’s call and your footsteps. Today, I am also an evangelist. You have inspired millions, and I thank you for inspiring my family. Well done, good and faithful servant.
MY HUSBAND AND I WORKED FOR BILLY GRAHAM
I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to work for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. What a blessing to work for such an honorable ministry and a man of such integrity.
I had the privilege of meeting you, Dr. Graham, at the annual BGEA picnic. You were so personable and genuinely friendly. What a man of God, who loved the Lord with all your heart, the Word of God, and people all over the world. The ministry that God called you to … what a tremendous responsibility, but God chose the right man, at the right time, to complete the assignment He had for you.
Thank You, Billy Graham … for the Day I Got Saved
GRACE AND LOVE
In the summer of 1961, my husband, Bill, and I were asked by my cousin to go to a Billy Graham crusade at the State Fairgrounds in St. Paul, Minnesota. We went, and Bill and I went forward and received Christ as our Savior at the invitation. It was a wonderful experience. We also received the Bible study. Years later, my cousin told me they had been praying for us and knew we would go forward that night. We thank the Lord for His wonderful grace and love.
Marian and Bill
SAVED AT AGE TWELVE
At age twelve, new to this land of liberty and still learning to speak English, I got in trouble with the police in Cleveland, Ohio. I was hanging around with some friends my same age, when we were approach by the local police, who took us home. After the police explained to my parents what had happened, they decided to send me to New Jersey to spend that summer with my older brother. His wife had come to know the Lord, and she introduced me to Jesus. On Monday, August 23, 1976, while watching a Billy Graham crusade on a very small black-and-white TV, I accepted Christ. During the altar call, we knelt down and I received Jesus as my Savior. When I got up, my sister-in-law asked me, “How do you feel?” I answered, “Like a great burden has been lifted off my back.” Since then, I have been serving the Lord, and today I am senior pastor of a church in Pennsylvania.
MY SON WAS ON LIFE SUPPORT
My name is Patricia, and I am from North Carolina. I can remember, as a child, my parents making remarks about Billy Graham and listening to him on television. I always trusted my parents, and I knew Billy Graham spoke the truth. When George Beverly Shea sang, my father would always break down and cry.
In the summer of 1997, I had the opportunity to go and hear Billy Graham speak in Charlotte. I took my husband and my three children, along with my oldest son’s girlfriend, who was pregnant with his child. She was fourteen and my son was seventeen. My hope with the crusade was that it would open these two children’s eyes. I was so touched by hearing the message. Unfortunately, when we returned home, my oldest son continued with his partying and trying not to accept responsibility for his unborn child.
Two months later, after my granddaughter had been born, my son was shot in the head. The sheriff came to give me the news that my son was on life support and I needed to go to the hospital. When I arrived, I was told he wasn’t going to make it, and they asked if I would donate his organs.
While I was waiting for the paperwork, a nurse ran out of the ICU asking for my son’s mother. When I said, “Here I am,” she looked at me and said, “He’s asking for you.”
When I ran in to the ICU, my son asked me where he was, and I explained that there had been a terrible accident and he was in the hospital. He knew his name and how old he was, etc. The doctor told me he could not explain what had happened, but it was a miracle. Then the doctor told me my son would not walk again—but he did, and he came home after four weeks … walking.
I later found out what had happened to cause the incident. My son had gone to the house of a friend who was pregnant. She lived with her parents and her boyfriend. My son had been drinking. He went to the window and knocked on it, and to his surprise the boyfriend came outside and started fussing at him. My son left and returned shortly to throw a rock at the window. I’m not sure if he threw it, but the father ran out of the house with a gun. My son was already off his property, but the man was also drunk and he shot my son over his right eye. The bullet bounced around inside his head and exited out the back. The ambulance was called, and they said he’d lost a lot of his brain.
The district attorney came to talk with me, and I was struggling with the fact that if my son had not been in that man’s yard, he would not have been shot. I was having so much distress over my son and the man who shot him, who was now in jail. This man’s family and I went to the same church.
I finally wrote to the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and gave them my story, asking what should I do—have him prosecuted, knowing he would probably go to prison, or drop the charges because both of them were wrong. I knew that if my son had not done this stupid thing, the shooting never would have happened.
Within a week, I received a reply. I was so touched and so grateful. I thank BGEA for taking the time to write me back. What a relief it gave me. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Here is the outcome: After my son came home and realized how his life had almost been snuffed away and that God had saved him, he went and dropped the charges. He also met with the man, and they asked one another for forgiveness. My son said he had to get on with his life and try and make himself a better person and set a better example for others.
BILLY GRAHAM’S MEDIA OUTREACH HELPED LEAD ME TO CHRIST
I was brought up in a Catholic family in the Midwest. My parents were good people and practiced their faith seriously. Though I wouldn’t say I was a seeker at the time, I remember watching the 1957 New York crusade on TV when I was a youngster. I was curious and certainly paid attention to what was being said. I don’t remember very much, except that when he gave the invitation to make a commitment, I wondered exactly what it meant.
Years later, having gone through many of life’s challenges, I was a seeker and adrift, dabbling in the occult and New Age thought. By then, I was living in Los Angeles and working in the media. A Christian coworker bought me a Bible and invited me to a breakfast meeting at an LA hotel, where Billy Graham was speaking. The devil didn’t want me to attend, because we got caught in a traffic jam, and when we arrived at the hotel, we found the last two se
ats way in the back of the ballroom. My friend asked me if I was born again, and I said, “Sure.” I wasn’t, but he and others were praying for me.
A few years later, I fell for a graduate of the Moody Bible Institute. She asked me about my faith, and I said I was born again. I couldn’t fool her, though, so to impress her, I purchased and read the Billy Graham book How to Be Born Again. Today, finally trusting Christ, I know that Billy Graham’s ministry played an important part. I work in media and marvel at how different media played a part in bringing me to the truth. God used BGEA in a mighty way. I thank God for Billy Graham and his vision, and pray God’s richest blessings for him, his ministry, and his family.
TRUTHS THAT I COULD EASILY UNDERSTAND
I come from a culturally Christian home in Madras, India. Growing up, my church attendance was regular, but I found no meaning in going to church. I just went because my parents took me along. Nevertheless, in my early teen years, I developed an interest in Jesus. I decided to read How to Be Born Again by Dr. Graham, which my father had bought. It was the first time I was exposed to the truth about God, Jesus, and myself. Dr. Graham presented these truths in such a manner that even a fifteen-year-old could easily understand. The Gospel was clear to me, and also the fact that I was not a Christian just because I came from a religious home. God used John 1:12, which Dr. Graham quoted, to drive home the fact that I needed to receive Christ as my Savior. I quietly slipped to my knees and prayed the sinner’s prayer that was at the end of the book. I immediately knew that something had happened to me. God had adopted me into his family.
Thank You, Billy Graham Page 6