Longevity Secrets from the Life of Bill Pritchett

Put your heart and soul into every activity you do, as though you are doing it for the Lord himself and not merely for others. Colossians 3:23 TPT

My earliest memories of going places with Dad when I was a little girl is that I had to run to keep up with his walk. As missionaries living in Central America, our connection to the loved ones we had left in the United States. We went to the Post Office every day and could always tell when we had a letter because Dad would run back to the car with a huge smile on his face. We usually read the letter before we drove home.

Transparency

“I asked the Lord to help me hide what I was feeling. He told me that it would be easier to just give me the victory so I could show joy no matter what was happening.”

One of the ways that Dad experienced life with such eagerness was by getting the “victory” every day. That looked like many different things, depending on what was going on. After Mom moved to Heaven I would call him every day ans we would talk and “pray through” to the point of breakthrough. He knew he was weak in himself yet had grace to continually do God’s will with an understanding to know the power of God’s greatness in his weakest times. He taught me the joy of riding the waves of grief to comfort and I speak more about it in my book, The Power of Hope in Mourning: Ride the Waves to Comfort.

Preaching

Dad’s passion for the Lord showed especially in his preaching! He was a Pentecostal preacher who energetically proclaimed grace with great balance. His role model was Dr. Courtney and many of his voice intonations while preaching reflected that influence. He started each sermon reading the scripture. He loved to feel the anointing of the Holy Spirit on his preaching where his speech pattern became intensely clear. Add in a laugh, especially as he made a point he had not thought of before he started, and you have the making of a great message.

Determination

“The devil is just shadow boxing. He’s not hitting us because we are not living the Christian life through our own efforts but through God’s strength.” Bill Pritchett

Even after 76 years of ministry Dad kept glorying in his weakness and in his failures because that allowed God to work in and through him. His last two and half years, he lived with my sister and brother-in-law in the parsonage behind the church where they pastored. Members of the church would escort him back to his little house after the morning service. They all laughed as the told the stories of how they struggled to keep up with him as he took off with his walker in a run.

Longevity Secret #5:

Accept every struggle as the way to quickly realize you’re weak so God can be strong in your life.

This post is part of the Write 31 Days 2019 challenge. Click here to find more longevity secrets.

Author, speaker, corporate trainer, ordained minister and Hope Catalyst, Karen Sebastian enjoys sharing her rich life experiences with others – engaging them in adventurous discoveries of the beauty of hope in a dark, cloudy world. Her books will inspire you to embrace hope no matter what you are going through. As a caregiver and widow she took brave steps forward to fulfill God’s calling on her life. She has now remarried and enjoys her new hubby and spending time with their children and grandchildren. To increase hope and improve relationships with yourself and those that you love, check out her Facebook page – The Power of Hope.