JOEL
Joel Jehovah is God
Joel 2.28: "And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will
pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your
daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your
young men shall see visions."
My son, Joel Lamar Rozier, was born June 20, 1977 in Augsburg,
West Germany. We were so happy to have a new addition to our
home. Joy (Joel's sister) was kind of jealous. He took away some
of the attention that she had all to herself. One day, after
Joel had been crying, Joy said, "I don't like him, take him back
to the hospital."
Joel was almost six months old when we flew back to the United
States. Germany was okay but it was not the United States.
Joel had the blondest hair, the bluest eyes, and the cutest
dimples! He sure was a pretty baby boy! His mom doted on him. I
did too. As a young child, Joel didn't begin to talk as soon as
Joy. He babbled and when he talked, his mom and I could
understand him. He also had a hard time of distinguishing colors
(slight color blindness).
He celebrated his fifth birthday at the airport in Los Angeles,
California. We had driven cross country, with a brief stop in
Roswell, New Mexico, where my mother-in-law lived. We also
stopped and spent two days near Phoenix, Arizona where my first
cousin, Master Sergeant Lee Johnson (retired, U.S. Air Force)
was stationed.
I got a kick out of Lee. he took me around town and showed me
some of the South Georgia style barns he had built. Lee could
build and fix anything. Often, he made more money doing this
than what the Air Force paid him. we had a very good visit with
lee, Charlotte, and the boys. We were stationed in Germany at
the same time and visited each other there.
Joel started kindergarten, and his speech impediment was such
that other kids made fun of him. He wouldn't talk in school. He
went through speech therapy for several years which helped much.
Joel was eight when I became a single parent. He missed his mom
but he went on and whatever he tried he did it with all his
might. Joel is a whiz on computers and also has a wonderful
business head.
When Texas Instrument put out their home computer, we got one. I
built a computer desk and began to learn how to program. My
typing skills are more or less hunt and peck, so I had to go
slow on all those "$Q/?" symbols (on a program).
One morning, I went downstairs, and there dressed in one of my
old Army T-shirts was Joel. He was sitting at the computer
console with the instruction book nearby. He would look at the
book, type a few symbols, and grin. He was hooked and only seven
years old. He became a whiz, and with his mathematical
abilities, soon knew a lot more than I did about computers.
He was also developing his business instincts. i would find my
granola bars missing---he would take them to school and sell
them for a quarter. Joel collected, bought, sold, and traded
many items over the years...comic books, baseball cards, video
games. He's always had two nickels to rub together.
Joel was also very diligent about his school work. He would get
up in the morning, get himself dressed, make his breakfast, and
go catch the school bus, "the cheese wagon" we called it. From
the 7th through the 12th grades, he only missed two days of
school (that was in his senior year when he had an awful virus).
During this time, we were going through some rough times.
One day, i was down and out. I was severely depressed; I was
broke, and it seemed like troubles came one after another. Joel
came to me and said, "Dad, I've got $25. You take it and go out
to eat and buy something for yourself." That gesture blessed me
more than any words could tell.
I was teaching the children about interest. Eva had $10, and I
told her if she would let me borrow it, I would repay her $11.
Joy had $20 and I told her I would repay her $22. Joel had a
least $30, and I told him I would repay him $33. He thought for
a minute and said, "How much interest would you give me for
loaning you $37.53"---all that he had.
The Lord has blessed my son with many talents including musical.
He is very good at all the wonderful electronic musical
instruments he has. He is always buying, trading, selling and
upgrading his equipment. I wrote a song, "When Will the Answer
Come", about prayer and he put the music to it. When it is
played, you can feel the presence of the Lord.
When Joel graduated from high school in 1995, his day was made
when his mom came. Her presence made him very happy. Like many
young people, he was lost after high school and didn't know what
direction to take. I prayed earnestly for him, that God would
lead him in the right path. Shortly thereafter, he worked at a
retail store where he made a solid reputation for himself. He
was hard working, dependable, courteous and honest.
One day, he found almost $300 in the store. he turned it in. He
also found a very valuable watch and turned that in as well.
After working there for awhile, he tried some other things, but
he wasn't satisfied.
I remember taking him down to the cemetery where my dad and
other relatives are buried. I said, "Son, Daddy was 40 when he
died, my Grandpa was 43." I pointed out some of my other
relatives and then said, "Son, I want to tell you something
about our family. First of all, we believe in God, secondly we
believe in our family, and thirdly, we love our country. If you
stick with these three things in life, you will never go astray."
Shortly thereafter, Joel entered Waycross Junior College and
graduated concentrating his studies in math, computers, and
business. After this, he went to Valdosta State University and
graduated in December 2004 with a degree in Business
Administration with a major of Marketing.
As a teenager, Joel was born again. He has compassion in his
heart for others. He knows how to pray, and God has given him
wisdom.
I can't live my son's life. I have told him I've lived mine, and
he has to find his way. I also told Joel despite all the hurts
in his life, Jesus can wipe away all the tears.
When I was his age, I had no earthly father. I've told Joel and
my daughters, that as long as I'm alive I would be there for
them. I also prayed like my Daddy did and said, "Lord, I've only
got one son. I dedicate him to you. Use him as you see fit." I'm
proud of Joel---a fine young man!
Proverbs 5.1 "My son, attend unto my wisdom, and bow thine ear
to my understanding."
Update....Joel helped me with my book, My Walk with the Lord.
This story appears in it...He and his sisters were raised by me
in a single parent home..Despite being deprived of a mother's
presence, my children were taught about Jesus and his love. Pray
Joel gets the right job.
Copyright 2005 Irvin L. Rozier, Captain (Ret) US Army