Bud's Story, God's Timing

It was a hot Sunday, and I showed up to my son’s softball game already feeling lonely. I was excited to watch him play, but I knew the day would be bittersweet. My husband travels with a Gospel quartet, so Sundays are the hardest for me, and that’s when I miss him most.

I settled into my chair next to an elderly man I’d never met, figuring I’d just watch the game quietly since no one I knew was sitting nearby. I soon learned that this elderly man’s name was Bud. He was 85 years old, and he really liked to say, “It’s a God thing.” As he ate his nachos, we made small talk about who we were each there to cheer on. I figured that would be the extent of it, but Bud kept the conversation going.

We talked about everything, from how my son loves to slide into bases and had his leg all banged up, to how 2025 had been the toughest year of our lives. Before I knew it, I was sharing my son’s story: how he was diagnosed with a large “benign” brain tumor, and how God worked miracles and allowed the top surgeons in the world to remove it all!

I don’t usually open up to strangers like that, and I was shocked to hear myself talk. Then Bud began to share how he had lost his own daughter to a brain tumor, and I was dumbfounded. My heart ached as he told me she was only thirty-three when she passed away. I asked him so many questions because I was starting to realize this was a God meeting I never saw coming. Bud had so much wisdom to share, and I believe God wanted me to learn from him.

Hearing him talk about his daughter took me right back to our own hardest days. When our son was recovering from his brain surgery and dealing with all of the difficult side effects, we went through a trauma I can’t even put into words. My husband and I had so many questions, many of them aimed straight at God. He has brought us so far, and so much healing has come since then, but there are still moments when a deep fear washes over me.

As I listened to Bud, what stood out most was the resilience and hope in the way he spoke. He told me how hard his daughter’s death had been on him and his wife, but how it had drawn them so much closer to God. He shared that some very difficult things happened after she passed, and he truly believes God spared her from that pain by taking her to Heaven early. “It was a God thing,” he said.

We ended up talking for the entire 90 minutes of my son’s game, and by the end, I realized Bud was still pouring himself into other people in meaningful ways. He wasn’t slowing down one bit.

His daughter-in-law told me later that he had not only been through several heart surgeries, but had faced cancer in nearly every organ of his body at some point in his life. She told me that his positive mindset and walk with Christ are why he is still here. The more I learned about everything he had endured, the more one question kept circling in my mind.

The Question I Couldn’t Shake

"How did Bud get like this?" Obstacle after obstacle, trials and hardships came his way throughout his life, and yet he remained so positive and lived life fully.

I don’t know many 85-year-olds who are as positive and dedicated to helping others as Bud is. I had a hard time reconciling his hard life with his joy-filled attitude. I think he deserves to retire and rest in his La-Z-Boy, but that is not in Bud’s DNA. He is wired to give back and help others.

One of the ways Bud gives back is by mentoring college athletes at his alma mater. He devotes himself to the athletes there, and a question he asks them regularly is “How are you and Jesus today?” He told me at first the athletes weren’t sure why an 85-year-old man had anything to contribute. That was until they heard about his days as a track runner and how he had been quite a champion. Now they pay attention!

How do we live like Bud?

Watching Bud makes me want to live differently. I love Bud’s story because it inspires me to hold on to an eternal perspective rather than an earthly one. When I remember that everything we experience and walk through is part of God’s bigger plan, it really does help me get through the pain, knowing He will bring good out of all of it.

When we keep our gaze on Jesus and remember that He will save and protect us, it helps us stay steady through life's ups and downs. It is when we stop looking to Him that we lose our footing, growing discouraged as worry, fear, and bitterness creep in.

Scripture paints a picture of the faithful God we can always turn to:

The Lord is righteous in all his ways and faithful in all his acts. The Lord is near all who call out to him, all who call out to him with integrity. He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry for help and saves them. Psalm 145:17-19

How would your life change if you began viewing it through the lens of praise? When life throws you a lot of pain, heartbreak, illness, or family strife, what do you do? Do you go to Jesus with it all? Or do you go to a place of despair?

I challenge us all to start thinking like Bud. He has had 85 years to figure this out, so don’t lose hope that you can do this too. Bud most likely mastered this a long time ago: a daily choice to praise the One who knows all things and has it all covered.

It’s a God thing.