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The providence of God in
the life of a "nobody"
by Bill Whitfield
Please allow me to use
the descriptor, "Nobody" to describe myself for that is what I was in my own
childlike mind. Gratefully, that is not what God thought of me as evidenced
by how His providence has directed and affected my entire life.
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I was born to
Morris E. Whitfield and Marian Barr Whitfield on December 4, 1940 in
Columbia, SC. I was born again when I was 16 but have no record of
the date. On February 19, 1945, I became a war orphan, my father
having been killed in combat on the island of Iwo Jima. That began,
for me, a nomadic existence that included two step-fathers and five
half-siblings. I was reared in a dysfunctional family that included
alcohol, parental arguments that included profanity and there was
infidelity. My mother did love me and, in some ways, was an
encouragement and affirmed me. From the age of six until I graduated
from college in 1963, we lived a nomadic existence, living, often
with relatives, between Florida and Washington, D.C., our last move
to Richmond in 1958. I graduated from Manchester High School in 1959
and enrolled at UR that year and graduated in 1963.
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We give God
all the credit
for we know that none of
the credit is
ours to claim. |
Two years after
graduation from UR, my life took a very positive direction. I met and
married Patty Rainwater and became a member of a stable and godly family
headed by her father, George. The providence of God had led me to Richmond
and put me into the Rainwater family, for which I will ever be grateful. I
thank God every day for George who was the father I never had and who was a
godly role model and mentor. George died in October, 2006 with Patty and me
at his bedside as he breathed his last breath. I thank God that we were with
him so that the last people he saw were two that loved him dearly.
My first post-college
job was that of a loan consultant for First Federal Savings and Loan,
Richmond, Virginia. I was working for the S&L when I married Patty in July,
1965 and we began our life together. My salary was $5300.00 a year and Patty
and I were living in a $65.00 a month flat on North Nansemond Street. Patty
was a junior at Westhampton College so we lived from check to check. Again,
God's providence went into action, affecting a major change in our lives.
I
was sitting at my desk,
one of three loan consultants in the office on that day. In walked a man
looking for a home loan. He could have walked to any of the three desks but
chose mine. I took the application and noticed that his income was three
times mine. I am not overly bright but did pick up on that. At the end of my
interview with him, he asked me a question. "Do know any young men, your
age, who would be interested in working for my company?" I bit! In January,
1966, I joined Roche Laboratories as a pharmaceutical sales representative
and doubled my yearly income and gained a company car. Over the next 42
years, God blessed Patty and me with a wonderful life together, lovely homes
in which to live, financial success and prosperity. In those years, God's
providence gave us Ann Whitfield Carter and Patty earned a Ph.D. at
University of Virginia. She used her degree to teach at Longwood College for
around thirteen years, rising from a professor to Associate Dean and
Director of Graduate Studies in the School of Education.
God has given
me boldness in sharing my faith with anyone who will stand still
long enough to listen and
have found that
I love God and others more. |
In 1993 Patty and
I joined her parents in a home which we built together. We had our
home built that was especially designed for two families. It was and
is ideal for our living needs. As I write this piece, it is
completely paid for and Patty and I have absolutely no debt. We give
God all the credit for we know that none of the credit is ours to
claim. We believe the cause of our prosperity is the fact that we
have tithed since the day we were married. We were obedient in
giving the tithe and God did his part as He promised in Malachi
3:7-10. Our tithe went to the church to which we belonged and not to
other organizations. They received offerings, not the Tithe.
In November of
1994, after 29 years with my company, I was laid off from my job as
the result of a corporate merger. I did receive two years severance
pay which helped in the transition from full time to part time work.
I did work for a part-time sales force in the pharmaceutical
industry for over two years. |
God's providence was
still operative in my life. After 2 1/2 years doing part-time pharmaceutical
sales, one of my previous managers was starting a new sales division within
my previous company and hired me back to be a mentor to his young
representatives. God had that manager in place to get me back into my
previous company so I picked up my seniority and lost very little income
from my previous position. Two years later, a problem with the product I was
selling necessitated doing away with my sales division and I become a
floater, filling in vacant territories and helping where needed. I did not
have my own territory but worked in and for other territories. That is a
very insecure position in which to be. God had another man in place for me
at that time. One of my previous managers was now the president of the
company. I talked with him and shared that I did not feel very secure in my
job and he told me to call him if I needed his help. Well, I was laid off
again! I called the president and he went to work for me. I was hired to be
a specialty representative with an increase in income. God had the president
of a major pharmaceutical company in place to go to bat for me to keep me
employed. We have a great God, don't we? I held that position for seven
years and retired on September 1, 2007. I had planned to work until the age
of 70 but driving over 1000 miles a week, mostly on I-95 to Northern
Virginia, and spending two nights a week away from Patty, was not to my
liking so I decided to go ahead and retire.
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Another thing God
has done for Patty and me is to protect us on the highways. We have
driven hundreds of thousands of miles in our jobs and had only one
accident. You might know that it was I who had it. I hit a crash
cushion on a state maintenance truck running at around 65 mph. The
impact was from the center of my hood to the right side. The right
side of my front window was knocked out by the impact and I came to
a complete stop by the time I reached the front of the truck. The
company car was totaled and I did not receive so much as a scratch
or bruise. That was a miracle of God's protection.
God has placed
our family in First Baptist Church, Richmond. Our daughter, Ann and
her husband David and our three grandbabies, Ellie, Claire and Mary
Wise, are active members with us. Patty, Ann, David and I are
involved in the music ministry. Patty, Ann and I are also involved
in the Bible teaching ministry. Ann is on the church staff as
part-time worker in Youth One. My heart feels big when I think that
all of us are part of this great church. One of my five siblings,
Freddy Dant, lives on the Northern Neck. He has been born again and
is active in his local church as a Bible teacher. We are now closer
than we have ever been and I have joy in my heart because of Freddy'
love for Christ and Scripture. |
I can see the hand of
God directing my life from that of a war orphan... giving me a
wonderful wife and putting me into a strong godly family.
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I am
now in that transition period from a pedal-to-the-metal life on the road and
calling on physicians and hospitals to having virtually no schedule and
having plenty of time to devote to Patty and her mother, since George is no
longer on the scene. I am their Doulos (Greek for servant) and love every
minute of it. The adjustment has been somewhat difficult for me but it has
drawn me very close to God. I am not distracted by the hectic life of a
salesman and can devote a lot of my time to God. Patty and I have a time of
prayer at breakfast using Appointment with God and when we go to bed each
evening we rehearse God's blessings and provisions for us in our 42 years of
marriage, pray for those on our prayer list and just praise God. I cherish
those times in prayer with her and am growing in my faith and drawing closer
to God than I have ever been. God has given me boldness in sharing my faith
with anyone who will stand still long enough to listen and have found that I
love God and others more. As I go out into the way, I seek and take any
opportunity I can to encourage people I meet, from the Ukrop's bag boys to
the guy laying carpet in our home and the guys who take care of our yard. I
will put my hand on a young man's shoulder and encourage him to choose the
right kind of friends. There is a lot of bad stuff in the world and the
friends you choose are important. I tell him that he needs to have God in
his life. Most often, I get a warm smile and a thank-you. Everything I do
now, I do as an act of worship of God, even if it is cleaning out the
basement or helping Patty and Granny clean up the kitchen after meals. I
have become obsessive about the kitchen sink. It shines like a new nickel
when I am finished with it. There is no trace of a water spot to be found.
Col. 3:17, 23.
My
prayer now is that God will lead me into what he wants me to do. I have made
myself available to God in any way He chooses to use me and the gift of
encouragement. It screams out of my heart in most interactions I have with
the people that God places before me in my daily walk through life.
Looking back, I can see the hand of God directing my life from that of a war
orphan raised in a dysfunctional and nomadic family, giving me a wonderful
wife and putting me into a strong godly family. He made me a successful
sales representative and provided for and protected my family by his divine
providence. There is no other explanation. I was a nobody in my own eyes and
in the eyes of the world but God treated me as his child, a somebody, and
abundantly supplied over and above the needs of our family.
My
story is like many stories of God's providential care of his children. I
daily thank God and praise Him for his providence, protection and provision
in my life. To Him goes all the credit, all the praise and, from me and my
family, a deep and profound expression of gratitude. He is worthy of all
praise and thanksgiving.
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