Amanda Lamb: One person can change the world

I’ve been devouring news stories about him as I researched in preparation for my assignment covering his death and the celebration of his life. I’ve also interviewed countless people who have come to the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte to pay tribute to his legacy.

Complete coverage of Billy Graham

What I’ve learned is that, while Graham was a humble man and a man of deep integrity, to the people who followed him, he was much more than that. He was an icon, a person who transformed lives.

People I’ve spoken with in Charlotte this week can name the precise moment when they first witnessed Graham’s intense preaching on television or in person. And for some, they can also pinpoint the precise moment that his message changed their lives, set them on a new and better path. It’s a story I’ve heard over and over again.

A massive tent has been erected for his funeral service, a fitting tribute for a man who spent six decades holding spiritual tent revivals around the world. This final tent will hold an estimated 2,300 visitors for the private service. The tent is so large that trees had to be removed in the parking lot where it was erected to make room for it in front of the library.

In the days leading up to the events, new flowers were planted, the lawn on the library grounds was manicured, and everything, including Graham’s boyhood home next to the library, has been spit-shined in preparation for the guests.

News satellite trucks are lined up along the edges of the parking lot with cameras, cables and lights set up just about everywhere you look. Their crews are buzzing around the property, rushing to fill ample airtime with pearls of Graham wisdom, many of them too young to know very much about "America’s pastor."

Security personnel are also part of the hustle and bustle, both local and federal, as they prepare for the arrival of dignitaries, including President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence.

My sense is that Graham would have laughed at this hoopla and thought it was all too much for a simple farm boy from North Carolina.

We all know funerals are really for those left behind, not the person who dies, and today will be no exception. Graham’s unparalleled legacy will be honored in grand fashion, and when it’s over and the tent comes down and the satellite trucks pull out, this place will go back to being a calm, peaceful spot for people to remember how one person does have the power to change the world.