In Memory of Ron Forest

May 2005

Last week I got a call from Richard, my neighbor across the alley.

"Chuck, he said, I haven't seen any lights on at Ron's house for three days.
There's no heat coming out of his chimney."

"I'll go check on him."

I put on my shoes and cut across the alley over Ron's famous project pile that
continually evolved. As I approached Ron's back door Richard came out of his house
and joined me. I knocked on the door. There was no answer. I turned the handle and
the door opened. I immediately felt darkness and cold, eerie coldness.

"Ron, Ron?"

There was no answer. I began to fear what I was about to find. It was almost dark,
but I could make my way to the dining room. That is when I saw Ron lying on the floor
of his living room. I walked over closer. I knew instantly that he was dead.
I turned on a light and felt his forehead.
Ron had departed.

Two weeks earlier I had taken him to the hospital. He told me had never
felt so bad in his life.

Since that night I keep thinking of the wonderful change in Ron's life. Almost every
time Ron saw me he would ask if we could pray. He would bring the things that were
troubling him to me and we would bring them before the Lord together.
He also began asking me what my wife, Mary, and I needed prayer for and would
continue to pray for us until the next time we got together.

Ron was a pack rat. He would collect wood and all sorts of things that would form a
growing pile behind his garage in the alley behind our house. From time to time
his neighbor would call the city and he would be ordered to get rid of the mess.
His son would come over and haul off tons of stuff from the alley and his garage.
Soon after we would watch the pile slowly forming again.

Ron was poor, ill, hurting, tired, and lonely but he knew his need of God.
About a year ago he ordered a gospel CD. When he got it he had nothing to play it on
except his computer. Ron didn't understand computers so I helped him set it up to play
the CD. Soon I began to hear him singing gospel songs out by the evolving pile.
I helped him purchase a CD boom box. I would go out back and instead of hearing the
old offensive sounds of Ron I heard gospel music accompanied by Ron himself.

Ron told me he was sleeping like a baby now. He put on that music each night as he
went to sleep. Whatever memories tormented him would fade away as the simple
truth sang in his dreams.

Sometimes I was working on a project when Ron came by and I didn't want to stop.
But I knew that Ron was a priority and was always rewarded with the rich
friendship growing up between us. He was always sensitive and asked if
it was a good time, because he was worried that he would bother us.

But the truth is it is always a good time to be kind. God orchestrated our
relationship to change both of us. His eye is on the sparrow, and His eye was
on Ron, and his eye is on me.

The last time I spent time with Ron we were walking back from his place
to mine. He stopped me in the alley and asked to pray.
We put our arms around each other and committed our cares and thanks to Jesus.

Thank you for your kindness and mercy Lord. Thank you for Ron Forest.

By Charles

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