Another friend of mine departed to be with the Lord Jesus this week. His body and mind had deserted him months before. The last two times I got to visit him, he was mentally gone, with only a vacant stare into space. I held his hand, talked to him, and prayed with him. I told him what a good man, husband, father, and grandfather he had been. And he was. I also thanked him for being such an enormous help and encouragement to me over the past 45 years. I then reminded him that the Lord was with him and the Holy Spirit was with him, and sealed him, and would soon bring him home to glory. He began to cry. So did I.
His funeral reminded all of us of his legacy of grace and generosity and of his love for Jesus. I am grateful that I had the chance to thank him more than once for his investment in my life in many ways.
Through his friendship, he “domesticated” a wild Californian into the “Southern way of life”(well… almost). He also provided the means for me to go to seminary and the encouragement to do my best and trust the Lord for the results. In one sense, I would not have been a pastor and professor if it were not for him.
We know that “We all stand on the shoulders of giants” and that “No man is an island.” We all need help. I am thankful for the Lord creatively and faithfully bringing Rock into my life. May he have “an abundant entrance into the Eternal Kingdom of God.”
Serving Him with you
Until He comes for us, Fred | 