Bobby, Come Home!

This is a story that is told by gospel singer, Candy Hemphill Christmas. It is about a childhood friend of hers named Bobby:

Over the years Bobby had become rebellious and angry at God and his parents and his church. His life became consumed with drug abuse as he grew into a greater and greater prisoner of his addictions.

One day Bobby just disappeared. His broken hearted parents did not know if he had been murdered over a drug deal or if he killed himself, or just ran away. For two years they did not hear from him at all, not even one phone call or letter. He had just vanished.

Bobby's dad felt the crushing grip of months of pent-up frustration and pain while driving on the outskirts of the Arkansas city where he lived. He pulled his car off to the side of the road, got out and walked off some distance from the highway. He pointed his finger towards the north and yelled with all his might, "BOBBY, COME HOME!" Turning towards the south, he shouted in the wind, "BOBBY, COME HOME!" To the East and West, he did the same.

Two days later, this dad heard a knock at the door. There stood Bobby. BOBBY WAS HOME!

As his dad hugged him he asked, "Son, what brought you home?"

"Dad," Bobby said, "I was sitting on the front porch of an old shack on the edge of the desert in Arizona, stoned out of my mind. A wind started blowing and suddenly grew stronger. Dad I could have sworn that I heard your voice in the wind, 'BOBBY, COME HOME!' and so, I got here just as fast as I could."

Proverbs 18:21 Life and death are in the power of the tongue.

Story featured in The 2 Minute Miracle (Portal, GA: Portal Publishing Company) by Lynn Reddick