I am blessed to have a wife who is under-
standing and loving. Chris has walked this difficult path with me every step of the way. She has been my encourager. There were times that I wanted to die, but she was my constant reminder that God isn’t through with me yet. My son, Tevin, has been great. When I first got home, I could not sleep in the bed so I slept in a recliner. Tevin would sleep on the couch to be close to me and make sure I was all right. When I finally could sleep a few hours in the bed, he would sleep on the floor by our bed so he was close to me. I just love that child for who he is and what he has done. Pastor Donny Howell and the Pine Creek Community Church Family helped me spiritually and financially. Pastor Jefferson Martin and the Open Bible Family helped me spiritually and financially as well as having sitters to pray over me and encourage me while I was in the hospital. These individuals and churches showed me God’s touch of love. My three aunts were great, too. My Aunt Mary, Aunt Dot, Aunt Ivory, and Aunt Jean encouraged me as well as a host of cousins, especially Kevin, Ann, and Shelton. I am also want to thank my pastor, The Reverend Clarence W. Davis and the Friendship Missionary Baptist Church family, along with the church community in Colorado Springs.
—The Reverend Dr. Henry F. Johnson

The Reverend
Dr. Henry F. Johnson

went home to be with the Lord on Wednesday, July 9, 2008. A rest well-earned, a faithful servant home at last. There are simply no easy answers as to why God allows good people to suffer grievous harm. The truth is, our testimonies do not belong to us. They are not for us. They are for others to grow. To learn, to come to know Jesus Christ. Looking for the pat answers, the quick answers, the neat wrap-up to a story, is human nature. But God’s nature reigns in a realm beyond our reasoning. That’s what that song means, “We’ll understand it better by and by.” The old folks have a genius way of pairing down complex concepts to something we can readily process: when the morning comes, when all the saints of God are gathered home, we’ll tell the story of how we’ve overcome, and we’ll understand it better.