Billy Graham touched the lives of hundreds of millions across the globe with his message of hope and faith. Whether it was preaching to massive crowds or counseling presidents, his influence was undeniable. On Our American Stories, we often hear that everyone has a “Billy Graham story,” and today, we’re sharing one that truly captures the heart of his remarkable legacy, straight from his daughter, Ruth Graham. This isn’t just about a famous preacher; it’s about a man whose life embodied the powerful message he shared.
Ruth Graham bravely shares her own deeply personal struggle, recounting a time when she made choices she regretted and felt like a failure. Returning home, full of shame and uncertainty, she braced herself for judgment. But what awaited her was a profound moment of grace: her father, Billy Graham, standing there, ready with open arms and words of unconditional love. Her story reminds us that no matter our mistakes, a “welcome home” of forgiveness and acceptance is always possible.
📖 Read the Episode Transcript
Speaker 1: This is Lee Habib, and this is Our American Stories, the show where America is the star and the American people. Up next, our Final Thoughts segment, and that’s comprised of eulogies, sometimes from the famous and sometimes from ordinary folks around the country, sometimes even listeners sharing stories of a departed loved one. And there’s nothing like them. It’s the heart of our show. And in the end, we prefer and generally play stories shared by loved ones, people who had intimate knowledge of the person who just died. And up next, a story by Ruth Graham about her father, Billy. Billy Graham preached the Gospel to nearly two hundred fifty million people in over one hundred eighty-five countries and territories, so reached hundreds of millions more through TV, video, film, print, and webcasts. His ministry began with the 1949 Los Angeles Crusade, which launched him into the public eye. It was originally scheduled for just three weeks, but was extended to more than eight weeks due to overwhelming crowds. This would happen again and again. Early crusades included one in London that lasted twelve weeks, and a sixteen-week crusade at Madison Square Garden occurred 1957. Madison Square Garden would be where he had his very last in 2005, fifty-eight years on the road and on the air, spreading the good news. Now, let’s take a listen to Ruth Graham sharing her story of her father at his funeral.
00:01:54
Speaker 2: I have learned this week, as never before, that everybody has a Billy Graham story. And even this week, President Trump told us about his Billy Graham story. As a little boy, his father took him to a Yankee Stadium to hear my father preach, and he said, “This is a big deal.” Little did they know that their paths would cross many, many years later. But I have my own Billy Graham story. So I’m going to tell you that one. And I’ve told it many times, and some of you have maybe heard it many times, but it bears repeating because, to me, it speaks to the essence of who my father was and is. After twenty-one years, my marriage ended in divorce. I was devastated. I floundered. I did a lot wrong. The rug was pulled out from under me. My family thought it’d be a good idea for me to move away, to get a fresh start somewhere else. So I decided to live near my older sister and her family, and near a good church. The pastor of that church introduced me to a handsome widower, and we began to date fast and furiously. My children didn’t like him, but I thought, you know, they were almost grown. They didn’t know what they could. They couldn’t tell me what to do. I knew what was best for my life. My mother called me from Seattle. My father called me from Tokyo. They said, “Honey, why don’t you slow down? Let us wait to get to know this man.” They had never been a single parent; they had never been divorced. What did they know? So, being stubborn, willful, and sinful, I married this man on New Year’s Eve, and within twenty-four hours I knew I’d made a terrible mistake. After five weeks, I fled. I was afraid of him. What was I going to do? I wanted to go talk to my mother and my father. It was a two-day drive. Questions world in my mind. What was I going to say to Daddy? What was I gonna say
00:04:04
Speaker 3: to Mother?
00:04:07
Speaker 2: What was I gonna say to my children? I’d been such a failure. What were they gonna say to me? “We retired of fooling with you. We told you not to do it. You’ve embarrassed us.” And let me tell you, women will understand. You don’t want to embarrass your father. You really don’t want to embarrass Billy Graham. And many of you know that we live on the side of a mountain. And as I wound myself up the mountain, I rounded the last bend in my father’s driveway, and my father was standing there waiting for me. As I got over the car, he wrapped his arms around me and he said, “Or well come home.” There was no shame, there was no blame, there was no condemnation, just unconditional love. And, you know, my father was not going God, but he showed me what God was like that day. When we come to God with our sin, our brokenness, our failure, our pain, and our hurt, God says, “A welcome home,” and that invitation is opened for you. Thank you. God bless you.
00:05:19
Speaker 1: And you were listening to Ruth Graham sharing her story, one of many that were delivered at Billy Graham’s funeral back in February of 2018. And she was right. Everyone had a Billy Graham story. People who weren’t religious knew Billy Graham. He was counseled to presidents, to the powerful, and there was no partisanship there. He was counseled to Democrat presidents and Republican. And boy, what words Ruth had about her dad! She was coming back. She had married someone she shouldn’t have. She regretted it. She was rebellious. She didn’t really listen to anyone’s advice. And what did she find when she circled up that hill to her father’s home? She said, there was my father standing there waiting for me, and he said, “Welcome home.” No shame, no blame, no condemnation, just unconditional love. And so we close out with Billy Graham. One of his later sermons on that very subject: the unconditional love of God.
00:06:26
Speaker 3: The Bible also says, “God is love,” and First John 4:8 it says, “God is love.” Can I hold on to that? Yeah. I have loved they, but then I have a lasting love. Jeremiah 31:3. There was a popular song a few years ago that said, “I can’t live in a world without love.” You don’t have to, because God loves you, no matter how bad you’ve been, no matter how men as Singe’ve committed. God loves you. I could talk all evening just on that.
00:07:29
Speaker 1: This is Lee Habib, host of Our American Stories. Every day, we set out to tell the stories of Americans past and present, from small towns to big cities, and from all walks of life doing extraordinary things. But we truly can’t do this show without you. Our shows are free to listen to, but they’re not free to make. If you love what you hear, go to OurAmericanStories.com and make a donation to keep the stories coming. That’s OurAmericanStories.com.
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