Franklin Graham - Through My Fathers Eyes

Contents

Karl Rove, who served as deputy chief of staff for President George W. Bush, called my cell phone one evening and said, Franklin, the president asked me to phone you. He wants to honor your father in some way. Doesnt he have a birthday soon?

I had talked with Karl on occasion, but this call took me aback. Four weeks had passed since the terrorist attack and fatal collapse of the twin towers on 9/11. With all the president had on his mind, he was thinking of my father.

Arrangements were made, and on the eve of my fathers eighty-third birthday, November 6, 2001, President and Mrs. Bush welcomed the Graham family to the White House for a small, private dinner. When the president clasped my fathers hand and looked into his eyes, there was a connection between the two that spoke of the milestones shared between them.

President Bush welcomed us and encouraged us to enjoy the Peoples House. He took us through adjoining rooms, graciously sharing historical anecdotes. As a prelude to dinner, the First Couple served punch and extended hospitality beyond description, making sure we were all comfortable and cared for.

I was particularly concerned for my mother because she had been in poor health. I had doubted whether she could even make the trip to Washington, DC. As I looked around the room to see where my parents were, I saw President Bush walking through the room holding my mothers hand, his other hand on my fathers shoulder. He led them to wingback chairs and hovered over them, seeing to their comfort. When I observed the loving attention my parents received from President Bush, I decided their eldest son should remain in the shadows. My mind snapped a picture of this very tender moment. The leader of the free world had taken on the role of a son. Perhaps the president in some way felt as though he was a spiritual son, since he and my father had shared a very special moment years before, when they took a walk together along the Maine shore in 1985. According to President Bush, my fathers words that day planted a mustard seed of faith in his soul.

There was no White House staff in view. The president had taken charge of the evening and gathered us into the dining room, where tables were beautifully set. The president hosted my mother at one table, and Laura Bush hosted my father at another.

Franklin, please sit down, President Bush said with a grin. He had asked my fathers secretary, Stephanie Wills, who might pray before the meal, and he liked her suggestion. Im looking around at all the preachers, wondering who might say grace, but Ive decided to do it myself.

He asked us to bow our heads. He began to pray, not from a written prayer but from the heart. To recount the prayer word for word would be impossible, but it was memorable. With humility that was felt around the room, President Bush prayed for the citizens of our great country and thanked the Lord for seeing our nation through a critical time. Then he asked God to bless the evening and thanked the Almighty for the impact the heavenly Father had made in his own life through Billy Graham.

Following the meal, the first lady gave a signal and the White House chef entered the dining room with a beautifully decorated birthday cake. The president asked Cliff Barrows to lead everyone in singing Happy Birthday to You.

After pictures were taken, President Bush reminded us that all good people should be in bed soon. With handshakes and hugs, we departed 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. A White House staffer told us as we left that the evening was a welcomed reprieve for the president, who had been carrying the heavy burden of that unforgettable September morning.

One month later, our family was invited once again to the nations capital. Queen Elizabeth had written my father months before, wanting to bestow on him the title of Knight Commander in the Order of the British Empire. Because of my fathers unstable health, he was not able to travel to England to receive the award at Buckingham Palace. Her Majesty the Queen requested that the ceremony be conducted by British ambassador Sir Christopher Meyer, at the British Embassy.

Upon receiving this high honor, my father said,

With humility and unworthiness, I take [this high honor] as a symbol of the common historical ties that have bound our two nations together in war and in peace. I read a quote that appeared in The Daily News in 1903 about Queen Victoria. After hearing a sermon about Christs return to earth, Queen Victoria said, Oh how I wish that the Lord might come during my lifetime. When asked why, she replied, I should like to lay my crown at His feet. And thats the way I feel tonight about any honor that may come to me. Id like to lay it at His feet... and at my age, it wont be too long. Tonight I would like to say, God bless the United Kingdom, and may God bless Her Majesty the Queen.

My father would be the first to say that his life should not be defined by honors, awards, and achievements. In his last years of life he told me many times, An evangelist is called to do one thing: proclaim the Gospel. Anything else dilutes the evangelists impact and compromises his message. It is one of the great lessons he taught me by example. I have learned a great deal from a man who has been many things to many people.

As I shared some of my reections over lunch several years ago with my friend and publishing giant Sam Moore, he shoved back from the table and said, Franklin, I encourage you to begin now writing down these lessons because others can benefit from what you have learned from your father. Sams words seemed to take root in my thoughts, just as lessons learned from my father had taken root in my life.

This book reects lessons not only from my earthly father; but as work progressed over the past several years, it became clear that the lessons were proven worthy because they were grounded in the truth of Scripture.

My father has left behind a trail of victories and, yes, some regrets. I suspect that I will continue to learn from my father even in his death and pray that the Lord will grant me the grace to finish as he did: strong in Gods power and truth. In his autobiography he wrote, More than anything else, I yearn for people to understand the message of Christ and accept it as their own.

That very message is the theme of this book, written the way I have seen itthrough my fathers eyes.

FRANKLIN GRAHAM

Boone, North Carolina

Keep your soul diligently, so that you do not forget the things which your eyes have seen and... make them known to your sons.

DEUTERONOMY 4:9 NASB

Someday I hope to write a book on the subject of The End.

The word departure literally means to pull up anchor and set sail. Everything that happens prior to death is a preparation for the final voyage. Death marks the beginning, not the end. It is our journey to God.

For centuries mankind has been on an incredible journey taking him across every generation and through every conceivable experience in his search for God.

Like every other journey, it has a starting point... and it has an end.... God meant for life to be filled with joy and purpose. He invites us to take the rest of our journey with Him.

The entire world is in turmoil. We are living in a time of enormous conict and cultural transformation. We have been stunned by shockwaves of change in nation after nation, all around the globe.

We have seen the results of unrestrained greed, corruption, and manipulation on Wall Street, financial mismanagement in the halls of government, fraud and perversion at the highest levels of both church and state. Many people sense the possibility of an even greater unraveling in the world. We are constantly confronted by the realities of new problems in this age of crisis.