Back to the Garden

“I wonder where this goes?” Mary thought as she saw the little overgrown trail diverge from the one she’d been exploring. She’d been out that day enjoying the warm day and looking for some easy trips for her kids. She was right outside of town, so this could be just what she was looking for. She thought, “I’ll just go a little ways and see what’s there.” As it turned out, it was a short walk. The trail took her to the top of a little knoll. She found what used to be an attractive garden. There was a low stone wall circling the top of the knoll and an arch where the trail ended. She entered the garden. It was overgrown with weeds.

“This is great,” she said out loud as she looked around. There was a view of the city and off in the distance she could see a mountain range. “Nice.” Then she noticed something in the weeds. At the far end facing the city was a monument just slightly higher than the wall. There was some kind of inscription on the top. Mary brushed off the dirt to see if she could read it.

“Joseph Matthews,” she read. “Doesn’t ring a bell.” She looked at his dates and was surprised to see that the monument was almost seventy five years old. This guy Joseph had lived a long time ago. Below the dates she read:

“Psalm 112:6 “A righteous man will be remembered forever.”

On the first anniversary of his death we dedicate this monument as a tribute to a man who had a profound impact on this city. He never owned a home, preferring to live in apartments all his life. He never held office and yet many leaders in this city looked to him as their spiritual mentor. He was not an ordained minister, but the masses of people he ministered to, mostly one at a time, can hardly be counted. It has been said that “each person in the world is the center of an ever-expanding circle of influence that transcends time and space.” There is no one in our experience who more embodied that truth than Joe. The following is a short, but by no means comprehensive, listing of the things done by some of those whom Joe had introduced to the Way: Eight churches were planted, a Bible school and seminary founded, a food bank, a performing arts center and a job training center, not to mention The Cherrywood Foundation, were all established by “Joe’s People” as they came to be called. We are honored to be called by that name, and hopefully we honor his memory with this testimony. Joe would not want this honor. He notoriously shied away from the banquets and accolades others wanted to bestow on him. We hope this will inspire many to live the way Joe lived in total service to God.

Mary looked up from the monument. “Somebody ought to pull these weeds,” she said and knelt down and starting working.