Memoirs of a Friend of God

By Donald Nason

I wrote this book to show people God is not about religion He is about relationship. As I wrote, I asked Him to inspire me to remember the significance of our walk together so to help people find that relationship and encourage my fellow believers.

I do not claim to be a theologian, I am just a country boy called by God into ministry. He has carried me throughout my life providing rescue, needed help, and sustaining me through beautiful Spring days as well as the ferocious storms that came my way. God has helped me write this book for two major reasons. First to supply enough evidence for anyone seeking to know God the significance of His Spirit providing the "abundant Life". I believe that life is available to everyone in God's family. My second reason is to encourage believers by showing them how God has sustained me through every day of my life.

This is how that life works for me. It is not about "Riches, Status, or Fame". The "Abundant Life" is being available to God and seeing Him at work in our lives. When I realize God has accomplished something totally beyond my capability, knowing it has to be Him, that is the "Abundant Life." I can tell you firsthand, that gives me an anointing of joy from His Spirit that is far beyond anything the world has to offer!!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: May 9, 2024
• ISBN: 9798886855494

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Memoirs of a Friend of God

Donald Nason

ISBN 979-8-88685-548-7 (paperback)

ISBN 979-8-88685-549-4 (digital)

Copyright © 2024 by Donald Nason

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Introduction

Chapter One: A New Beginning

Chapter Two: The Wedding and Beyond

Chapter Three: The Calling and Ministry

Chapter Four: The Career and Retirement

Chapter Five: Reality Now and Blindsided

Chapter Six: Healing, Choosing, Seizures

Chapter Seven: The World of Detours

Chapter Eight: Testing, Waves, Really God

Chapter Nine: Games, Help, Mobility Crisis

Chapter Ten: Taking Stock

Chapter Eleven: A Special Vacation

Chapter Twelve: My COVID Experience

Appendix

A Tribute to My Wife

8 Signposts along the Romans Road to the Gospel

Scriptures Used

About the Author

Introduction

Reference to Friend of God and Dedications

This is my qualification for being called God's friend. A verse from the Bible in the book of John as Jesus is speaking to His disciples, He says, No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you (John 15:15 NASB).

I have asked Jesus to walk with me through this book so that it will reflect His nature and guidance in my life as I share the events that make up my story.

I would like to dedicate this book first to my immediate family because I truly love them, and I believe they should know firsthand what their dad is all about. It is my hope and prayer that they too will be friends of God and carry on a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ. I love them all very much!

Secondly, I want to dedicate this book to all of my extended family and friends who have touched my life. God has been a large part of my life from the very beginning. I want them to truly know who I am. I want to share with them my special Friend and how He has been there for me all throughout my life, encouraging each one of them to be God's friend!

Thirdly, I want to dedicate this book to those interested in learning about God and understanding how anyone can become His friend. I want you to see the importance and the significance that being a friend of God has made in my life and how He could enhance your life as well. May God bless you all with the knowledge of His truth that can change your lives.

Sincerely,

Don Nason

Chapter One: A New Beginning

A New Beginning

In this book, I will share with you why God has truly been my friend and has walked with me my whole life. He has guided and protected me with His watchful care throughout all the events I have encountered. The first thing He did was to make sure I would grow up to know Him in a special way and that our relationship would become a personal bond, drawing me further into His family. I have seemed to be exposed to the nature of the world just enough to know how desperately people needed to know God. I do not believe He picked me because I was someone special. I think He picked me because I was a simple country boy whom He believed would accept His friendship and grow to trust Him as a true friend. Therefore, I will now relate to you my life with God and as many details as I can remember with His help.

Once upon a time, many years ago in a small New England town, an older couple found each other at a social event held at the local dance hall. Both had come from previous marriages that had all but destroyed their lives. Both had come to this event running away from pain and hurtful situations to see if just, perchance, there was still a spark of joy to be found for them. After meeting one another and feeling a good sense of friendliness, they decided to give it a try. They danced as the music played, holding each other in their arms, wondering if there was an opportunity. Yet, happiness seemed to be so far away for both of them to even consider the possibility from what the past had done to their lives.

However, as the evening progressed, she began to think, Here is a man that I enjoy being around. A man that makes me feel good about myself. What is happening to me?

Also, at the same time, the man started thinking, Here is a young and pretty woman that is a joy to be with, and I fancy the way we dance together. I am thinking I should get to know this young lady a little better.

Therefore, this chance meeting led to more encounters between these two people. In fact, it became a regular event for these two lost souls to meet at the Friday night dances and spend the entire evening together many times until closing.

Because they both lived in the same small town, a few people started taking notice. The man had adult children that were around the same age as his new interest in lady friends. It was not as though he was being followed and watched. The fact was that one of his older sons was the drummer in the dance band.

As his family became aware of this new relationship, it began to cause a little friction with the man's older family members. Yet, this did not hinder their association. Love had blossomed, and they did not want to lose it for any reason. Even against the protest of his family, this couple decided to get married in a small private ceremony. Therefore, Charles E. Nason and Ruby G. Hines would become a married couple.

Now the deed was done, and the family would have to deal with it. That did take a while. However, it seems that the family loved Charles enough that they did not want to lose their relationship with their dad. Therefore, they began to slowly come around and accept the fact their dad had a new wife, and they would need to acknowledge that she was now a part of the family.

Because Charles' children were adults with children of their own, they had to figure a few things out for themselves. Even though their parents had divorced, they still loved both of them. They had to solve the problem facing their children. Were they just going to have two grandmas? Considering the fact they did not approve of this marriage in the first place, this is how they solved this dilemma. My mother was never allowed to be called Grandma. Her new family of grandkids called her Meme. I did not know why that happened until I was much older. My mother did not seem to let it affect her and loved them anyway as she felt a grandmother should.

After this couple had been married a while, the thought of children made its way into their relationship. As they talked about it, Ruby said with all sincerity, If I could have a son with the same curl in his hair that his father has, I would really enjoy being his mom.

Nine months later, interrupting a day of canning vegetables from their garden, Ruby was rushed off to the hospital to have a son, and sure enough, he had his daddy's curl in his hair. They named him Donald Charles Nason, born June 30, 1946. And so a new family had begun from the love of this couple.

At the birth of their son, Charlie was fifty-three years old, and Ruby was thirty-four. There was a daughter, Maude, eight years old, living with them from Ruby's previous marriage, and there were five adult siblings from Charlie's previous marriage, who were all married with children of their own. Therefore, Donald was already an uncle many times over at birth. Thus, they all became a blended family of seven siblings, ranging from birth to thirty-plus years of age. This made a rather interesting mix of relatives, very different from the normal family tree, but a family tree nonetheless that would continue to grow and change together.

Ruby had been working as a maid for a family in town with a very large estate. She and the lady of the house were good friends. When Ruby's pregnancy got to the point she needed to quit working, her friend suggested to her that she and her husband dedicate their baby to God in the church where she attended. This Congregational Church held special services for baby dedications and would ask God to bless the family and the new baby. That would give her baby a special contact with God and His family.

Ruby thought that was a great idea. Therefore, when she got home that evening, she shared this idea with Charlie. He was not very interested at all. However, he said if it would make her happy, she could do it. Ruby insisted, That is not how it is done. We must present our baby as a couple before the church, then the pastor blesses us and our son is dedicated to God.

It did take some convincing for Charlie to finally agree, but because he could see how much his wife really wanted to have this done, he finally agreed he would go so they could be a couple and have this service for his wife and their new baby.

On the Sunday they went to this special dedication service, everything had been set up ahead of time, becoming part of the regular worship service. There were other couples with new babies as well that were participating in this service. At the right time, the parents were asked to come to the front, and as Charlie held Donald with Ruby at his side, the pastor prayed over their son, dedicating him to God. Then he prayed for the parents asking God to give them wisdom and insight in raising their children. Then the pastor advised all the parents to raise their children in the admonition of the Lord and to teach them to live lives walking with God and living by God's Word. They all agreed and said it audibly before the congregation. In closing, the pastor asked all the church people to hold these families up to God in prayer for His guidance and blessings.

I was told when my parents got home from this dedication service the two of them sat down at the kitchen table and mutually agreed they could not fulfill the vows they had just committed to, living the kind of lives they were currently living. Therefore, they get counsel from the pastor and the Scriptures. Shortly, both asked God to come into their lives to help them fulfill those vows to their son and to Him. This changed their lives considerably.

Instead of frequenting the dance hall, they started going to church every time it was open. Charlie even gave up his drinking whiskey. He started praying to be filled with the Holy Spirit so to be the father and husband God wanted him to be. Because they had made this decision together, it drew them closer and deeper in love for one another. They truly became committed to raising their son in a Christian home. This provided Donald with the knowledge and opportunity to know God very early in life and consider Him a friend. This would start his adventure with God.

I totally believe this was the plan of God to direct my life from the very beginning so that He would be a part of my life. This was an absolute turning point for my parents. They accentually started a brand-new life together, learning as they went how to live for God and teach their son His ways. God chose me at birth to become His friend so He could walk with me my whole life. Yes, I believe I still had a fairly normal life as I will share with you, but God wanted me to start off knowing Him, which would make it easier for me to become His true friend.

At the time I was born, the family lived in a large farmhouse in the country. There were three buildings and a silo. I was told the house had once been a stagecoach stop in years past. Therefore, it was built a little different than a normal farmhouse. There was a half-circle driveway in front of the U-shaped set of buildings. In the center of this half circle was a very large oak tree. The house sat on the left side with a break between the house and the shed for an entrance into the back pasture. The rather lengthy shed stretched along the back of the U, and the barn sat on the right side facing the house.

There was about twelve to fourteen inches between the right front corner of the shed and the back left corner of the barn. Then there was a silo at the front right corner of the barn. There were no indoor bathroom facilities for the house. Therefore, there was a two-seat outhouse on the backside of the shed.

On the inside of the house, all the rooms were quite large. The kitchen had an entrance door on the side of the house to enter from the driveway. Inside the kitchen was a large counter on the right with a cast-iron sink that had a hand pump for water, which had to be primed to pump the water from the well. That well was just outside and left of the kitchen door entrance. There was a large cast-iron woodburning cookstove with a large oven on the bottom and two warmer ovens built in at the top.

There was a pantry full of shelves and a small room with a large separator. It had been bolted to the center of the floor, standing about four feet tall. This hand-operated machine was for separating the milk and cream, making cottage cheese, regular cheese, and butter for the family. In one corner of the kitchen, there was a small dining table and chairs, which were used only when the immediate family was eating a meal.

In the left corner of the kitchen was an opening into the living room on the right. Just inside the living room on the left was a door into a large dining room. The dining room was furnished with a six-by-twelve-foot dining table with matching chairs and a matching hutch for all the dishes that were needed when the whole family would gather to eat. From this doorway to the right was a large living room with a door on the front of the house that opened up into a porch that ran halfway across the front of the house.

In the back right corner of the living room was a hallway which connected through to a parlor room on the other side of the house. The parlor room during my time there was only used for entertaining special guests and was furnished with many cushioned chairs and small tables. Also in this hallway, there was a door to the side yard where a large vegetable garden was planted. This hallway also contained a staircase to the upstairs.

One of the special features of this house was the fact it had a large chimney built into the middle of the house with four fireplaces. Two of the fireplaces opened into the first floor: one in the living room and the second one into the parlor. The other two fireplaces were in two of the bedrooms upstairs, right above the two downstairs fireplaces. This provided four fireplaces to warm the house, all built on one large chimney. However, at that point in time, the two upstairs fireplaces had been sealed off, which meant that only the heat coming up from the downstairs could provide any warmth for the upstairs bedrooms.

The upstairs included five bedrooms, each with a clothes closet and a commode cabinet for usage in the night instead of having to go outside to the outhouse. This provided a very good thing, especially in the winter months that were cold with snow covering the ground. Each commode cabinet had a large bowl and a pitcher of water that sat on top. This was for washing after using this cabinet. Inside each cabinet was a large ceramic bowl, big enough to sit on when the need went that way.

Water Pitcher & Washing Bowl

This set sat on top of all the commode cabinets in the bedrooms throughout the house. These were about eighteen inch diameter bowls. The pitcher held a little less than a half-gallon of water.

They were for washing after using the commode.

Electricity had been added to the house, but there were still quite a few oil lamps around just in case the electricity was lost in a storm. Many of these oil lamps had an iron swiveling bracket and were mounted beside the doorways throughout the house. The first large bedroom, to the right of the stairs, was where Charlie and Ruby slept. Off this bedroom were two smaller bedrooms; the daughter, Maude, slept in one bedroom, and I would sleep in the other one when I got a little older.

During the day, Dad worked for the state highway system, maintaining the roads year round in whatever the weather would throw at him. In the summer, most of the work was repairing the potholes, trimming the trees that hung in the roadway, and making sure all the bridges were safe. In the winter, the major portion of work was plowing snow off the roadways so people could get to work and do all the things that had to be done away from their homes.

The crew Charlie worked with drove a dump truck full of sand and rock salt in the winter for spreading on the ice they found on the roads. The sand also provided the weight needed to allow the truck to push a twelve-foot tall snowplow that covered half the roadway at a time, clearing the snow off to the side as they drove along. The snowplow blade was curved enough to throw the snow about ten feet off to the side as they traveled along. This allowed the snow to drop clear off the road and stack up along the side.

Living in a forest area, there was always a chance a thunder and lightning storm would strike the trees which sometimes caused forest fires. Therefore, once in a while, Dad and his crew would be called to those fires to help get them under control and put out. This was very helpful for the fire department to have an extra crew to help when they were needed. Plus the fact both of these departments were employed by the state making their cooperation easier.

Maude enjoyed helping her mom take care of the new baby. This seemed to create a bond for these two siblings fairly soon that would last a lifetime. As I grew a little older, there were times Sis and I would read books or magazines together in Maude's bedroom. She would lie on her bed with her arm dangling over the side, and I would lie on the floor under her bed and right under her arm. Then as Sis read, she would run her fingers in my hair, twisting curls and softly massage my head.

This became somewhat of a ritual and might go on for a few minutes or sometimes quite a little while. Both of us seemed to enjoy the process, which conveyed a special love that would only grow through the years, siblings that would always try to be there for one another, no matter what life threw at them. This provided someone for each of them to count on for help and comfort.

By the time I became a toddler, I was curious about everything. One of those topics was babies. I was the youngest in my immediate family, but many of my older siblings had babies of their own that I saw when we all got together on Sunday's for lunch. I became very curious about babies and seemed to have many questions.

One morning, as Mom, Dad, and I were eating breakfast, I began asking those questions about babies—what did they eat? How did they eat? I am not sure if Dad really thought I needed to know or if it was out of desperation at my curiosity. He just decided to show me the facts. He very gently opened Mom's nightgown and showed me one of the most beautiful breasts I have ever seen. Then he proceeded to tell me breasts provided Mother's milk, and that was how babies received their nutrition to grow.

I felt more assured of my mother's love for me, knowing she had been intimately involved with my care. At the same time, this was almost a sacred experience for me because this was my mom. This surely could not have anything to do with sex because I felt that would be totally inappropriate. Yet, by learning these facts in the privacy of my home and family, they became a personal treasure to keep safe and protected. Looking back now, that event probably saved me from a whole lot of problems growing up. Probably the biggest lesson I learned was that personal intimacy was a private thing.

Ruby decided to go back to work when I was still a preschooler, and a special plan was worked out to take care of me during the day while everyone went their separate ways. Special arrangements were made for me to ride the school bus with my sister. I would then be dropped off along the way at a farmhouse where lived two old maid sibling sisters. They agreed to look after me while my sister was in school and my parents both worked. Then, when Maude was on her way back home from school, the bus would stop and pick me up and we would get home together. This plan seemed to work very well for the whole family.

I had a great time being at this farm. There were also three buildings at this farm—a large house, a large shed with all kinds of things in storage there, and a two-story barn also filled with storage. The bottom floor of the barn was used as a garage, and there were still two Model T Ford touring cars parked inside. They did not run as far as I knew, but with my imagination, this little boy drove all over the place without moving at all. There were so many things to see, and I was pretty much given free run of the place in which to play.

Tuesdays were special days because the ladies made homemade donuts, and they would let me be the official taste-tester; I even got a glass of milk to help the job along. There were sugarcoated ones and some with icing. There were also a large number of donut holes, and they were just the right size for little hands. The ladies always seemed to get along very well with each other and seemed to enjoy having me around. It was a fun time for me, which helped, this being my first adventure spending time away from home and my family.

The next year, I went to first grade. At this point in time, first grade was held in a large one room schoolhouse. This one big classroom held first grade on one side of the room and second grade on the other side of the room. There was one teacher who taught both classes. There were two restrooms and a small side room for the band instruments and storage. I got to play the silver triangle on the days we had band practice. Rhyme became a part of my life. This may have been a God thing because I have always enjoyed music throughout my life.

It did not take long to find out if you were not behaving as the teacher thought you should because she would give you a special task. She would have the kid stand against the side wall and squat, sliding down the wall until they were in the seated position, only without a chair. The kid would have to stay in that position until the teacher was satisfied they had learned their lesson. After the first time of having to do that procedure, one did their best to behave and pay attention, which allowed us to stay on the good side of the teacher.

Two things were at work here. One, the rest of the class could see the kid doing this process. The second thing was if the kid could not hold the position long enough, the class would give him a bad time at recess as well as sometimes in the classroom.

Something special that happened once a week was that a man came to the school to teach penmanship to both classes at the same time. The extraordinary thing for us kids was that this man looked just like Clark Kent from the movies and comic books; he had the suit, the hat, even the black-rimmed glasses. He had the right body type to fit the part. He was always well-mannered and seemed very likeable and friendly to everyone. We kids never told him about it, but we all thought he was the real Superman of whom we were very aware. All of us kids loved his teaching and always gave him our full attention.

The school bus was the only way to get to school and back home in the afternoon. Therefore, during the winters, the school would have at least one to five snow days each month. The bus could not make its rounds because of snowstorms or ice-storms, and that would give us kids a snow day, which meant we would have to stay home and play in the snow. However, too many of them and we would have to stay in school longer in the spring, making up for those days—that part was a bummer!

As I grew, I was given a task at home. There was an artesian well, which ran water year round in the back property of our home. Someone had built a three-by-four-foot oak wooden box out of heavy lumber about one foot deep. The well water ran into this box and then ran out over the side. This box allowed for a place to dip in a pail to retrieve a bucket of water very easily. My task was to go to this well and get a pail of water for the kitchen. This water was then used to prime the pump in the kitchen each time water was needed. I figured this was a good thing for me because I was helping the family, and I believed it helped my mom have one less thing to do while Dad was at work.

Occasionally, the water level in the kitchen well would get too low for the pump to work. When that happened, all the water used in the house had to be carried in pails from the artesian well. The only hot water in the house came from a large teakettle on the cookstove. It held a little over a gallon at one time.

After a while, Dad got us a cast-iron tub with crow's feet that he set up in a small room in the back of the house. That allowed us to be able to take baths instead of just washing up with a washcloth. However, all the water for our baths had to be carried into the room with buckets and dumped into the tub by hand. Then the warm water was heated up on the cookstove and added as needed. Dad did plumb in a drain that went through the floor and drained out behind the house.

Since the artesian well flowed year round, it created a small creek which ran across the property behind the house, then off into the forest. In the wintertime, Dad would build a small dam at the far end where it entered the forest. That would create a small pond about six to eight feet wide and about ten to twelve feet long. It was not very deep, but in the cold winter weather, it would freeze over and create a place for us kids to ice skate.

My folks gave me a set of two runner skates that I was able to master and would spend quite a bit of time playing out there. I felt Dad really loved us by spending time creating a fun place just for us kids. The other winter event for me was to take my sled up to the top of the hill behind the house and slide all the way back down to this little pond. Trudging up the hill in the snow not only provided fun but probably strengthened my legs quite a bit, sometimes sinking into the snow clear up past my knees.

In the summertime, when school was out, Mom would stay home and take care of her two children. However, my sister, Maude, became a teenager and attended high school. She had many friends and was given permission to stay with them quite a bit of the summertime. That left me to fend for myself. I loved being outside, and I would wander through the forest behind the property, discovering all the wonders of God's creation. Because of the small creek that ran through that part of the forest, there seemed to be all the colors of the rainbow growing in and around this creek.

This was one of my favorite places to play. The house rule was I showed up to eat lunch with my mom so she would know I was all right. I learned when the sun got high in the sky, I would know it was time to go see Mom and eat lunch. This gave me plenty of time to explore the outdoors and discover all the special things the forest had to offer. One Saturday, during the summer months, there would be a family reunion held on our farm. There was a flat area about halfway up the hill behind the house.

This area had trees that provided lots of shade and was flat enough to set up tables and chairs for the whole gang.

All the family would come together and share a potluck that would start around ten o'clock in the morning and finish up as it started to get dark that evening. There was always music played by an accordion and a couple harmonicas. This portion included singing of all the family favorites. There were games which always brought out the horseshoes. There was lots of good food, and everyone had fun. This was a time for catching up with all the family that may not have seen each other in a while, sharing happy times and family memories. This was where I made friends with all my older brother's and sister's kids who became my siblings. This made up a group of about a dozen or so kids, all family-related.

The other special event of the summer was when all the family would go to camp at Round Pond. Dad had a cabin there, and five others in the family had camps around that same area of Dad's camp. Many of these families would spend a week or sometimes a month at this camp. The men would go to work from there, which provided the opportunity for all us kids to go boating, fishing, hiking, and swimming, just having a world of fun, barefoot, and in swimsuits.

Round Pond—Wakefield, New Hampshire

When I was a kid, five family members

Had cabins in this area

The pond is spring fed and melted snow

One can see the bottom at twelve feet deep

Dad said, it froze in wintertime

Thick enough to drive a car across it

The pond is spring-fed, adding in melted snow from the winter. The water is so clear one can see the bottom at twelve feet deep. White sand had been hauled in so the shoreline was lined with it, making it a beach for very easy access into the water.

This is a place where many childhood memories filled the minds of all who were privileged to have been there. When there is no breeze, the water seems to become a mirror and reflects the forest around the pond becoming one of the most beautiful pictures of God's creation anywhere to be found.

There is a wooden dock and a floating platform out a ways on the water. This was where I learned to row a boat and go fishing and learned to bait my own hook. The catch was horned pout or catfish in any other part of the country. Then there was usually catching frogs and scaring the girls with them; all the boys would get a chuckle out of that.

Of course, this was where I learned to swim and dive, do cannonballs, which splashed anyone within range. This was a time of pretty much being a tadpole and loving the water as well as being in it more often than not.

In the evenings, after dinner, the adults would play cards, and the laughter could be heard all over the area. As long as it was before nightfall, many of the folks also played horseshoes, and the kids were allowed to play too. That was a whole learning process; throwing the quite large and heavy horseshoes at just the right distance to make points or landing it around the steel post for a ringer for more points.

One year, my older sister, Ethel, from Dad's side of the family, went to camp a week earlier than the rest of the family, and I got to go with her and her two boys. They were quite close to my age, and we really enjoyed being at camp together. Ethel had made some homemade grape soda the year before, which had been stored at the camp. It had survived the winter without breaking the bottles; however, it had turned into vinegar and was not drinkable anymore.

Sis gave us boys a case of it to open and pour out in the forest, saving the bottles. Well, the fizz was still there, so when we popped the first bottle open, it sprayed all over us. After that, we decided to play war with it, and before too long, all three of us were purple. Of course, then we all had to go swimming and, fortunately, it all came off. Camp was always fun, no matter what happened. Maybe that was where Smurfs came from because we were certainly purple for a little while.

On Sundays, we attended the Crown Point Church. This was a small church where many of the farmers in the area gathered with their families for Sunday school and worship service. There was a fairly large graveyard on one side and parking on the other side. Inside the church, there were wooden pews and a raised stage area for the pulpit. One of the special things that I remember as a kid was the fact there was a large wall clock with a pangolin on the right side of the church toward the front. The ticking of this clock could be heard all over the church. Therefore, all the events begin and finished on time without question.

Dad became a deacon as we attended there, and he seemed to enjoy doing his part. Years later, after my dad died, the people there had a memorial service for Charlie, and they sent me a cassette tape recording of the service. I felt the service was well done, and sure enough, I could hear the old clock ticking in the background.

This church was where I began to learn more about God and the stories of the Bible. Our Sunday school class, as I remember, was