Ronda Rich

Columnist

In an old-fashion diner in Staunton, Virginia, the four of sat in a leather booth against a wall of windows. Over eggs and biscuits, we were having the kind of conversation that close friends enjoy between sips of coffee.

An older man approached, reaching out to shake the hand of Don Reid. It is a small town so I figured they knew each other.

“I want to congratulate you,” the man said with a smile and a strong handshake.

Don’s wife, Debbie, Tink and I thought that, surely, it had something to do with many of Don’s accomplishments: founding member of one of country music’s most successful groups, The Statlers; or the countless hit songs that Don had written or co-written; the fact that the Statlers are members of the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Gospel Music Hall of Fame; or the number one weekly television show they had for several years on CMT; or the bestselling books that Don has written since he retired from the road.

Don’s blue eyes twinkled and he smiled. Though he was always an entertaining emcee for the group, he is, by nature, a shy man and now slips away from attention. But he is always kind and gracious when a fan approaches.

“For what?” Don asked, laughing lightly.

The man’s reply stunned us all. It was not what we expected.

“For how faithfully you have served the Lord.” He said strongly with admiration glistening in his eyes.

Don’s eyes widened in surprise and we gasped quietly. He took a moment then answered, “Well, thank you very much. I appreciate that.”

“Thank YOU,” the man said, turning to walk back to his table.

Don Reid has served the Lord even more faithfully than he served in a back-up group to Johnny Cash or on stage to the millions of fans that he entertained as headliner. He is an honorable man who sees the good in people and who, above all, believes in the power of God Almighty.

He attends regularly the small church where he and his brother, Harold, grew up. He teaches Sunday School every Sunday, is a church elder and, during COVID19, wrote weekly Bible studies which he sent to his class and friends like us. Those epistles became a book called “Life’s Lessons.”

Interestingly, when the man approached, we had been in a scriptural discussion as well as talking of our admiration of preachers Billy Graham, Franklin Graham and Charles Stanley, who had recently slipped into the arms of Jesus.

“Billy was very charming,” Don commented. His connection to the well-known preacher had gone back to the days when Cash and his entourage had appeared at his crusades. “He always stood for the Bible and what it said. He couldn’t be backed down one bit.”

After the man left, we looked at each other for a couple of seconds. “Now, that was a compliment,” Tink said.

“I wasn’t expecting that,” I added. “I thought he was going to say for being a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame.”

“Me, too,” Debbie said. Later, our coffee cups emptied and some errands to do, we slid out of the booth and headed to the door. As I walked by the man, I stopped and said, “That was such a nice compliment.”

He smiled while his wife exclaimed, “We’re BIG fans. We love the Statlers!” A couple with them commented on their enjoyment of the group.

They were just passing through town, visitors from elsewhere, when, by chance, they stopped at a little diner where one of their lifelong heroes was flipping through his phone to find a Bible verse we were discussing.

“I’ve always loved his music,” he responded. “But even more than that, I love how he loves the Lord.”

A coincidence? I think not. By divine intervention, the Lord had encouraged one of his servants and delighted another.

Ronda Rich is the best-selling author of the forthcoming novel “ST. SIMONS ISLAND: A Stella Bankwell Mystery.”