Memories of Sandwich Board Man

Last night we lost another of our Zac's regulars when Paul Adams died. He had been in hospital for a few days but his death was unexpected and has been a shock to us all. We all have our memories.

Sandwich Board Man

He used to be a familiar sight in Swansea, standing on the crossroads where Mumbles Road turns into Guildhall Road. With his smile, his cheery wave, his sandwich board, and his message of God’s love, he brightened up the daily commute for many early morning drivers. Not all appreciated him, of course, but for those that did he was a little ray of sunshine on Swansea’s frequently grey days.

Years later when I started going to Zac’s I found out that Sandwich-Board Man was a regular there. His name was Paul but to me at least he'll always be Sandwich-Board Paul. 

I think the thing I remember most about him is his ever-present smile. The only time it slipped was when he was joking and he pretended to be serious. Or when he was engaged in serious engine talk with Nige. He was both predictable and unpredictable but his love for others, and his desire to see them saved, was real and genuine.

Yes, he could be exasperating! Often during a bible study he’d talk – I suspect - about something he’d heard recently that had affected him but bore no relevance to the topic of the evening. Unlike Sean who’d say something loving like, ‘Funny you should say that, Paul, because …’ and get us back on topic, I’d just be tapping my fingers impatiently on the bar. 

But he put up with me, in fact he did more than that. He was a constant encourager. Every time I led a study he’d sit there smiling, nodding, and afterwards inevitably said, ‘Well done, that was good,’ even though I had my doubts about the truth of that. As I always did. 

And he often talked about something I’d said in one study years ago about a rubber on the end of a pencil. Even I can’t remember what point I was making but it had stuck in his memory, and that in itself is an encouragement to me.

Like all of us he had his demons and flaws. He was a man of contradictions. His big ‘thing’ was ‘Faith not works’ yet he worked harder at being a Christian than anyone I know. He made an impact on many people. And I am confident that God will have greeted him with the words, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.’

As long as no-one mentions pole dancers.

2013