CHAPTER 17
Now that you’ve seen how Steven could have affected, not only a nation, but the world, it is now time to see how Gene’s oldest sister Peggy Sue would have affected things.
If you remember, she became a Christian within thirty days of Gene’s acceptance. Gene had been praying that his whole family would accept and when he started to pray about that, he knew that God was going to answer his prayer. God was not going to let his prayers fall on deaf ears. Not only did his whole family get saved, but his father, Darrell, accepted also, as you already know. One might say that was a miracle.
When Peggy Sue accepted, she said that she was going to live a life for Christ and she wanted to be directed by the Holy Spirit in everything that she would do. She wanted people to see her and know that Christ lived within her heart. Not only did people see a difference in Peggy Sue, but they also knew that she would marry a Christian man and that man would be something very special.
In Junior High School, she was the most popular girl in school. Her popularity was not because she would go out with any guy that would ask, or that she would do the things that the other girls were doing. She was popular because she went out of her way to help anyone that needed help with school, or if a person just wanted to talk and blow off a lot of steam, she was there. When I said that she would help with school, what I mean is, if a person was having problems with a class or a subject, she would show them how to work a problem or how to dissect a sentence. If it was a personal problem, she would sit and listen to the problem and then give her ideas on how to solve that problem. Sometimes the problem would be what a girl should do to keep her boy friend. The answer to that question was always the same. Never, never give in and don’t give a boy what he wants sexually.
The boys in school respected Peggy Sue for her stand and her morals. Down deep, most of the boys wished that all the girls could be like Peggy Sue. However, not all girls had Christ living within them and guiding them. Those girls that did were just like Peggy Sue. They would go out and have fun, but they always made sure that the guy knew where they stood when it came to sex.
Peggy Sue was a devout Christian and she knew that people were always watching to see if she would stumble and fall. Yes, she did stumble and fall, but Christ was always there to pick her up and to encourage her to keep going. Her fall was not one that a person could see, it was a fall that she knew about and that she prayed about. You see, even though she was a devout Christian, she still had the same wants and desires of any young teenage girl in Junior High. Just because a person is a Christian does not mean that they live in a fenced in world without any joy. They see the same world, just like the unsaved person does. The difference is that the Christian relies and depends on Christ for their direction, while the unsaved will depend on themselves or on others for their direction.
During those days in Junior High, Peggy Sue was constantly in prayer for someone. She was also praying that the Lord would direct her to the man that she would marry. She always thought that her future husband would be from her Junior High or her High School. She never even thought that he might be from her Bible College. Oh, I guess I am getting a little ahead of myself.
Junior High went very quickly for Peggy Sue and the summer just before she went to High School, she knew that the Lord was preparing her for Bible College. The subjects she would consider taking in High School would be what she would need in Bible College in order to get the degree she was wanting. Her desire was to receive a degree in Bible and to get a minor in counseling. Very, very few women received a degree in Bible unless they were going to the mission field.
Peggy Sue decided that the biggest mission field was right in her own back yard. She knew that there were millions upon millions of unsaved people throughout the world and that would be the job of missionaries to reach them. She wanted to reach those in her own community. Also, she knew that the man she decided to marry would also have that same desire.
Her first year in High School was one that would test her morals and, also, that would set the stage for the rest of her life. As everyone knows, when school starts, it is also time for football. Peggy Sue was very good looking and she knew that all the boys would die to have a date with her. She had her choice of the best looking and most popular boys in school. One boy after another would ask her out and it finally came to the point she had to say yes, to someone. But, who was going to be the lucky boy. Down deep, she knew that she did not want to go out with a boy that had a bad reputation. She just wanted a “down to earth” type of guy.
The day finally came. Instead of listening to that voice down deep, she wanted to go out with Nat. Nat was so good looking and the few times that he was close enough to touch her on the arm, or on the hand, she thought for sure she was going to die or have a heart attack. She had listened to her friends talk about Nat and how they also melted when he would look at them. Now, it was time to accept the invitation for a date. During the short walk from first hour to second hour, she saw Nat standing and talking with some of his friends in the hall. Instead of telling him privately that she accepted, she decided it would be best to make a big deal about their date.
Peggy Sue walked up to Nat and his friends and stated that she would love to go to the dance with Nat. The suddenness caught Nat completely off guard. He looked at Peggy Sue and smiled that smile that had melted all the other girls he had taken out, and then told her he would talk with her after school.
After school, they did meet, but Nat said he felt more comfortable in his car. They walked to the parking lot and sat and talked about the dance and what time he would be by to pick her up. He also told her what he wanted her to wear. Peggy Sue asked him why it had to be a low cut top and a short mini skirt. The answer was so ridiculous, Peggy Sue never thought it could be a lie. When she told her friends, they all chuckled, but they never said a word about why Nat would want her to wear clothes he had told her to wear.
On Friday, Nat reminded Peggy Sue they would be out late, but she never thought midnight was late. Peggy Sue may have thought midnight was not late, but Nat had other ideas on where they would go and what they were going to do. After the football game, they went to the dance. At the dance, Nat made it a point that his buddies would ask Peggy Sue to dance. That way, Nat could dance with one or two of his other girl friends.
With one dance left, Nat asked his friend Shawn if the party was still on. With a big smile on his face, Shawn said it was. Ten couples had been invited to a party at Shawn’s house.
The party started with a few records and pop and pizza. But then, out came the beer and the whiskey. After two big drinks of whiskey and one beer, Nat was ready to take on the whole world.
Nat asked one of his friends for a piece of gum so he could kill the smell and the taste of the alcohol. The gum did the trick. Nat took Peggy Sue by the hand and off to one of the bedrooms they went. Peggy Sue thought they were going to make out for a while, then they would go back to dancing. That is not what Nat had on his mind. What he wanted was something that Peggy Sue had never given to anyone before.
Peggy Sue did enjoy kissing Nat and as they kissed the desire started to grow stronger and stronger. The desire was almost to the point of giving in, when a little voice said STOP! Peggy Sue jumped up and said, “What did you say?”
Nat looked at her bewildered and remarked, “I did not say a word. I was too busy thinking about you and what I have on my mind. Come back over here and stop that fidgeting.”
“Stop that what?”
“Stop that fidgeting. You know what I want and I want it right now, so come back over here and let’s do it.”
“Is that the only reason you took me out tonight?”
“What other reason would I ask you out for? Just to have a good time? This is what I call a good time!”
“Well, you can get up from there and take me home. I don’t know why I ever went out with you anyway.”
“You know exactly why you went out with me. That game that you and those friends of yours play is really stupid. You want everyone to think that you are Christians and you are all miss goody, goody. Let me tell you, you are not fooling me or any of my buddies. You came out to see what it would be like and you knew you’d like it. Now, when it comes down to it, you don’t want to do it. Well, I will take you home, but don’t expect any dates from any of the guys in school. They are all going to know what happened this night!”
Nat was true to his word. The following week, the whole school knew that Peggy Sue had turned Nat down. Nat thought for sure that was the end of the dating life for Peggy Sue, but it was the only the beginning. All the guys in school knew what type a girl Peggy Sue was and they all knew that you would have a good time if you asked her out. Nat was the only person that did not see the light. He thought that she would be shunned, but the reverse only occurred.
The rest of her High School years went by so smoothly she could not believe she would be out of school in May. I might say, also, that all through the rest of her High School years, she could have had two or three dates every week if she had wanted them. She did not want that many dates. Once every two weeks, she would go out with one of the boys that she could trust.
May came and went as did the summer months, and before long, it was time for Peggy Sue to head off for Bible College. As I told you before, Peggy Sue wanted a degree in Bible so she could reach those in her local area for Christ. During her first year, she met many nice looking young boys, but there was never that one that made her eyes water. She thought that maybe the Lord had forgotten about her, but that was not the case. The Lord remembered her and He also knew that she had to be patience and let Him work.
Every now and then, someone will come into your life for just a moment and then they are gone. That is the way it was for George Kelley. Peggy Sue and George met just briefly at a Bible Study one night. They were introduced and made small talk and then that was it. Peggy Sue never gave it another thought, nor did George. George considered Peggy Sue very nice looking and he even had a small thought about what it would be like to have her as a wife. But then, he knew she would not go for a guy like him. He knew what his call from the Lord was, and he knew that someone like Peggy Sue would never consider marrying a man that wanted to be an evangelist.
George thought that Peggy Sue would want to be a teacher in a Christian School or maybe she would like to be a house wife. Both would be great jobs, if that is what a person wanted to do. For Peggy Sue, those were not the things that she was looking for. She wanted to reach people with the Gospel.
That one meeting between George and Peggy Sue was only the first meeting that they would have. Within one year, they would meet and fall madly in love, and during their last year at Bible School, they would become man and wife.
Peggy Sue met her future husband for the second time at Mr. Bishop’s funeral. I will tell you more about the funeral a little later. When their eyes met, there was no bomb going off or loud horns blowing or anything like that. It was just direct eye contact.
At the grave site, the Lord was about to start His plan for George’s life. Standing with Gene and the rest of her family was Peggy Sue. As she was standing there, she was looking at all the people that had gathered to place Mr. Bishop in the ground. Thoughts of death and eternal life kept Peggy Sue thinking about all of the lost souls that would be placed in the ground this next year. She thought about the punishment of Hell and the idea of eternity. The thought lingered when she wondered what Mr. Bishop was doing in heaven. Was he eating the fruit of the Tree of Life or was he taking his grand tour of Heaven?
George was wondering, also, what Mr. Bishop was doing in Heaven when they began to lower the casket into the ground. Another thought, and then it happen. George looked across at Mike and Gene, and then he saw Peggy Sue. He thought that he had met her before, but he could not remember if that was true or not. Then it hit him. She was at Bible College with him.
He knew he had seen her before and now he was wondering more about her than he had ever thought about a girl before. He was straining his memory to try and remember just exactly where he met her at school. He then remembered it was at a Bible Study. He also remembered about his thinking of her as a wife. As he stood there looking (I mean he was not just looking, he almost stared a hole through her), Peggy Sue glanced at him and smiled. George thought for sure there was someone beside him or behind him who she was smiling at. But, that was not the case. Peggy Sue recognized George from the Bible Study. The smile was just a casual smile that she gives people that she knows, but nothing serious. Well, the serious was about to start.
The Lord put both George and Peggy Sue at the funeral so they would see each other and that little thing called attraction would begin. The attraction would end up in marriage. The Lord had planned all things out. George would become the greatest tent evangelists the world would ever see.
Peggy Sue would fulfill her calling, also. She wanted to reach the unsaved with the Gospel and reach them she did. During the tent meetings, she would lead many a woman to Christ with the simple message that Christ died just for them. She made the plan so simple, some people said that she led more people to Christ than her husband. To Peggy Sue, it did not make any difference if she led more people to the Lord or if George did. The only thing that counted was that they were on the road to glory and they knew it.
If you remember the life of Peggy Sue without Christ, now you can see what type of a life she would have had if she would have accepted. Peggy Sue would have seen the rapture of the Church and would have taken that special trip that all Christians took when the trumpet sounded. She would have stood at the Bema Seat or The Judgment Seat of Christ. She would have been given crowns for the things she had done for the Body of Christ (The Church) and she would have heard Christ say, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.”
But, because of the hardness of her heart, she took that other trip that all people dread once they die without Christ. As you know, that trip is the trip to the compartment of torment, to await the Great White Throne Judgment and an eternity in Hell.
The children that Peggy Sue and George would have had, would have become great evangelists, also, and would have led thousands upon thousands in a very simple prayer of salvation. They would have tent meetings just like the old tent meetings in the past. But, not all things happen the way it could have been.
George would have read the sermons from Mr. Bishop and would have taken some of his ideas and used them in his sermons. He would have taught his children how to lead people to Christ. That is why his children would have led thousands upon thousands to the Lord.
As we looked at Peggy Sue’s life before Christ, we can see a pathetic person on the road to destruction. After she was saved, we saw a completely different person. That is what happens when a person becomes a Christian. They change. What a shame that she made a bad choice.