Ears To Hear # 21
My Friend…Pops
Ulmont
Blalock…”Pops”
(Article
first written in 1992)
(Extended
message 2005)
Knock…knock…knock. “It’s
me.” I call at the front door of Pop’s mobile home.
“Come
on in.” I hear him say.
Pops
recognizes my voice and as I enter there’s always laughter, a hug, and a ready joke.
Although
Pops is blind, he sees right to the heart of people. His special gift is building you up when
you feel down. When you’re hurting or confused and think no one in the world could love
you, especially yourself, he has a way with words to make you believe you’re the grandest person
on earth. He calls it “self-esteem”. He says he has plenty so he likes to share.
Often
I tell him how he reminds me of my Heavenly Father. For one thing, he’s always home. Next,
he consistently believes the best about me.
Jesus
is my Best Friend and the Holy Spirit walks with me daily, but God understands our need for earthly
friends. Our longing for fellowship with God finds completion when God expresses His Love for
us through the heart, eyes, or words of one of His children.
Since
I couldn’t visit Pops as often as I would like, and since he couldn’t read my letters,
I decided to make cassette tapes for him. They always began with a rapping on wood…”knock…knock…knock. Hi
Pops. It’s me.”
Sometimes
the tapes were scripture and sometimes just simple thoughts one shares with a friend.
Pops
was introduced to me by another dear friend, his daughter-in-law, Jan. She’s really special.
Pop’s
real name is Ulmont Blalock. You may know him. He was born in 1911 and grew up around Barksdale. He
has lived in Uvalde, DelRio, California, and Utopia.
There
are many wonderful stories I could share about Pop’s life. Many of his jokes I could repeat
if only I had the ability to tell them like he does.
Truth
is, I’m not here to tell you all the things Pops has done: I’m here to tell you who
he is to me. He’s a faithful, loyal, friend whom I can trust. And I know he was sent
by God to fill a special void in my life.
Thanks
Pops for being my friend.
The
verse that best describes Pops for me is found in I Corinthians 13:7 (The Living Bible).
“If
you love someone you will be loyal to him/her no matter what the cost. You will always believe
in him/her, always expect the best of him/her and always stand your ground in defending him/her.”
POPS
GOES TO HEAVEN
Tuesday,
January 11, 2005, I received word that my dear friend had taken his final trip to Heaven. We had
talked about it so many times, picturing what it would be like and promised where we would meet each
other there under a big tree by the River of Life. Pops was 93 years young when he left this earth.
We
teased so much and made light of aches and pains and all that negative stuff. So when I heard
that he had “flown the coop”, I somehow knew that as he stepped into that glorious kingdom,
looking around with new eyes at all the beauty, I almost sensed that he could hear me shouting
and laughing with him, “I told you so, Pops. I told you, you would be there.”
Your
Friend,
Gwen
[Recently
printed in the Uvalde Leader News. Thought you would be blessed.
