Daily Devotions Monday January 10

I am going to start a new series of devotions this year.  I have had in my heart a desire to share people’s stories of faith and perseverance for a long time and I have gone back and forth on who to start with. I have prayerfully come to a decision and will share his story, but have a favor to ask you: would you consider sharing your story with us?  It can be as in depth as you’d like, or just a snippet of what God is doing or has done in your life. I’ll be approaching some folks, but would genuinely encourage you to consider this and let me know if you have something you’d like me to share.  

​Meet My Friend….Scott
I always referred to Scott as my older cousin who was my brother too.  He was raised by his mom, but spent large quantities of time with our family, especially in our very early years.  He was so very special to me.  We did everything together as kids! I never felt he was disabled because in so many ways, he was more able than most people I’ve ever met.  

Scott was born with a condition called Rickets which is a deficiency of Vitamin D. He inherited this condition from his mother who also suffered from this debilitating disease.  It can be hereditary and often is passed from father to daughter and mother to son.   In later years, he told me he also had Rheumatoid Arthritis which seemed to fit his condition as well.  Every day for Scott was painful. He had several surgeries before he was 10 years old and many more to come as his years progressed. 

Scott was born with pain and often told me that he tried to make sense of it.  One of the things he shared always resonated with me.....he believed that maybe God allowed him to go through this to show others that  he was able to handle all this pain and suffering-his role was to teach them that it can be done.   He truly believed  he had a mission on Earth and I was grateful that I was one of the select few he could be real with.  

We would sometimes joke because Scott was one who would call you and ask if your refrigerator was running and when you’d roll your eyes and say “yes, he’d giddily laugh and say “you’d better go catch it”.  He never tired of this and I don’t think people gave him the credit he deserved or took him seriously.  However, he would often call me to talk about spiritual things and though I think he thought of me as a spiritual mentor, he was one of mine.  Always a giver...to a fault sometimes.  He would never hold things against others if they were unkind or took advantage of him.  

When Scott was 12 or 13, he was hit by a car and spent the SUMMER in the hospital.  
This injury further added to his pain and he became reliant on crutches, but never let that stop him.  He really was unstoppable! 

Starting in 2014 or so, he began telling me how he wanted his funeral to be. He knew he would not be here forever, but we did not expect him to be gone so soon.  Scott would quiz me periodically on what he wanted to be sure that I never forgot (I never did) and he made me promise to follow the requests he’d made.  You see, Scott was a Christian, but he also had an edge, so when he passed in 2020, we all sat at his funeral in tears as we listened to Metallica’s Nothing Else Matters and Elvis’ version of My Way. 

Later during the service, Pastor Vicky, who had the opportunity to meet Scott several months before read his favorite verse:

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish, but shall have everlasting life.  John 3:16.  

The gospel was given at his funeral and people who saw Jesus in him all those years heard about Him and I believe put a few things together that day. I believe they saw all the strength that Scott had wasn’t his, but was God’s.  Now, Scott had to allow himself to be that vessel, but when he did, God took over and changed lives with his testimony. 

​Still waters run deep.  He knew more than he let on about his lot in life and instead chose to  smile and make people laugh.  

God is blessing him right now with a new, glorious body.  He is able to dance and run and do superfly wrestling like he always wanted to.  For that I will try not to be selfish and wish him back here, but I will never forget him and am so grateful that he was my cousin, brother and friend.  
Meghan DeGregory 

For what is a man, what has he got?
If not himself, then he has naught
To say the things he truly feels
And not the words of one who kneels
The record shows
I took the blows
And did it my way (My Way, Paul Anka)