My dear friend David Maiden Sr. passed away on Monday. David was a brother in Christ, my Sunday school teacher at Glen Allen Baptist Church in the 1990s, and a friend of 30 years.
Dave was also one of a dozen or so men who met Tuesday mornings for a number of years in Jimmy Clifton’s barn on Mountain Road—we shared breakfast, talked about our faith, and prayed for each other, our families, and the world beyond.
Those men and the men in Dave’s Sunday school classes represented a broad cross section of the community. Some well-to-do, some less so. Some struggling, some making it through with fewer concerns in the moment. Some quiet and private, others outgoing and gregarious. All following Christ with the knowledge that if sinning meant God would abandon us, not one had a lick of hope to one day be with Him in paradise.
David’s men’s class assembled each Sunday morning in a room with tables arranged in a U-shape. Dave stood at the open end and shared the lesson. There was lively talk, much laughter, serious debate, and heartfelt sharing. From my first Sunday in his class it was obvious David took his responsibility very seriously and had the respect of all in the room.
I must confess though, in the beginning, it was all a little intimidating. I was from a new neighborhood in Glen Allen and these people, for the most part, had grown up and worked in the area and often had long time family connections. Lewis and Lilly, for example, reminisced about taking the train from Glen Allen to the beach in the 1930s. Bernadine told me about life in the Class of 1925 at the original Glen Allen High School. Ben recalled farming land where houses then stood.
But they made it easy.
We had visited the church and one morning the following week I looked out the kitchen window and saw Earl Eckert climbing the steps to our back door. This wonderfully good-natured man, a veteran of World War II, had driven to our place and come to our back door to hand me a brown paper bag filled with vegetables from his garden.
That’s the kind of people these were. That’s the type of man David Maiden was.
To my way of thinking we’re all just sinners doing our best to understand, connect with, and follow the Creator of the universe–Jesus Christ. David and others welcomed my young family and encouraged us—he, in particular, mentored me and helped me along my path. It is difficult to express how much all that has meant in my life.
Posted in November 2024 / Chuck Green is designer, a contributor to numerous magazines and websites, and the author of books published by Random House, Peachpit Press, and Rockport Publishers. All rights reserved. Copyright 2007-2024 Chuck Green. Contact.
Chuck,
You have my sympathies. True words and real hope.
All following Christ with the knowledge that if sinning meant God would abandon us, not one had a lick of hope to one day be with Him in paradise.
–NB
Thank you friend…