Photo courtesy of Kitty EllisBill Ellis is pictured in his home, standing behind the pulpit from which he preached his first sermon. He is holding the Bible he used that Sunday night, which his parents had given to him his 15th birthday, Jan. 25, 1945. |
November 13, 2009
For the last 80 years, I have formed the good habit of having another birthday exactly one month after Christmas.
On May 3, I celebrate the 60th Anniversary of my ordination. It is no secret that I enjoy preaching as much as I did when I started, shortly before I turned 17.
June 4, Kitty and I celebrate our 55th wedding anniversary and set our sights on number 60. In 20 more years, we could celebrate a 75th anniversary.
How do I feel at 80? My good friend and well-known publisher, Jack Countryman, says: "It is just a number." I do all I ever did, with some degree of moderation.
I mow about two acres of grass and rake at least a million leaves yearly. Daily, I exercise, ride the stationary bike, lift weights and shoot basketball. I do not maintain the blinding speed I once had on the court or snatch the ball out of the hands of the offense since that is me also and I would never allow my defensive skills to rob me of my superb shooting ability. The team that scores the most points wins.
Had I known life was going to be so good at this age, I might have reached it sooner. Mark Twain suggested it would be nice to be born 80 and get younger every year.
I became a Christian at the age of 14 at the Methodist Church and was baptized in the ole swimming hole up Sugar Camp Hollow at Decota, at the head of Cabin Creek. By the time I was 15, I served as the Sunday School Superintendent and taught the Adult Bible Class in our 120-member Sunday School.
At the close of a 10-week revival meeting at Wevaco, it was announced by Nazarene evangelists, John Lovell Shinn and O. F. Haynes that, "Brother Bill will preach on Sunday night." Since they made that announcement at prayer meeting on Wednesday, my preparation time was limited. I have been preaching ever since.
My first year in Putnam County, after we moved here on June 2, 1947, I was preaching at the Scott Depot Church of God, Providence Baptist Church and in such Hurricane churches as First Nazarene, First Baptist and the Hurricane Methodist Church.
Eight years after my first visit to the Church of God on June 4, 1947, in a small one-room church, I was married to Kitty in a church seating 1,000. Hundreds attended our wedding. There were five big black Cadillacs transporting the Wedding Party to the Maiden Lane Church of God, Springfield, Ohio. Kitty's Dad, a successful businessman, was a Cadillac/Oldsmobile General Manager for Trenor Motor Company.
When I met Kitty, preaching in a revival meeting in her home church in the summer of 1953, I was convinced I had met the most beautiful, most exciting and most talented woman and young model I had ever seen. After 55 years of marriage, I am more convinced of the accuracy of that initial assessment than ever.
Bill Ellis is a syndicated columnist who can be reached at P.O. Box 345, Scott Depot, WV 25560; phone 304-757-6089.
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