-Marina
Like
Those Who Dream...A Spiritual Journey
The Memoir of
When
the LORD brought back the captive ones of Zion,
We were like those who dream. Psalm 126:1 NASB
Foreword
Roy and I first met as teenagers, me 18 and him 19, when he joined the freshman class at Bethany College of Missions in Bloomington, Minnesota where I was a student. It was in January of 1962 and it couldn’t have been more of a shock to him. From the free-wheeling lifestyle of an LA bachelor pad to the harsh reality of a Minnesota winter and a strict Bible school with many rules, everything was new to Roy.
Roy
and I couldn’t have been more different, yet there was a deep love and mutual
respect that developed between us. I grew up in a conservative Christian home
in Eau Claire, Wisconsin and Roy in a Jewish home in Los Angeles. In spite of
those differences there was an immediate kinship that formed between us. As we
studied for our classes I was amazed at his insights into the Bible. He saw
things that I completely missed and felt like he had an unfair advantage over
the rest of us simply by his being Jewish. Really, I did! But it may also have
been that he was just smarter or a better student than I was…or both!
One
day when I was going through a tough time Roy picked up on it. Rather than talk
to me about it he took a different tack. It was winter and I had on my overcoat
while walking across campus. When Roy walked by he stuck his hand in my coat
pocket, saying nothing. I thought, “How strange”, but knowing Roy I wanted to
know what he had done. I put my hand in the pocket and took out a piece of
paper that he had put in there. It read, and I quote, “God don’t get no
glory when you’re moping!” That was just what I needed at that time. As I
reflect on that moment today, over 55 years later, I realize that that note may
have been Roy’s first greeting card. The first of many greeting cards that he
wrote over his long career.
As
I have been re-reading the Book of Acts, I have seen how the apostles were
totally reliant on the leading of the Holy Spirit in everything they did or
said. This is also how I have seen Roy live his whole life. One time when I
needed his insight and wisdom I asked him how he handled temptation. I knew
that I wouldn’t be judged because, well, that’s not how Roy is. His reply to my
question was one that I have gone back to often and have shared with others
along the way. He said, “When I am tempted I immediately invite the Holy Spirit
into the situation.” He said, “you see, sin and the Holy Spirit can’t co-exist."
Roy and I were not only classmates, but
roommates. He was a groomsman in my wedding, married my wife’s cousin and spent
a year working with me in our mission in Puerto Rico. He has been a treasured
friend, confidant and encourager to me since the early 60s and I am eternally
grateful to God for him.
As you discover the story of Roy’s
spiritual journey I know you will be challenged, amused, instructed and blessed
as I was. It’s easy to look at a person and think, "What a wonderful man or
woman" and not know what they went through to become that person. In the pages
that follow, you will see the path that Roy has been on and the things that
have shaped and formed who he is.
God bless you as you read.
Rolf Garborg
...
#likethosewhodream #roylessin #memoir #memoirroylessin #dayspring #meetinginthemeadow #bookclub
©2020 DaySpring Used with permission. ©2022 Roy Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow. Photo by Marina Bromley, used with permission. All rights reserved.
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