THE STORY - HOW "YOKED...FOR LIFE" CAME INTO BEING

My father, Rev. Jimmy Johnson, was a preacher his whole adult life. Matthew 11:28-30 were his life verses. He preached a sermon on those verses, about how we need to stick our neck out and put it in one side of Jesus’ yoke. Then we can learn from Him, get comfort from Him and walk with Him. His college department gave him a yoke necklace in 1973 as a gift. It is almost 3 inches wide, made of wood and sterling silver (pictured above), and he wore it everyday of his life. He was able to witness to tens of thousands of people around the world because they would see it and say, “What is that?” or, “Why are you wearing a yoke?” Then my father would say, “This is a yoke. Jesus is in one side, and I’m in the other. We work together.” It has always been his trademark. If you knew Rev. Jimmy Johnson, you also knew about the yoke.

My father died on Thanksgiving Day 1999 and is now living with his yoke-bearer in heaven. He had such a great legacy, and I didn’t want it to die along with him. In January 2001 I decided to have similar yokes made in sterling silver and 14K gold. Through a friend, I found a Christian jewelry designer/craftsman and told him that I had this great idea for a piece of jewelry that could be sold in the Christian marketplace. In March I sent him a drawing of the yoke that I wanted him to make. When he received it, he called me and said, “Melody, this is very interesting that you sent me a drawing of a yoke. I made one of these once before in 1973. It was almost 3 inches wide and was made of wood and silver. I even remember that I used black walnut on it.” I was standing in my room, holding the yoke that he had designed, crying--because I missed my Dad, because the jeweler never had a chance to meet him, but mostly because of the awesomeness of God. This was not a coincidence; this was a miracle, totally orchestrated by Him. NOTE: If you haven’t caught on yet, God led me to the exact same jeweler that made my dad’s original yoke in 1973—28 years earlier. My dad never knew who the jeweler was because it was a gift.

That was in March of 2001, and we have been moving forward ever since. There are two significant aspects surrounding this piece of jewelry: People’s lives have been touched by the load-bearing aspect. And for those Christians who may be shy about witnessing, it provides a natural and comfortable way to share with friends or strangers. My father’s favorite people were teenagers. He especially would be excited to see how they are becoming “Yoked…For Life.”

This is only the beginning of our “greatest story never told.” Thanks to my dad’s lifelong commitment to preaching the Gospel, Jim Morris’ talent as a jewelry designer/craftsman, and God’s grand plan…it will be.