There is Hope

By Doug & Laura Lee Oldham
Baker Book House, $15.99

ISBN 0800717279


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Looking Ahead With Hope

Review by Esther Sweeney

It's always fun to piece things together, and sometimes it's the best way to see God at work. In There Is Hope Doug and Laura Lee Oldham piece together the story of their life as husband and wife, one telling one chapter and another telling the next. It's a roller coaster ride as you learn of their early marriage, their years of emotional turmoil with kids coming and poverty always staring them in the face. Doug didn't make much directing music for revivals in the depression era.

And there were other problems. He had some girlfriends here and there, but he was always promising to do better. After about ten years, Laura Lee packed herself and the kids up while Doug was out of town and went to live with an uncle and aunt in Colorado. But she knew she was running from God as well as from Doug.

Both of them were in anguish during their separation, and when Doug drove across country to beg her to return, she couldn't refuse. Laura Lee was not fooled about life being easy from then on, but they had three daughters and she figured it was time to trust the Lord and try to trust Doug. Slowly she learned to do that while Doug began telling everyone he knew about how he had come to salvation and the Lord had reclaimed his marriage.

From this point on There Is Hope turns to Doug's traveling days as a part of the evangelistic team with his father. His stories give all of us hope because, rain or shine (he had a lot of rain!) he could always see the Lord working hard to bail him out, even when a heart attack, later blindness, and the birth of a grandson with Down's syndrome brought him face to face with mortality. You can also feel his spirit growing more positive. It's like the songs and hymns he sang got inside him or at least opened the door for the Lord to come in.

There's a chapter about the test of faith Doug and Laura Lee faced when the PTL theme park scandal broke. The Oldhams lived next door to Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker at the time and had an eyewitness view as well as a lot of reporters to dodge. They express their sadness and tell of their prayers over that situation.

The Oldhams have been married for almost 45 years now. Their attitude of hope and faith has helped them through the years, and Laura Lee wants to know where all those people are who said their marriage would never last. Doug has had a great career as a gospel music singer. He has performed concerts all over the world, made 64 recordings, and is known as gospel music's Great Communicator. They live in Lynchburg, Virginia, where Doug works with Jerry Falwell and Liberty University. The Oldhams' story is a clear testimony that even through the darkest times, there is always hope.

Esther Sweeney has been listening to gospel music from her home in Mechanicsville, VA.

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