Some twenty years ago I was being interviewed for a management position with a start-up company and as it went well, one of the interviewers was to become my future boss and friend. This was how I met Russell Burdette in the spring of 1994; I was just a whisper away from high school and Russ became like an older brother to me. I learned a lot about running a business and managing employees from Russ yet like all friendships as they develop you learn more about the person and their families and personal lives. Russ was a hard worker, systematic and straight to the point, which I liked about him. One side of him I didn’t realize back then was that Russ was a non-believer. You could call it what you want, but he just didn’t believe that a God could have or would have been responsible for our world and the life we see every day – at least in some fashion this is where Russ lived. I was a very young man and I thought I believed in God but of course I was not sharing with others or living as one who truly believes, so I wasn’t that much different than Russ I suppose. As life often happens to a young man I thought the grass was greener on the other side and it was just a few months down the road and one quick marriage latter that I found myself and my new wife living in another state, and shortly loosing contact with Russ.
Flash forward some twenty years and of course you know add in the internet, cell phones, Facebook and you have a recipe for one day having a flashback, a little extra time and wondering what ever happed to Russell Burdette. I was shocked, pleasantly surprised, excited and in wonder about what I discovered about and old friend named Russ. However, the real amazement came later when I found out how God turned his life around in his story. Well, you know God turned my life around in my own story but….His is better I think, you let me know what you think.
Are you a person who cringes at an invite from a friend to church? Are you someone who will actually argue over scripture and the true history of the Bible? Maybe you put yourself in the category of being a Christian because you use to attend a Church and in general you think you live a good life. If so, then I hope this small writing will at least get you thinking about your life and what it means to believe in Jesus Christ.
Russ was a guy that I believe cringed at an invite. He said that his fiancée would often invite him to her church but he would decline to go. This story really starts as Russell was offered a management position with another company but would be required to spend two months in training down south. He and his fiancée moved to their new southern location and quickly discovered that their home and apparently all homes were normally invaded by large black ants. They would spray for ants only to find that in a couple of days the ants would return in full force. It was a terrible problem but one that would soon leave Russ by himself with his fiancée back in Missouri; but only until he completed his training. I believe his routine involved daily squashing and removing of the black ants and for a time he was dealing with it. That is until one Faithful night.
Somewhere in this story a friend of his offered him a book to read titled, “More Than A Carpenter” by Josh D. McDowell and son Sean McDowell. It helps you examine the story of Jesus and to make a conclusion based on the evidence. I plan on reading this book myself. Anyway, Russ had read this book and in general he had come to the conclusion that Jesus is who He says He is. The only issue was that Russell only had these thoughts about Jesus in his mind but still wasn’t over the hump so to speak on devoting his life for Christ. That Faithful night came when Russ was awakened in the middle of the night by none other than the ants. They had formed a walking, marching chain across his headboard. I imagine some of them got off course and ended up on his head. This awoke the sleeping giant and with the flip of a switch he quickly discovered what he thought was the issue of ants marching; this wasn’t the Dave Matthews band either. Whether out of despair, anger, or just plain coming to the end of his ropes as we all do before we accept Jesus into our sinful lives, Russell cried out to Jesus that if He would just get rid of these ants, then he would follow Him the rest of his life. Well that being said Russ made his way back into bed, possibly after killing the marching ants.
The following morning he woke up and noticed that the ants were no longer on his head board. He looked around his room and no ants. He went into the living room and kitchen, no ants. He didn’t even see any of the ants that he had killed lying around the house. He did not look in the trash can, but thought to himself, OK….it’s getting that time of year when the ants start to go away, so he checks the front door outside. There were ants everywhere, on the outside of the door, on the sidewalk, just everywhere as they normally would be. He found not one ant crawling around inside his house. Not only were there no ants that morning, but the ants never came back into his house.
As soon as Russell completed his training and was back home, he was attending church with his fiancée asking questions and learning about his newly found Faith and thus began his Christian journey. There is more to the story. As of this writing Russell has been ministering to the people in Camden County jail for the last fourteen years. He is a founder and board member of Lighthouse Missions in Camdenton, MO, where guys that have stumbled can have a new start with spiritual support while paying rent and holding a job to support themselves. He helps run a mobile food pantry offering food for those in need. Then he works a “normal” job as the owner of a property management business located in Osage Beach, MO.
The life of an ant is a busy one indeed. How God decides to show Himself is countless and quite often God chooses a small messenger, one that will get your attention and one that can bring you from where you are now to a new creation in Christ.
I want to end this true story with another true story that I can personally share. A cementing event that happened to me just yesterday, April 1…Yes, otherwise known as April Fool’s Day. God can indeed have a sense of humor. God can use the little things in life to turn us; He can also use the little things in life to affirm our Faith, reassure us, and remind us of our love in Jesus Christ. Did I mention that God can have a sense of humor thrown in there as well?….I think He shows me that He is more than just a message and He can and often accomplishes many things all at the same time all in one moment.
I came to work yesterday, and as usual I flip on the light switch, I put my thermos down on my desk and I sit at my computer. I noticed something right away, even as I was sitting down. There was this little black ant crawling right in front of my keyboard in the middle of my desk on my white notepad. My first thought was to squish the little ant as fast as I could and discard it. No sooner than doing that I remembered Russ’s story that I just heard the Thursday before. I chuckled and laughed and praised God for His message and sense of humor.
Right after that I looked around all over my desk, under my keyboard my phone my papers and I didn’t see any other ant, not one. I took out my iphone and turned on the flashlight and I examined the carpet and all around my desk. Not one other ant to be found.
Now some may claim a coincidence, or a happenstance, or whatever. But when I can say that I haven’t seen an ant on my desk at all in as many years as I can remember, for one to show up then and in that manner is truly a message from God. You see, I spent the night before helping a younger brother with vehicle trouble and didn’t get much sleep as I pondered on how I could help him through his rough time. It is in times like that when God will remind you that He is in control and everything will be all right.
Thank God for the little things he can use in life to get our attention; even a busy ant that lives among us that we usually never give any attention to He can use for His purpose.
I hope I can leave you thinking about your life, your purpose in life. Do you know Christ? Do you have a relationship with Jesus? This means praying and yes talking to Him. God wants you to have a personal relationship with Him. Not just one that you call out to Him when you “need” something, but one that you can just share your thoughts with Him, everyday. He is listening and He wants you to lay all your thoughts, pains, troubles, issues on Him and to trust Him.
God Bless,
Brian Seibert
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