Six Days Shy of 45

By Kathryn Luttrell

This is a story of a young man with problems. Poor eye sight, poor self-image, bad choices, and many lost job opportunities all before the age of thirty. He makes a vow to never marry again and to never care about anyone because he feels no one cares about him. Little does he know, God has another plan for his life. A new adventure begins just after his thirtieth birthday. Over the next forty-five years he will marry, have three daughters and nine grandchildren. He will become a man after God's heart and will impact many for Jesus Christ.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Jul 27, 2018
• ISBN: 9781641409025

Book preview

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Six Days Shy of 45

Kathryn Luttrell

ISBN 978-1-63575-862-7 (paperback)

ISBN 978-1-64140-902-5 (digital)

Copyright © 2018 by Kathryn Luttrell

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Prologue

Four weeks ago I got a call I wasn’t ready for;

Four weeks ago I ran yelling for my mom;

Four weeks ago I watched as they tried to save you;

But it was too late.

Four weeks ago we waited in silence hoping against hope;

Four weeks ago we drove quietly to the hospital;

Four weeks ago we were told, He’s gone,

And our hearts broke in two.

Four weeks and one day ago I heard your voice for the last time.

Four weeks and one day ago I felt your last embrace.

Four weeks and one day ago I told you I loved you,

And I am grateful.

Today we are sad.

Today we are broken.

Today we ache.

But we are healing, slowly.

Because forty-one years ago your life was changed.

Forty-one years ago you made a choice.

Forty-one years ago your legacy began.

A legacy of faith, hope, and love.

Tomorrow may be hard, but faith leads the way.

Tomorrow may be uncertain, but hope abounds.

Tomorrow may feel harsh, but love conquers all.

Amen

My daughter Christina Ennen wrote this poem four weeks after Lillard’s passing. She is in the ministry and the mantle has been passed to her, just as Elijah passed the mantle to Elisha.

Chapter 1

How Two Unequally Yoked Became One Forever And Ever

This is the story of an ordinary man who took an extraordinary journey with Jesus and impacted thousands for Jesus Christ. The trip began on August 19, 1976, when Jesus came to visit at one o’clock in the morning.

Lillard’s story began on March 22, 1942. He was born in Windsor, Kentucky, to Grant and Edna (nee Douglas) Luttrell. He was the third son and the biggest of them all, weighing in at fourteen and a half pounds. He was raised in the hills of Kentucky in a two-room house that had no running water. Instead of having even an outhouse, he remembered going out behind the barn. He remembers carrying water up from the rock spring in buckets. He said they were very poor in material wealth, but rich in family. Before his parents were done having children, his mother had delivered nine babies, losing Wilbur shortly after birth.

Traditionally, everyone knew the rest of the family by the name game. There was Willard, Dillard, Lillard, Ballard, Wanda, Brenda, Vanda, and Glenda. Family and friends also know the Luttrell gang by their nicknames: John, Dee, Pugg, Little Grunt, Red, Susie, Lou, and Mae. I have never figured out why everybody needed two names. When I started getting to know the family, I thought there were sixteen kids instead of eight!

Lillard remembered the first time he was diagnosed with eye problems. An eye doctor had come to the school to perform eyesight tests. Lillard could not see the chart the students were reading letters from, so he listened and memorized the letters he was hearing. When it was his turn to read the chart, he just recited what he had memorized. He did not realize the doctor had turned the chart over to show a different set of letters. It must have been very difficult to learn when he could not see anything. It was also difficult to do chores and help his father. He remembers his dad getting upset because he did not do some things well. It was because he could not see, not because he did not want to help his family.

Lillard experienced much discrimination and rejection due to his poor eyesight. He had been called Four Eyes, told he wore Coke bottles for glasses, and had missed job opportunities because people presumed he was blind and therefore could cause harm to someone else if running equipment or machinery.

When Lillard was an adolescent, his family moved to Tovey, Illinois.