Rev. Ray and Pat Amos

Favorite Verse – and Honorary Family Member

I often ask a person to tell me a favorite verse. John 3:16, Psalm 23, and 1 Corinthians 13, lead the rest. Once in a while I hear one that’s really not in the Bible. Such was the day that I heard these words: “Can’t sleep at night, can’t eat a bite, because the man I love won’t treat me right.” “You know that’s not in the Bible,” I said. “It is in my Bible,” she insisted. I asked her to show me, and it was really there, written inside the cover as the gospel of Elva.

In all my years of ministry she was one of the truest saints and dearest people that I have ever known. If she knew that I was writing this she would say, “Raymond!” and punch my arm with a good right.

She worked at a community store. I visited her early every morning for a free coffee, and the latest news about what was going on in the community. Like most local convenience stores it was a place where a pastor could feel the pulse of the community on any day.

There are saints who are known for their religious practices, some for missionary work and many others reasons. She was simply real. She treated people by the golden rule with a bit of added kindness to the ones that might tend to be snubbed by society. People were drawn to her and the store became a stopping place because she was there. She was also saint to the animals.
Once when I went to visit her at home I had to wait in the car until the skunks that she was feeding got finished with their meal.

Some people have a way of adding goodness to life. They make your life richer in the things that matter. I once heard it said of someone that to know him was like brushing against God. I would add Elva to that rare list. She was a beautiful life raised in the coalfields of McDowell County, West Va. It was a time and place where good and decent living was seasoned with faith.

There was a historical plaque by the door of her house. It said, “At this place on (a date I don’t remember) nothing happened.” That wasn’t exactly true. On any day, anyone who walked through that door was going to be loved, and there was a very good chance that you would be made an honorary family member; I know it happened to me.

She refused to use the word “goodbye.” Perhaps that was because she believed that family and friends are forever. Not even death can separate them. It is true, you know. Christians never have to say goodbye. It is enough to say, “See You Later.”
Bishop Ralph Cushman once wrote, “There are two kinds of people, you know them. The ones who take your strength from you; and the ones who put it back again.” Which will we be today?

Grace and Peace, Rev Ray