Personal Reflections of a Dear Friend
Ron Davis
February 6, 1954 – May 12, 2023
Personal Reflections of a Dear Friend
By Edwina Thomas, SOMA USA National Director, 1991-2010
Ron Davis was a man whose prayers changed the world. And whose prayers changed me. Early on, Ron came to understand the Holy Spirit’s gifting in his life, and he daily surrendered those gifts to the Lord and his purposes.
He was a Man of Prayer who understood that only by humbly submitting to the Holy Spirit would his intercession align with God’s will (Romans 8:27). His habit, whenever I encountered him in any Christian venue, was to listen intently for a word or idea that was God-inspired. He faithfully wrote it in his small, precise handwriting on an ever-present yellow pad. In private, he reflected on the concepts he encountered and then went to God’s Word, which he knew so intimately. In the mission field, Ron would sometimes skip sleep altogether, deeming his prayer and Scripture time far more important than sleep. Ron’s most powerful prayers were a summation of God’s revelation, informed and aligned with the Word.
Professionally, Ron studied engineering and devoted his career to young people as a skilled and admired football coach, basketball coach and high school teacher. A great coach like Ron has to dream and envision the team at their best; then teach, bear with, correct and inspire. He had developed the ability to see the bigger picture, the full potential, of anything he was passionate about: SOMA, for instance. As a leader, he spoke few words. But when he spoke, people stopped and listened. God shaped him to be a man of wisdom.
Ron was an African American man born before our culture began to come to grips with racism. Grace and faith led him to deep and profound healing and forgiveness. For the last 30 years, Ron worshiped in a church that was predominately white but growing in ethnic diversity. When asked, he would share his experiences of pain, forgiveness, and healing, and he was a great influence on my own journey of repentance and reconciliation. He was willing to serve as my personal confessor and coach that I might grow in freedom from the chains of racism.
God shaped Ron, the father, through his love and devotion to his family. As he and his wife, Thora, responded to the special needs of their daughter, Alicia, he daily increased in the gifts of mercy, compassion and unconditional love. In 1996, Ron and I were ministering together in Rwanda, two years after the genocide. Much of what we did was to listen to the horrific stories: “If every friend and neighbor has equally traumatic memories, to whom can you bear your own heart?” So, we listened. This big tower of strength sat with a stream of tears rolling down his cheeks: my forever “snapshot” of this humble man.
As I remembered and grieved Ron’s absence on this earth, God gave me a flash of insight: for decades Ron’s prayers so powerfully fueled SOMA’s work around the world. I wept. SOMA USA’s Board of Directors will miss their longest serving member.