Just Along for the Ride: The Amazing Journey of William Baine Roddy
By Martha Roddy
()
About this ebook
At the age of forty-six, Bill Roddy, a vibrant and magnetic man, was diagnosed with colon cancer. His diagnosis pierced the heart of his mother - twice diagnosed with possible colon cancer.
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Just Along for the Ride is a beautiful story of a mother and sons love for each other and the love of both for Christ. The sufficiency of Gods grace in the most difficult time of life is an eternal truth experienced in a fresh and new way in the lives of these two beautiful people. You will be overwhelmingly blessed as you make the journey with them.
- Dr. John Bisagno, Pastor Emeritus Houstons First Baptist Church, Speaker and Author
Anyone can benefit from reading about the all-too-brief life of Bill Roddy. It is at once inspiring, heartwarming, and humorous. Bills story is a road map for anyone who desires to both give and receive the utmost from this life and, more importantly, throughout eternity. It would be a meaningful addition to any library.
- Robert E. Driver, PhD Professor of Finance and Ethics LeTourneau University
NASCAR is a sport that rises and grows stronger in the face of adversity. This is the character of the sport, and it is merely a reflection of the character of its fansand Bill is a perfect example. Faced with adversity, he chooses to move forward in life with faith, hope, and love. His story as told by his mother will awaken within us all a desire to face challenges as Bill did determined, focused and confident that God is in control. Those of us who are involved in NASCAR know the fans of this sport are what make it great and Bill is one of the greatest!
- Billy E. Mauldin, Jr., President and CEO Motor Racing Outreach (MRO)
Martha Roddy
Martha Roddy blends her enthusiasm and passion for joyful living into thought-provoking poetry, fiction, and non-fiction writing. Martha’s experience includes teaching and research for medical writing. Professional memberships include NW Houston Inspirational Writers Alive!; Central Houston IWA!; Society of Children’s Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI); and American Christian Fiction Writers. Martha enjoys her three children, eight grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren’s visits at her home in Houston, Texas.
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Just Along for the Ride - Martha Roddy
Copyright © 2012 by Martha Roddy.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
This book contains medical discussion and information relating to the author’s health experiences. It is not intended to replace medical advice. Readers are encouraged to consult their physicians with specific questions and concerns.
Scripture references from Authorized King James Version of the Holy Bible.
WestBow Press books may be ordered through booksellers or by contacting:
WestBow Press
A Division of Thomas Nelson
1663 Liberty Drive
Bloomington, IN 47403
www.westbowpress.com
1-(866) 928-1240
Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.
ISBN: 978-1-4497-3847-1 (hc)
ISBN: 978-1-4497-3848-8 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-4497-3849-5 (e)
Library of Congress Control Number: 2012901467
Printed in the United States of America
WestBow Press rev. date: 03/09/2012
CONTENTS
Foreword
Preface
Acknowledgments
Bill’s Favorite Bible Verses
PRAYER
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Epilogue
References
Resources
Just Along For The Ride is a beautiful story of a mother and son’s love for each other and the love of both for Christ. The sufficiency of God’s grace in the most difficult time of life is an eternal truth experienced in a fresh and new way in the lives of these two beautiful people. You will be overwhelmingly blessed as you make the journey with them."
Dr. John Bisagno, Pastor Emeritus
Houston’s First Baptist Church,
Speaker and Author
* * *
Anyone can benefit from reading about the all-too-brief life of Bill Roddy. It is at once inspiring, heartwarming, and humorous. Bill’s story is a road map for anyone who desires to both give and receive the utmost from this life and, more importantly, throughout eternity. It would be a meaningful addition to any library.
Robert E. Driver, PhD
Professor of Finance and Ethics
LeTourneau University
April 21, 2011
* * *
NASCAR is a sport that rises and grows stronger in the face of adversity. This is the character of the sport and it is merely a reflection of the character of its fans… and Bill is a perfect example. Faced with adversity he chooses to move forward in life with faith, hope and love. His story as told by his mother will awaken within us all a desire to face challenges as Bill did… determined, focused and confident that God is in control. Those of us who are involved in NASCAR know the fans of this sport are what make it great… and Bill is one of the greatest!
Billy E. Mauldin, Jr., President and CEO
Motor Racing Outreach (MRO)
In memory of
my beloved husband,
Stephen Robert Roddy, MD, FACS;
our dearly loved son,
William Baine Roddy;
and our darling little angel,
Stephanie Renee Howard
Our loving
daughter-in-law and daughters,
Carrie,
Libby and Mary;
sons-in-law,
Jeff Rook and David Howard;
and our grandchildren,
Kyle, Josh, and Mason Rook,
Christopher and Amanda Roddy,
and Samantha and Andrea Howard,
and great-granddaughter,
Jayden Leslie Roddy
Tell your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation… Rejoice in the Lord their God
(Joel 1:3; 2:23).
Before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations
(Jeremiah 1:5).
Foreword
I became pastor of First Baptist Church, Port Charlotte, Florida, in 1965, and was impressed with the vitality and enthusiasm of a three-year-old church made up of mostly senior citizens. I was only thirty-one at the time, and those wonderful people took me, my wife, Gale, and our two small sons under their wings. Among the members, a young doctor and his wife made a huge impression on us. Dr. Stephen Roddy and his wife, Martha, were among those who welcomed us to Port Charlotte. They were very active in our church. Dr. Roddy became a deacon, and Martha served in numerous roles in the church.
It was amazing to watch the little Roddys, Libby, Bill, and Mary Seale, as they grew up.
Martha had them in church from the time they were born, and our nursery workers were happy to have them. Remember, we were living in a retirement community, so babies were a special blessing.
As the children grew, my middle son and Bill became close friends. Perhaps it was because they liked to have a good time and play tricks on others or just cause confusion for the pastor on occasions during the worship services. As they grew older, Bill and Steve would sit in the back row, and I wondered what they were getting out of the service. God works in mysterious ways, for Bill indicated early that he wanted to be a Christian. Much of his early learning about Jesus came from his home, which was as it should have been.
The Roddy family was a blessing to our church, and we experienced a profound loss when they chose to move to Texas. One would think that the distance between Florida and Texas would cause relationships to diminish to the point of forgetting, but not so with the Parkers and the Roddys, particularly, between Steve and Bill. Over the years, they remained best of friends and visited each other as often as possible. The bond of love between the two could only be broken by death. The reunion in heaven will be sweet for brothers and sisters in the Lord, and we all can look forward to seeing our Lord and Savior, Jesus, and our loved ones in God’s beautiful heaven.
—Reverend John Parker, retired Director of Missions
Santa Fe River Baptist Association, Gainesville, Florida
Preface
On June 10, 2010, I began writing Just Along for the Ride for family and friends. In July, I presented the work-in-progress at a meeting of the Houston Inspirational Writers Alive! Several writer friends considered the spiritual message worthy of publication. Some suggested that in the wake of grief, the writing was therapeutic and healing for me. That may be true.
In my heart, I wrote to share Bill’s faith and God’s grace when cancer struck and to herald the vital need for early screening of cancer. My hypothesis is that the course of cancer parallels sin. Some sins are evident; other sins are unseen, silent predators that shatter human souls. Some cancers are visible; other cancers are hidden, mute pirates that wreck human bodies.
We all have the potential for sin. The good news is, know and apply God’s Word to your life for He restoreth your soul. The same is true with colon cancer. We all have the potential for cancer. The good news, information, and technology are available to help prevent and cure some cancers, especially colon cancer. Early recognition of sin helps renew our spirit and hope; early detection of cancer helps to repair our bodies. God offers new hope each day for victims of sin; medical science tenders new hope each day for sufferers of cancer. Sin and cancer are universal. People face sin and disease each day. I do not believe that God causes sin or disease. I do believe that early detection of sin or cancer may prevent growth.
The courage to face cancer merits an award to every cancer patient. Most cancer victims are part of a medical team who contribute to medical science. Courageous cancer patients who endure pave the road for better health for all of us. Their bravery warrants gratitude and is an inspiration to fight for the prevention and cure of cancer.
Just Along for the Ride introduces my son Bill, who recognized that life holds multiple issues and he believed that cancer was only one of them. He knew he was in God’s care and trusted God’s will. He believed prevention, early screening, and a cure for cancer were within reach, but needed research money to achieve these goals.
Early detection serves both health and soul. Vigilance wins in life, whether it is a spiritual or physical