Ansel Clifford Owens

God has given me many gifts in this life, but one of the sweetest has been having Ansel Owens as a father-in-law these last 11+ years. Without a doubt, he was one of the kindest & most encouraging men I've ever known. He loved Jesus with every breath and every action of his life.

Last Friday, as I was two-thirds of the way through the largest women's conference I've ever spoken for, and as my husband Ken was setting up for a student conference of over 800 college kids, we got the call that Mr. O had slipped into a coma. After 7 months of battling lymphoma, his healing was close at hand. At about 6:30 that night, God allowed that precious man to enter into heaven, and into his eternal rest. What a party there must have been in heaven that night! But here, we were simply sad to have lost the earthly presence of someone who has been such an influencer in our lives. I am so grateful for the legacy of faith that Mr. O passed on to Ken, and on to Matthew as well. He was an amazing PaPa, and his youngest grandson already misses him.

Ken & I talked about it, and we decided that I should finish the last day of the conference, which was Saturday here in Columbia. There is nowhere Mr. O would rather I have been than sharing Christ and encouraging women to live a life of faith. As I spoke to about 3400 women that day, it was a tremendous joy to have the assurance of PaPa's eternity in heaven. It was a great privilege, too, to use a story from his life as part of my conclusion that day.

You see, as PaPa got sicker, people began to come from all over, telling us that they were followers of Christ because of Ansel Owens' touch on their lives. One story in particular stood out to me. Mr. O was the Finance Manager of an automobile dealership for over 30 years. A family was in financial crisis, and went to him to tell him that they simply couldn't make their payment that month. Mr. O's response was, "Well, I'm going to give you grace this time. And there is a reason I'm doing this. You see, I was given a grace that covers all I've ever done, and it comes from Jesus. Do you know about this grace?" He then proceeded to share the gospel, and now that man is a believer.

Sharing Christ with others is a wonderful way to impact their lives, but I have realized that it is also the only way to ensure a living, lasting legacy of faith. There could be no greater tribute at the end of life than having person after person saying, "I'm a believer because of Maria." I want my son & his family to hear that! I want to leave that as my legacy of faith, too!
I pray the Lord will let me live each day seeing the opportunities He places in my path, so I can continue to build on that legacy.
Thank you, Lord, for Ansel Owens.
Mr. O--This world is a very different place without you in it. You will forever be loved, respected, and missed.