Friend needs your prayer

[Blackwater]

I have a very good long time friend who's in need of your prayers. He's a genuine old fashioned country boy who loves to hunt and fish. Like the rest of us, he has some weaknesses, and for many years, he used his insulin to eat like he wanted to, which included lots and lots of potatoes, french fries, grits, etc., and large amounts of it all, too. He's now having to pay for that, and just had a vein stripped (burnt out via laser) from one of his legs. He's got 2 more to go, too. He can barely get around now, and is hoping the vein stripping will allow him to get out and hunt and fish again, at least occasionally. He's finally on a VERY restricted diet, and he's holding to it, finally, which is something I never thought he'd be willing or able to do, but he is, and he's losing weight now.

Jimmie is the finest shot and most experienced and knowledgeable woodsmen I've ever known. He just got a new Ruger 1911, and has it shooting 1" and less groups at 25 yds. already with 2 different loads. It helps a lot just to go out in his yard and shoot a few rounds. His usual test is to see how far away any given gun will let him hit pecans that fall in the yard, and he's extremely good at it. Pecans don't tend to last very long in his yard even if he can't get down to pick them up any more!

He's in pretty good spirits in spite of his problems, and we talk regularly, reliving a lot of our individual and mutual forays afield, test results, opinions, etc. But the pain from the vein stripping is really a huge burden, and persistent pain that doesn't ever go away is a very heavy burden. I'm asking for prayers of relief for him. He really needs and merits them. Please pray that his pain will be relieved. Our conversations are about the only reprieve he gets from it, and they're only a diversion of his attention, which is always appreciated, but .... he sure needs some help. He said the other day that it's affecting his ability to sleep, and all sorts of things. Thanks for any prayers you will render for my friend.

[Hickok]

Prayers in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for Jimmie and his health.

[w5pv]

Prayers sent for Jimmie

[jmort]

Praying for Jimmie

[jcren]

Prayers sent

[wch]

Prayers sent to you (for being such a fine companion) and your friend for being such a man.

[Bo1]

Prayers lifted in the name of Jesus...

[Boaz]

Lord please help Blackwaters friend Jimmie . Please help him heal and restore him . Be with him and his family as they deal with this medical problem . Let them grow closer through working together and supporting one another . Lord help Blackwater , show him how to best help his friend , show him what to do . Thank you for always being there , thank you for loving us . Thank you for your grace although most of us do not understand how you could be so merciful because we are so flawed . Thank you , in Jesus name I ask it . Amen

[Blackwater]

Just want to say thanks. He's feeling almost like he's in jail, not being able to go out and do anything more than sit on his porch and watch the birds and stuff muddle around. He has a love of the outdoors unlike anyone else (except maybe me) I have ever known. Most people want everything to be easy in their lives, but he's always looked forward to getting off work so he could hunt or fish or at least shoot. Not being able to get out is really weighing heavily on him, and he calls when he gets down, and talks about "the good old days" and all the adventures he's had and all the funny stuff that's happened afield. He's always been an avid reader of anything to do with hunting or fishing or reloading or shooting, and it's pretty much all he's wanted to do, except for his family life, playing guitar and talking about the things he loves. He's got two more veins to go, but the doc says when they heal up, he may well be able to get out and hunt and fish again. This is all that's keeping him determined to get through this. Like a lot of guys who've been through a lot (he's been shot and cut several times through the years, and used to have a vet's asst. sew him up back in the "good ol' days"), he has a problem with persistent and hardcore pain. He's one of the few fishing partners I've known through the years that doesn't drink beer when he fishes. It takes the edge off his intensity, so he saves that until he gets home, and even then it's rare.


He's the real deal in a real outdoorsman, and was talking today about how he used to be able to creep through the woods stalking hogs, but now, "I'm too clumsy." I'm praying that God will help him heal, and get around the pain, and let him bet back "out there" where he so much wants to be. If you ever get down to SE Ga. and want to hear some good stories about hunting or fishing, come see me and I'll take you to him. He'll amaze you, and you'll think he's lying at times, but he's not. I had a mutual friend poo poo one of his stories not too long ago, and I turned to him and said, "That's no lie! I was THERE when he did that!" He then looked at me like I had 3 heads, but he knew I was a straight shooter, and just scratched his head, and said, "Darn!"

Thanks to all of you for your prayers. He really needs them, and really, deserves them, even if he did kind'a put himself in this position. He knows it, and that's part of what makes him bear it so valiantly. But constant, unrelenting pain is a very powerful thing to have to fight. I think it's getting at least a bit better, and his spirits seem to be rising at least a little. Thanks you all. I truly believe it really matters what you're doing.

[tinhorn97062]

Praying for you guys this evening, along with several others.

[shoot-n-lead]

Prayer sent for him.

[Boaz]

I pray he gets better . He probably has a computer (whatever). Show him people are praying for him . Knowing you have support is can be a good thing . A good attitude can speed recovery knowing people care .

[Preacher Jim]

Praying for him i know what it means to adapt to changes and the amount of pain and am asking in Jesus name that he will find relief.

[GoodOlBoy]

Prayers sent.

God Bless.

GoodOlBoy

[buckwheatpaul]

Father, Blackwater's friend has made some really bad choices concerning his health. Please guide him in such a way that his friend can heal and continue to be a part of Blackwater's life. Father, we all make bad choices and in most cases we come through without incident. However, in this case, this man had decided to take charge of his life and is making a genuine effort to do the right thing. Father, please guide him and help him. Teach him about Your power and love. Help him know that You are there to help him shoulder the pain and deal with the future. In Your name I pray. Amen.....Paul

[Blackwater]

Thanks, guys. It's very humbling to have folks like you who can and will pray for a friend in need. Back when I was on dialysis, and needed prayers, some local folks were on the case of me, and I fully believe they were a material, if not THE material, reason my kidneys started back working. What you guys do really does matter, and it's humbling to have you respond to a request for a friend. Thank you. He merits all you can render for him. he just let his gusto and enthusiasm get the best of him in his earlier times. If that's the worst he's ever done, and it probably is, he'll do to ride the river with, ANY day in my book. Our friends don't have to be perfect to be worthy of our respect, love and admiration. They just have to be a friend, and for all their foibles and mistakes, they're still no worse than we are, so .... I reckon that keeps us "even," doesn't it? The mistakes we make on our own behalf aren't nearly as consequential as those that affect and harm others, and he's never harmed anyone who didn't make it a necessity.

Thanks for your efforts on his behalf, and Boaz, I intend to show him as you say. It DOES help just to know folks are praying on your behalf. He's not been a regular church goer, but he's definitely a believer in God and Christ and the Bible, and he prays whenever he finds a good cause for them, and he shows his thanks in ways that many church goers often don't. He just lives it, and isn't much into talking about it. That's part of what's made him such an outdoorsman. He has more of the Spirit in him than most professing Christians I know. He's lived a very elemental but spirit filled life, and he knows his end isn't too far off, and his reaction is just to be grateful of all he's been able to experience, and he knows he's been a bit willful at times, but has been richly blessed anyhow. None of us get through an entire life without regrets, mistakes, sins and an excess of pride and self-indulgent willfulness, and that, I think, is why God sent His Son, so that our debts might be paid in full without our having to suffer the consequences. I can assure you all that he's very thankful of your efforts on his part. Thank you all.

[USMC87]

Will be praying for Jimmy for strength, comfort and GODS guidance in his life.

[edler7]

Prayers for recovery, guidance and strength for Jimmy.

[Bodydoc447]

Prayers sent.

[Boaz]

Lord help Jimmie help himself and try to improve his and the family's situation . Give him strength and show him what to do . Guide his progress . Thank you Lord . In Jesus name I pray . Amen

[Blackwater]

Well, folks, he's doing a little better. This was destined from the first to be a rather long process. If you've ever had or known someone who has had bypass surgery, where they strip a vein usually from a leg, it's always that leg that gives them the biggest problems. But I can tell by his voice on the phone how he's doing, and he IS getting better. Constant and serious pain is just something that none of us deals well with, past a certain point. He's had more than his share of pain in his time, but the persistent and unrelenting kind will wear any of us down. But it IS getting better, and I thank you once again for your prayers on his behalf. It truly MEANS something, and I can assure you he really appreciates them. He's never been a real big attender at church, but he's always reverent outdoors which he loves so much, and that's clearly a big clue about what's inside him. He professes his belief in Christ, and joined a church years ago. His style of worship is just being alive and being able to communicate and interact with God and all that He's given us. He's the sharpest observer of things I've ever known, too. I feel privileged to call him a friend, and to have known and hunted and fished with him for so long. There've been a few shad caught, and he'd dearly LOVE to go get some, but he's resigned right now to just being alive and able to anticipate maybe getting back "out there."

Thanks again for your prayers, and if you will, please remember him for a while. He needs it, and really appreciates it. He'd tell you himself, but doesn't do the internet thing. He likes DOING things, not reading about them. And he's been as richly blessed as any man I've ever seen, and moreso than 99.9% of those I've known. He's a real one of a kind guy. Thanks.

[Blackwater]

I went to see this friend today, and his leg is really swelled badly. He's in a real fix, and he knows the years of eating like he wasn't diabetic and ignoring the docs has finally come home to roost, and he's pretty well resigned to the fact. Not happily or proudly, but resigned and still honorable in the manner in which he bears this. His leg really looks like it might not be that long before he might lose it. The vein stripping was pretty close to a last resort, really.

But he's accepting whatever lies before him, and our little visits and calls on the phone, talking about past times and all the hunts and fishing we've done, and the laughs about so many things, really help him bear the pain and ever present ominousness of his condition. He's hunted or fished about 300 days a year for over 50 years now, and he's one of those guys who never runs out of stories. He's never lost his fascination with God's creations, and his love of it all. The outdoors has been his "church" for most of his life. He's had more fun in his time than any 3 or more of us here put together! And he's never failed to be grateful for it all, and respectful that it could have been so much different in his life. He was adopted at an early age, and he's been a real son to his adoptive parents, and he couldn't have loved them more if he'd been their natural son. He's never been offensive or haughty or any sort of trouble maker, though some of his earlier days were spent among those who were, and he's been cut and shot a number of times. Used to have a vet's asst. sew him up and disinfect any wounds he'd collect, just to keep it out of the sheriff's office and the ER at the hospital. He's lived more free than anyone here, I'd guess, and he's met life on HIS terms and been most righteously blessed. I think the way he's appreciated all of it so much is why God let him have such a good time here. Being orphaned at a tender age, had to be rough, but it surely has progressed well since then.

In life, we all make mistakes, and disbelieve some of the good advice we get (rare though it often is), and I've always been a "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone" type of guy, and he's been an awfully good friend of mine for well over 30 years now. When we've gone fishing, we laugh as much as we catch fish, and we usually catch a LOT of fish when we go. Neither of us drank beer when we fished, and he's never been much of a drinker. I can fish or drink beer, but not both at the same time, so I have trouble finding a compatible fishin' buddy. We're both so in love with the swamps and rivers and sloughs, etc., that we don't need and don't want any alcohol until maybe after we eat a big plate of fresh caught fish with grits and dodgers, and whatever else is in the fridge that looks like it might be good with them.

His wife is one of the sweetest gals you'll EVER meet, and one of the finest cooks you'll ever find. Her cooking is part of the reason he's always been so heavy, but he's always carried it very well, and it's never stopped him from doing what he wanted to, or even slowed him down. He could walk all day on a hunt, or whatever was needed. When we'd get home, we'd be pooped, naturally, but it was the best kind of pooped you could ever experience.

He was always noticing some plant or tweety bird that most just glossed over, and basically just appreciated everything that came his way. He never looked for trouble in life, but when it came, he's never looked away or run from it eihter. He's the real deal, and many call him "Lyin' Jimmie" because he's done so many fantastic things that many can't and don't believe his stories, and he loves to tell them because it's his way of reliving them and enjoying them over and over again. Was with a mutual friend a while back who told about how many called him "Lyin' Jimmie" because of his tall tales. I asked him to cite one example of his "lies." As luck would have it, he cited one where he'd shot an egret on a place where the farmer had requested him to do so, when a flock flew over. They were flying in a V formation, and he took a lead on one of the front runners, swung and pulled the trigger, and that egret fell, and so did another some 20-25' from the one that he'd shot at, ad about a 20 degree angle from the first one. My companion at the time said he couldn't possibly have done that! I looked at my companion, and said, "****, I was THERE. That was MY gun he shot that egret with, and when they flew over, I was the one who handed him that bullet to load my gun with to do the shooting. It happened just as he described it, EXACTLY!" My companion looked at me blankly, trying to ascertain if I was now lying as well, and when he saw the smile on my face, and the good humor in my words, he realized he'd picked a bad story to prove his "lies."

Not many have or even know a man like Jimmie, and very few have had a man they could call friend like him, and I've been very much blessed to experience his friendship and companionship for many years. He's one of the few shooters I know who ALWAYS tests out anything he's interested in to see if it works for him.

About all he's able to do now is go out on the porch and fire a few rounds, and it means a lot to him just to be able to do even that now. He's still deadly, and his favorite targets are the pecans and little marble or smaller sized rocks in his yard. He pretty well keeps his yard clean by shooting any "trash" out of it and across the road in front of his house which is a little over 65 yds. from his porch, where he does most of his shooting now. He recently shot a less than 1" group at 250 yds. with his .25/06 that he was planning to take a deer with at about 300 + a little, right in front of his house. He was getting a taste for some more venison, and had a corn pile out there just where he could make the shot from his porch, or the seat of his Kawasaki Mule, with the 2x4 attached as a rifle rest to shoot from. Since he's not able to walk very far, he gets on that and does much of his shooting from that.

When people get beavers in their ponds, or too many deer on their farm, or any sort of animal problem, he's the "turtle man" of our area, and he makes short work of them. There's little about the woods that he didn't learn during his younger years, and his grandma and others taught him about many of the plants in the area, and what they were good for, so he knows a lot about "the old ways."

So if you will, please keep Jimmie in your prayers. It'll do his heart good to know other sportsmen are remembering him to the Almighty, and help him keep his resolve, appreciation of the life he's led, and a good bead on his future, and a glad attitude about it all. I thank you for your prayers, and I can guarantee you he appreciates them as well. You guys are great!

[buckwheatpaul]

Father, I ask that you work through Blackwater to help Jimmy. Our prayers are important but a good friend can go a long way to bridge that gap between bad decisions and good ones. Father, Jimmy is trying to change and please hear our and his prayers. In Your Name I pray....Amen....