As support for immigration reform continues to grow among Southern Baptists and other evangelical Christians, the Southern Baptist Convention's chief executive officer said April 17 in South Carolina that the U.S. stands ?at a crossroad of opportunity? for dealing justly with the nation's undocumented immigrants.

Angry clouds and pounding rain threatened to cancel the Tuesday night rally at the Rick Gage ?Go Tell? crusade at Belton Honea-Path High School. Just in time, however, the rain stopped, and the clouds gave way to sunny skies. ?It's like a hole in the clouds,? marveled Joe Givens, a member of Second Baptist Church, Belton. 'the Lord never ceases to amaze me.?

It was the Christmas holidays, and the three brothers and their families were gathering at Mom's: one from Rock Hill, one from the Lowcountry and a third was local. My wife and I camped out in our normal room, and Mom deposited my younger brother in hers. With all bedrooms taken, I wondered where she would sleep. As it turned out, she slept on the couch. Moms love, and find ways to show it.

Sarah Edwards, wife of 18th century preacher Jonathan Edwards, wrote to her daughter shortly after her husband's death: ?What shall I say? A holy and good God has covered us with a dark cloud. O that we may kiss the rod, and lay our hands on our mouths! The Lord has done it. He has made me adore His goodness, that we had him so long. But my God lives; and he has my heart. O what a legacy my husband, and your father, has left us!?

We prayed, but nothing happened. Normally my wife has clear direction where God is taking us. She did this time, too, but no doors opened. We loved our ministry, but it was only part-time and bills were mounting. So we prayed and sent out r'sum's ? hundreds of them. No response, but we kept praying. In his time, God opened the door.

I felt the first rain drop splatter against my face and immediately knew we were in trouble. My son, daughter and I were inside a tent deep in the mountains. We shouldn't have felt anything, but that's what happens when a cold front slips by and your tent is water-repellent instead of water-resistant. Misery followed us two miles the next morning before we found help. We were unprepared for inclement weather.

He was comparatively small by height and weight, never made it beyond sixth grade, never owned a new vehicle and worked on an ice cream truck until he retired at 72. My paternal grandfather built a legacy, but not just any legacy ? a positive spiritual legacy.

Somewhere around the mid 1700s, Christopher Wiles was born. In our Wiles? family history book, he is the oldest ancestor traceable without help from a professional genealogist. Because he was born and later married, I?m alive. And traits of my ancestors follow me. You can line up a handful of Wiles and immediately notice the resemblances.

My vehicle serves a purpose. It takes me to work, grocery stores, doctor appointments, restaurants, church, and on vacation. But only if I understand its purpose. Failing to do that means calling a taxi or paying someone to take me where I can drive myself. A parked vehicle is of no practical use and quickly deteriorates when not maintained.

Death is not a subject most people enjoy thinking or talking about. We obviously don't like the word because we?ve invented other terms to lessen the impact of what happens: deceased, passed, gone, departed, lost, released and asleep. No one enjoys losing parents, grandparents, spouses, siblings or friends.