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When Charles turned 15, God led him to a job as a
telegraph operator. He sent messages through radio-type
communication. Charles worked for a railway station, telling
trains where to go.
Charles lived away from home, so he was often lonely. He
wished he could be with his family. Mrs. Burd, one of the
women in the community, invited him to her home for meals
and became his mother away from home. Once again, God was
at work behind the scenes. The Burd home was the same one
where Charles’ family had spent a night 13 years earlier, when
he was only two. During that visit, Charles enjoyed playing
with the Burd’s baby, Lettie. She had also grown and was now
a young teenager. Charles often walked her home after school.
One evening, Charles accompanied Lettie to her musical
recital at the Methodist church. She looked beautiful in her
white dress as she carried an armful of roses. As Charles
escorted her to the front of the church, Lettie’s mother heard
the Lord tell her, “One day, your little girl will walk down this
aisle to be married to that boy.”

When Charles turned 21, he did marry Lettie, and they
moved to the city. They were very happy together. But they
missed their friends and church in the country. Charles wasn’t
spending much time reading his Bible and praying. He didn’t
feel very close to God. During that time, Lettie became sick,
and the doctor thought she was going to die. As he tried to find
her weak pulse to see if her heart was still beating, Charles
knelt beside the bed and prayed, “Oh God, spare her life!
Remember the boy who used to pray!”

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