This week, on Feb. 1, our dear friend George Beverly Shea celebrates his 103rd birthday! He has accomplished so much in his lifetime, ministering alongside Billy Graham since the beginning. Just last year, he was honored with a GRAMMY® for Lifetime Achievement. He is such a friend to the ministry of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and The Cove. In fact, he donated the organ currently in the Chatlos Memorial Chapel, and he joins us regularly for our Senior Celebration events. And, he’s still singing! Here’s video proof:
In honor of Bev’s birthday, here’s an excerpt we found from his memoir Then Sings My Soul:
One morning not long ago Billy and I were out for a morning walk through the enchanting streets of Lyons, France.
“Billy, how long do you think I’m going to be able to keep up with you?” I asked.
He stopped and said apologetically, “I’m sorry, Bev, I didn’t realize I was walking so fast.”
“That’s not what I mean. How long do you think I’m going to be able to keep going in this work?”
“Why Bev,” he answered seriously, “I want you to sing for me all your life.”
“I’d like that,” I told him.
And I would. Singing is my life, and I hope that I can serve the Lord with my voice, in some way, for many years to come. Yet I realize that the day will dawn when it will be better for everyone if I do all my singing “down behind the barn,” where I first sang as a boy. If I feel that God wants me to stop I won’t resist Him for a moment. Not that I think that that time is imminent – for never in my life has God opened as many doors as He has in the past two or three years. Opportunities have come to me that I never expected; I am still awed by the responsibilities He has placed on my shoulders. Yet with the additional challenges, He has given new strength, new insight, new friends, and sustaining old friends.
Please join us in wishing Bev a happy birthday!