Inner Reflection

By Roger Holcomb

    Stepping into personal insights and stories with reflection of the past.
    Read the stories and come to better understanding of human condition. What it means to be a christian and of life itself.  Expressing ideas, hurts, and pain with frustrations. As a person share themselves their dreams, and ho

• Language: English
• Publisher: Stratton Press
• Release date: Sep 7, 2018
• ISBN: 9781643451855

Roger Holcomb

Often, I observe, people do not allow themselves to experience the wholeness of life. So the life experience may have started with me as a small lad, working along with my grandfather, Amos Brady Westfall. As my grandfather worked several jobs, as a school teachwer in one room school, a blacksmith, and also a farmer in Jackson County, West Virginia. Growing up I went to school finished in "1970", then moved to Ohio and worked. Then I met my wife Fraun. We got married and had our first son two years later. We attended an Assembly of God. We then moved to my hometown in West Virginia, I worked in a small church there. I was working to become a minister. We had two other children. Their names is Roger, Shawna, and Brady. They grew up and married and blessed us with nine grandchildren. We now have seven great grandchildren. In 1990-1995 I pastored a small independent church. In 1995-2002, I pastored in West Virginia, and Holstein Conference in Virgina. I'm now retired and resides in Radford, Virginia, with family and friends.

Book preview

Foreword

On various occasions popular musical artists will release special albums that

represent their best efforts. The titles are familiar to all of us:

The Best of Bobby Vinton. and Neil Diamond.

It is not uncommon for these albums or CD’s in today’s living to push

their way quickly to the top of the hit parade and oldies but goodies. As

music lovers listen to again and again to their favorite artists doing their best work.

This copy is written with permission of several of my friends that I have come

close to. I just hope that what is within this book, that it will have an impact on

compassion in your heart. May you find the Living Lord opening His arms of love to you,

as you move through each of these chapters. Please take your time, walk slowly. Feel

God’s presence as you consider the days, weeks, months, and sometimes years that He has

given to you. Ask Him to bring new strength to your soul. May God bless each person that

reads the pages of these stories.

Comforting

In the 1930’s or mid 1935 in Germany two young boys ages ten and eight were sitting at the Benhoffer Train Depot Station waiting to be picked up by their grandparents. It was late afternoon and the lads were getting restless. In a little whisper the eight year old brother said, I’m a little hungry. Fortunately, they were sent with a lunch bag. One sandwich and an apple. The oldest brother looked at his brother and noticed that he could eat a four course meal. He felt like he needed to hold him close, because he knew that his little brother had never been away from home before or even me. He looked at the lunch bag and unrolled it and gave his little brother half of the sandwich and said, you eat this one and if you are still hungry I’ll give you the other half. Knowing the other half was the oldest brothers sandwich.

I think in our lives that we should be like the older brother, wait until our fellow brother or sister is full before we act like it’s all mine. In life we are to share things in our lives. Even when we are in crises.

That’s when my life started and found out that I needed comforting, but nobody was there to comfort me. I am not ashamed of where I am spending my time, because I feel God has a place and being for everyone.

In early September of 2003 I found myself in NRVRJ. It was an experience that I never went through or even had. The experience of being chained was enough for me. Then they put me in a small cell. Holding me while the process was in place. It was about 2:00 A.M. They finally came and took me to a block cell. I was shocked. I did not know what to do. All I had was a box with a roll of toilet paper, two sheets, one blanket and an extra set of shirts and pants and a mattress. I spent the night sleeping on the floor, but that night I did not sleep much. About 5:30 A.M. they did a head count. I learned that I would be fine if I did not talk too much.

I finally called my wife and we were excited to hear from each other. Then it dawned on me, I was alone. Where could I go to find peace of mind? There were about twenty other inmates in the cell with me. I noticed that when the meals come every man to himself. I did not eat much. An inmate came up to talk to me. He had asked me to stick with him and everything would be fine. At that time I felt relieved. Then I suddenly found out why he wanted me to stick with him. He wanted my leftover food, what I did not eat on my tray.

Well, I found a friend and we talked. One day he asked me about angels. So I did my best. He looked at me and said You do not belong here, you are a man of the cloth. At that time everyone started talking to me. I started sharing the Lord Jesus with them.

On the next day they called me to get my things and go with a guard. I thought my wife had finally come to pick me up. Man, I was praising God, thanking Him at the same time. I would have jumped if my legs hadn’t had the chains on them.

Well, I found out they just took me to a medical room in a cell there. Before I left E Block, my wife told me she dropped off my Bible. I asked one of the guards if he would pick it up for me.

As I saw him walking towards me, I saw he had my Bible. Boy, I was real glad to see my Bible. Tears started flowing from my eyes. I clung to it, held it tight to my chest. For the first time I did not feel alone.

I stayed in the medical station for the next three weeks. Why? Because