Some call it luck or chance, but the Psalmist says that the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord (Psalm 37:23). The year was 1945 and World War II had just ceased. A young associate pastor named Cliff and his fiancee, Billie, were planning to be married, even though they had very little money. They managed to scrape together enough funds for a simple wedding and two train tickets to a city where Cliff was later to hold a revival meeting.
Cliff and Billie got off the train and took a bus to the hotel, only to learn that it had been taken over by the military as a rehab center following the war. There they were, stranded in a strange city with only a few dollars between them. So they decided to hitchhike. Standing along a nearby road, the couple was picked up by a man who asked them where they wanted to go. “We don’t know,” they said, and explained their predicament. The sympathetic driver offered a suggestion. A few miles down the road was a grocery store owned by a woman he knew. She had several empty rooms she might be willing to rent inexpensively. They were in no position to bargain.
The woman graciously rented Cliff and Billie a room for $5, and they moved in. During their first day there, the new bride spent the afternoon practicing the piano, and Cliff played the trombone he had brought with him. The store owner sat in her rocking chair, enjoying the music. When she realized they were Christians, she referred them to a friend, who invited Cliff and Billie to spend the rest of their honeymoon in his home. Several days later, the new host mentioned that a young evangelist was speaking at a youth rally at a nearby Christian conference center. They agreed to attend.
That night the regular song leader was sick, so Cliff was asked to take charge of the music for the service. The evangelist turned out to be a very young Rev. Billy Graham. The groom was Cliff Barrows. They met that evening for the first time, and a lifetime partnership was formed. For more than fifty years, Cliff and Billie have been an integral part of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association! Luck? Chance? NO WAY!!