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8A I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I dawsonnews.com
Wednesday, July 25,2018
Some troubles require a special praying place
It was back in the sum
mer, when the sun hung
high and hot in the sky
and the droplets of humid
ity fell like unwanted
drops of rain, that one of
my precious friends
called.
For over six months,
death, tribulations, heart
aches and trials had
stormed from the black
est, most thunderous
clouds to batter her. She is
a woman raised solidly in
the truth who believes
unwaveringly in the
mightiest of power. She
had been brought to her
knees but not broken. The
strength she showed in the
most trying of times had
been nothing short of
remarkable and admira
ble.
When she spoke, she
did not cry. Her voice did
not tremble.
“I need a favor,” she
said calmly.
Long after I would mar
vel how the tone had not
carried despair. Instead, it
was saturated with resolve
and humility. It’s hard to
hear both at one time in a
voice because the emo
tions tend to be diametri
cally opposed.
RONDARICH
Columnist
“Anything,” I replied.
I meant it. She could
have asked me to get in
the car to drive a thousand
miles and I would, with
out fuss, gone straight to
my closet, retrieved
clothes and then been on
my way.
“You name it and I will
do it.”
I knew, of course, she
was not calling to ask for
something that was not
within my power.
“Can I come to your
daddy’s place and pray? I
need an extra dose of
power in my prayers and I
know, without question,
that God will meet me
where your daddy knelt to
pray.”
It was the first time any
friend had ever called to
ask that. Oh, we in the
family go to that place in
the darkest of times. No
one ever calls to ask
because my family knows
that hallowed ground,
though on a deed that
bears my name, belongs
to us all. It is the place
where the burdens of
Daddy’s heart were lifted
and where he gave praise
to his Almighty Savior.
It’s not much to look at,
I’ll grant you that. It was
Daddy’s secret praying
place. He would always
say, “I’m goin’ out to my
prayin’ place and talk
over it with the Lord.”
Someone once asked
where it was, which
caused Daddy to straight
en his shoulders, tilt his
head and level his green
eyes.
“That’s between the
Lord and me.”
We’d probably never
have known where except
that once after Daddy
grew sick and feeble, his
once sturdy legs unable to
take him far, Mama said,
“I’m getting worried
about your Daddy. He’s
gone to pray but it’s been
a long time. Go see if you
can find him.”
What I found broke my
heart and, to this day,
brings tears when I
remember 20 years ago.
Exhausted, Daddy had
slumped down on a
stump, his hands resting
on his knees. He teared
and looked sadly toward a
place 15 feet away.
“I got to my prayin’
place and couldn’t get
back.”
It was then I realized -
and later the rest would
know - that Daddy’s pray
ing place was behind an
old, 12-foot, enclosed
trailer bed that he had
dragged home decades
before to use as storage.
Later, Rodney, who often
knows more about Daddy
than any of his children,
said that it was a relic
from a circus. The truck
and trailer broke down,
they left the trailer behind
and someone offered it to
Daddy for free, so he took
it. My family never turns
down ‘free.’ Behind the
bed, next to the cattle cor
ral was a kneeling altar of
cement blocks. The
ground was worn dirt bare
from where he had knelt
so often.
Later, I met my friend
there. We held hands and
she began to pray with
scriptures, earnestly ask
ing for divine interven
tion. It was one of the
most impressive prayers
I’ve ever heard.
And, I am quite certain
that I was not the only one
who heard it.
Ronda Rich is the best-sell
ing author of Mark My
Words: A Memoir of Mama.
Visit www.rondarich.com to
sign up for her free weekly
newsletter.
Dawsonville man charged
with child molestation
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By Allie Dean
adean@dawosnnews.com
A Dawsonville man
was arrested last week
and charged with several
counts of child molesta
tion, sodomy and incest.
On July 17, Paxton
Yoon Myers, 17, of
Dawsonville was arrested
by the Dawson County
Sheriff’s Office on two
counts child molestation,
one count aggravated
child molestation, five
counts of aggravated sod
omy, one count aggravat
ed sexual battery, one
count incest and one
count enticing a child for
indecent purposes.
All are felony charges.
According to Dawson
County Sheriff Jeff
Johnson, Myers was
arrested on warrants
stemming from allega
tions reported to have
occurred between June 18
and July 16 of this year.
Johnson said warrants
accuse Myers of commit
ting acts of sodomy with
a child less than 10 years
old, between the dates of
July 9 and July 16. He is
also accused of enticing a
child for indecent purpos
es when he “did solicit,
entice or
take a
child,
under the
age of 16
years, to a
place for
the pur
pose of
child
molestation.”
He is accused of sexu
ally assaulting a child,
committing immoral and
indecent acts to a child
and in the presence of a
child as well as commit
ting child molestation that
involved an act of sod
omy, Johnson said. He is
also accused of engaging
in the act of sodomy with
a person he knows to be
related.
Johnson said the
descriptions of the war
rants are vague in order to
protect the privacy of the
Myers
Board of Commissioners work session
4 p.m.,Thursday,
Government Assembly
room
NEW BUSINESS
Presentation of
Countywide Computer
Replacement Program-
Facilities/IT Director
JamesTolbert
Presentation of Request
to Extend HVAC
Services Contract
Renewal Period-
Facilities/IT Director
JamesTolbert
Presentation of Keep
Dawson County
Beautiful Executive
Director Appointment-
ChairmanThurmond
County Manager Report
County Attorney Report
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victims.
Myers is currently
being held in the Dawson
County Detention Center
without bail.
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