Prompt: Tell a story about someone in your life who helped you notice God or live a bit more like Jesus.
The Lord works in mysterious ways, but he is always working. I have a good friend I met on a mission scouting trip in 2003. His name is Ruston. He lives in Philippi, West Virginia and is the Pastor of a church on Chestnut Ridge called Peoples Chapel.
Ruston was a basketball player in high school, and his dream was to play basketball in college. In his senior year, during the championship game for his league, he blew out his ankle. This was devastating. It put everything he had planned for his future on hold. After he graduated, with no college opportunities available, Ruston decided to hitchhike west from his home in Indiana.
While in the Black Hills of South Dakota he came across a spiritual revival that met in the evenings under a big tent. He met the Pastor, Reverend Frank Peoples, and after two days of getting to know each other better, Reverend Peoples invited Ruston to come with him back to West Virginia. While traveling from Indiana Ruston had met someone who gave him a copy of the New Testament. He remembered seeing the word “Philippi” written on the outer edge of the book, but the word’s meaning never registered with him. He took that as a sign from God and accepted Reverend Peoples’ invitation.
Over time, Ruston began working part time in the church and found employment with two nonprofits, World Servants and World Vision. Today, Ruston has his own nonprofit called New Vision. It is focused on producing portable solar power lights for third world villages that have no power and helping people navigate the opioid crisis in his own county. As well, Ruston recently bought a couple of acres of land next to his property and started building tiny homes for young men who are 18 years old and had to leave their foster families because they “aged out” of the foster care system.
I have been blessed to have a friendship with Ruston for 22 years and have returned to the “Ridge” with our high school students ten times. I have seen God move in real time through Ruston knowing that God’s plan was definitely bigger than his own.
Matthew 7:7, Jesus says “knock, and the door will be opened to you.” A door was closed to Ruston after high school, but through prayer and following his heart, another door opened and he walked in.
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